Links between further and higher education: the case of New Zealand

This article sketches distinctive and partly unique features of New Zealand society, its recent history, and its adult, community and tertiary education system, as a prelude to considering linkages. The absence of a distinct further education (FE) sector analogous to the British further education colleges (FECs) or Australian technical and further education (TAFE) institutes combined with a recent period of extreme economic rationalism to privilege competition over collaboration. A sharp change of direction in 1999 is leading into a new more planned tertiary system under a Tertiary Education Commission in 2002. This is likely to reward and drive up inter-institutional collaboration, probably also more sharply differentiating roles within the more planned tertiary sector. The article concludes by reflecting on distinctive strengths and shortcomings, and on lessons from New Zealand of possible interest elsewhere