ABSTRACT
New Zealand is a small island nation in the South Pacific Ocean, located about 1,200 miles southeast of Australia. It is a hilly and mountainous country approximate in physical size to Japan. Nearly four fifths of the area of New Zealand is classified as farmland, and the economy is based on both agriculture and manufacturing. The four major metropolitan areas are Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, and Dunedin. New Zealand's first free public kindergarten was founded in 1889 by the Reverend Dr. Rutherford Waddell. Today, free kindergartens accommodate by far the largest number of three- to five-year-old children enrolled in New Zealand early childhood programs and receive the greatest amount of government assistance. In the 1962 report of the Maori Education Foundation, concern was expressed for the educational lag experienced by many Maori children in their primary years of schooling. Strong public disapproval of these centers continued to prevail despite the increase in need both during and after World War II.
