I notice our government intends to restructure tertiary education, yet again. I recall when community based initiatives were encouraged in New Zealand. People attended evening classes and discussed new knowledge about pursuits such as philosophy, antique furniture, family interactions, art, music and history. I was one of a number of university based tutors who travelled to remote localities and delivered insights from research and experience. The cost of these services were not in question until 'outcomes' became important in education along with the introduction of sophisticated technologies, internet access and computer assisted learning software. Now tertiary institutions operate within environments that base their policies on value for money. In my last teaching position (in a tertiary institution) we were often asked to agree to teach 50 students in class situations where experiential learning suggested 20 as a maximum. An associated element has been the push for tertiary institutions to provide for every need each student has. On the other hand, not enough attention is paid to making the kind of connections with communities where students could find effective ways to transition to adulthood. Many are already adults and have good community connections, apart from those who are immigrants and are often isolated. However, I am aware of many adult students who feel isolated once they attend university or polytechnic. If you ask people in a university town in New Zealand how well they get to know the students, how many community facilities are specifically geared to improve student life and how many students are fostered through their education with friendships outside the institution, there would be few examples given. One "goes off to university or to polytechnic" and the assumption is the institution will provide what home and community used to provide. It all costs money. Huge amounts of money. Instead of reviewing the system in a radical fashion and examining our expectations, the government is creating power based systems to monitor the way money is spent. There are to be more government appointees on the boards of tertiary institutions, more control in the hands of government appointed funding bodies and that common word 'accountability' will be used to avoid facing the implications of a system that cannot cope. The goal in recent years has been to establish an education system that prepares people for employment in professions, artistic endeavours, trade and commerce. Classic values-based education supported by rigorous enquiry, the quest for creativity and acknowledgement of the importance of history is seen as a luxury because it doesn't make an immediate difference to our economy and material quality of life. I suspect answers to our dilemmas in education and ways to find enough resources are hidden in those rather old fashioned disciplines which produced thinkers, visionaries and mature citizens. Not that we should return to the days when rather crusty tutors spent huge amounts of time 'thinking' without 'doing' but the pendulum has swung so far the other way that attending a tertiary institution means clocking in each day, absorbing as much as you can in as short a time as possible and finding support within environs segregated from where other people live. One of the main reasons for this is the need to finish a qualification as quickly as possible to compete with those who are affected by the politically based push to build the economy rapidly. Tertiary institutions now have seamless education and there is no long vacation at the end of each year if you want to succeed in haste. I attended many management meetings in the polytechnic where I worked. There was little discussion about teaching, learning or achievement. Discussions focused on ways to enrol more students. Marketing advisors plied us with poor slogans, logos, and campaigns which hid the true nature of content in courses. The campaigns promised students 'outcomes', and employment that was unlikely to materialise. Those of us determined to teach by focusing on individual potential found ways around the directives from the market driven ethos but we achieved our goals at great cost. There are some lights in the dark. Students are producing amazingly creative work in spite of the confused politics acted our around them. Most tertiary institutions in New Zealand are inevitably geared to the demands of Pakeha (non Maori) students. Wananga (polytechnics and universities) staffed by Maori have a different ethos. Their connections with iwi (tribes) and whanau (family) are often strong, encouraged and built into the curriculum. The learning experience is set within tikanga Maori (the way people live, aspire and learn within the culture). Non Maori students in 'mainstream' insitutions cannot find this kind of support easily. The Wananga model provides a challenge to 'mainstream' institutions. It would mean dismantling many of the internal and costly support systems within institutions and exploring ways to connect with communities by opening the doors to regional and local initiatives. It would mean more 'placement' experiences provided with local groups including leisure based organisations, health centres, trade, professions and voluntary settings. The large numbers of students from overseas whose cultural experiences are profound might find security, challenge and real connection. There are some signs a community based tertiary system is encouraged in New Zealand but we have a long way to go before most people feel as though the university or the polytechnic is like a heart beat in the place where we live. The local polytechnic in my city was set up to be a community based facility. It has successfully maintained that charter over many years. My fear is that it will suffer if the latest political intentions come to fruition. If the government establishes more monitoring of outcomes by appointing people to oversee institutions which are encouraged to look inward, progress will not happen. If academics, managers and institutionalised support staff focus entirely on what happens within the campus nothing will change. If we continue to reward tertiary managers for good economic management ahead of excellent connections with supportive communities the barriers to expansive education policies will continue to be dominant.
