ABSTRACT
New Zealand (NZ) has a population of just over four million people on a small land area of 271,000 sq km (Statistics New Zealand, 2015), situated in the Pacifi c Ocean, south-east of Australia. The education system is organized nationally. NZ off ers three levels of education: early childhood; compulsory sector (primary school [Years 0-6-aged 5 to 11 years], intermediate/middle years [Years 7-8, sometimes including Years 9-10-aged around 11-13 years], and secondary [Years 11-13-aged 13-18 years]); and tertiary education. Participation in early childhood education is actively encouraged, with children between 3 and 5 years of age entitled to 20 hours of free participation, and provision is made for children from birth through to age 5. Close to 95% of eligible children participate in various types of early childhood education (Ministry of Education, 2015a), typically categorized as teacher-led (e.g., kindergarten and childcare), parent-led (such as kindergarten, playcentre), and family-led (ka¯hanga reo-Ma¯ori wha¯nau [family] philosophy and language immersion), home-based, and various faithbased (e.g., Seventh Day Adventist) or educational-philosophy based centers (e.g., Montessori). All of the provisions incorporate elements of the national early childhood curriculum, Te Wha¯riki.
