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ABSTRACT
Conservatism is becoming evident in recent policy changes affecting some sectors in the New Zealand education system, such as the early childhood and special education sectors. An administrative mechanism called ‘contestability’ by the Treasury is used to encourage new providers to compete with services traditionally offered by the welfare state. The author argues that this introduced competition has meant women in particular, and Maori, have suffered setbacks to their progress towards better life chances.
Two models of ‘contestability’ are described and analysed in these case studies. The analyses show that the implementation of the models has been problematic and strenuously resisted by teachers and others. Teachers (and parents) are not comfortable with being thrust into the role of consumer as competition is created by the state.
Michael Apple's theory about Market Liberals reconstructing our ideas about managing inequality is used to explain the persistence of decision‐makers in the face of resistance.
