This will be my third and final column in this series about housing as the foundation of a successful society.
Phil Mackay
This month I’m focusing on the ways that housing impacts educational outcomes.
At the NZ Economics Forum in February, economist Cameron Bagrie expressed his concern for our economic future, saying “If you’re going to pick a lead indicator in regard to where NZ is going be in 30 years’ time, look no further than the education outcomes we’re seeing today.”
The OECD’s 2024 Economic Survey noted that NZ’s average PISA (education test) scores fell significantly between 2009 and 2022, and that “productivity may fall by nearly 4% as a result”. As Bagrie suggested, given NZ’s already poor productivity growth, that represents a decade worth of productivity growth.
This is obviously a concern for our future, but what does it have to do with housing?
Again, at the Economics Forum, Bagrie also said “we can’t just look to the education sector to fix education”, suggesting that other socio-economic factors are actually responsible for some of the drop in educational achievement.
Townhouses
October 2024 report by the Auditor-General said New Zealand had one of the biggest educational achievement gaps between rich and poor in the developed world. And according to the New Zealand Initiative, “NZQA data show that, in 2020, just 33% of Year 13 students in decile 1-3 schools attained University Entrance. This compared with 70% in decile 8-10 schools.”
So, to finally link this back to housing, according to research and literature reviews by Habitat for Humanity and the US Center for Housing Policy, “numerous studies indicate that children who change schools experience declines in educational achievement. The effects of school [changes] are particularly detrimental if they are frequent, or if they occur during critical educational points, such as during early developmental stages.”
Additionally, children from low-income families “who move three or more times prior to turning six years old demonstrate increased behaviour and attention problems.”
A Paua house
“Low-income families also tend to live in homes that are in relatively substandard condition”, leading to poorer health and more time off school, further impacting learning opportunities.
All of this points to a real need for improved security of tenure, and for better quality, more affordable housing, especially for families on lower incomes.
On this front, it is encouraging to hear of the work of organisations like Bridge Housing here in the Waikato, Kāinga Maha, and the Home Foundation, to deliver more affordable rentals, progressive home ownership models, and affordable housing. Likewise, Simplicity Living’s build-to-rent developments which offer renters better security of tenure.
I’ll finish by again quoting the New Zealand Initiative, “We simply can’t afford to waste human potential by failing to provide children with the best education possible.” And – in my opinion at least – the ‘best education’ starts with stable, healthy homes.
