ABSTRACT
Educational legislation is rarely the subject of intense political debate although the first national Education Act—'an Act to make provision for the Further Education of the People of New Zealand'—was passed by the General Assembly in 1877 only after prolonged, vigorous and often passionate argument. In its general format the 1964 Education Act followed that of the English Education Act of 1944 but similarity ended there. The English statute brought about quite fundamental changes in the nation's education system; the New Zealand Act introduced little that was new and nothing that was revolutionary. While the 1964 Education Act and the 1961 Universities Act constitute the main legal basis of the New Zealand education system, technical and trades training are the subjects of separate legislation. Historically, adult and informal education started with the founding of Mechanics' Institutes, Scientific and Mutual Improvement Societies in the nineteenth century and, after 1915, with the support given to the Workers' Educational Association.
