Policies, problems and politics in New Zealand education : a study of the national system, 1920-1930

Abstract

This period is one in which considerable development and change in emphasis took place within the New Zealand national system of education. It has tended to be overlooked because of the importance of the work of George Hogben who was associated with the Seddon Ministry's progressive social legislation. Hogben's sixteen years of office saw remarkable educational improvement, producing at last something truly national and truly a system for public instruction. The dramatic revival of education associated with the Dominion's first Labour Government, led by Minister of Education Peter Fraser, again tends to distract from the progress of the national system during the 'twenties. It is a mistake, however, to follow a prevailing belief among many students of New Zealand education, that the years between World War I and the Great Depression of the 'thirties (between Hogben and Fraser) were of little consequence in the development of the national system. There is considerable evidence to the contrary. Those years now lie at the edge of memory for most who were in key administrative educational positions then. Many have already passed on, and those who do remember what W. B. Sutch so pessimistically calls "the sad, dull years of the 'twenties" often see only part of the complete picture.