In order to understand schooling in New Zealand as it is, we need to remember that the education system originated in Britain and developed in a British colony in the nineteenth century and that it was based on the English national school system. We also need to understand the key influences of the industrial age on education (Hood, 2001). Some of the issues arising in the readings are the influence education has on society, how society can be shaped by education and what role the government plays in education. Another important issue is the development of an education system that is designed to match the ways different children learn and what their different abilities and interests are. Most important of all how by looking at the history of education and the development of the education system we can see ways of moving forward.

Life in Britain during the industrial...