Adult education in Aotearoa/New Zealand - a critical analysis of policy changes, 184-90

Abstract

Since 1984, when the fourth Labour Government was elected to office, there have been major changes in the structures of society in Aoteroa/New Zealand. A wide range of reviews and reforms of economic and social policy have been undertaken, and not surprisingly the structures and policies of adult education have come under scrutiny and been subject to major changes. The purpose of this paper is to examine the politics of policy formation over a six-year period. Using official and unofficial reports and other documents, the paper seeks to identify some of the key changes in adult education policy that have taken place in recent years and to locate them within the context of the contradictory pressures operating upon and within government and the field of adult education.