Tuia Te Hononga Tāngata, Tuia Te Hononga Ao: Taking the Pulse of Distance Learning in Aotearoa New Zealand

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The use of distance learning in the schools sector in New Zealand can be traced to the creation of The Correspondence School in the early 1900s (later renamed Te Aho o Te Kura Pounamu). By the late 1990s and early 2000s the development of virtual learning programs had begun. In an effort to better understand this emerging environment, in 2011 the Ministry of Education commissioned the then Distance Education Association of New Zealand (now Flexible Learning Association of New Zealand or FLANZ) to undertake a study into the development of virtual learning in New Zealand and the barriers faced in achieving sustainability and maturity (Barbour, 2011). One of the recommendations of that Primary and Secondary e-Learning: Examining the Process of Achieving Maturity report was that an annual national study be conducted into the nature of governance for distance learning, as well as the level and scope of activity, similar to studies conducted in the United States since 2004 and Canada since 2008. There were efforts by CORE Education and later FLANZ in 2015, 2017, and 2020 to undertake this study. However, those efforts did not materialise for a variety of reasons until the development of the Tuia Te Hononga Tāngata, Tuia Te Hononga Ao: Taking the Pulse of Distance Learning in Aotearoa New Zealand.

Methodology

The purpose of this research project was to undertake a national study into the nature, regulation/governance, and scope of activity of distance learning providers in the New Zealand school sector. The specific research questions that were explored included:

  1. What is the nature of governance of schools sector distance learning in New Zealand?
  2. How is schools sector distance learning in New Zealand resourced?
  3. What is the extent of schools sector distance learning activity in New Zealand?

The data for this study was collected through surveys sent to the leaders of schools sector distance learning schools/programmes throughout the country (click here for a copy of the survey). These individual provider responses, along with follow-up queries, were summarised into structured profiles. Each profile was shared with the individual provider for their feedback, although the researchers reserved the right to not make requested changes unless they impacted the accuracy of the profile.

Project Researchers

  • Michael K. Barbour is the Director of Faculty Development and a Professor of Instruction for the College of Education and Health Sciences at Touro University California. He has been involved in K-12 distance, online, and blended learning as a researcher, evaluator, teacher, course designer, and administrator for over two decades. Michael’s research has spanned the globe with a particular focus on the effective design, delivery, and support necessary for students to be successful in these flexible learning environments. His involvement in distance and virtual learning in New Zealand began in 2008, and has included presenting keynotes and other papers at Flexible Learning of New Zealand conferences, several national reports, and serving on the boards of multiple Virtual Learning Network programs.
  • Derek Wenmoth is the founder of FutureMakers which he established after stepping back his position as Director, eLearning at CORE Education, a not-for-profit organisation providing professional learning, research and consultancy services across all parts of the education sector in New Zealand. Derek has been a teacher, principal, teacher educator, distance educator and education policy writer in a career spanning more than four decades. He helped establish the Virtual Learning Network in New Zealand in the mid 1990s, was the eLearning manager at Te Kura (New Zealand’s Correspondence School) where he oversaw the transition from correspondence to online activity, and was awarded a life membership of the Flexible Learning Association of New Zealand in 2016. He has been involved in providing strategic advice on flexible and online learning to the Commonwealth of Learning and departments of Education in a number of international contexts.

The artwork for the report cover, as well as the website banner, were created by Greta Menzies.

References

Barbour, M. K. (2011). Primary and secondary e-learning: Examining the process of achieving maturity. Distance Education Association of New Zealand. https://flanz.org.nz/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/DEANZ-2011-Barbour-Report.pdf