"[3] From 1900 the school system in New Zealand became increasingly centralised with legislation being passed giving the Department of Education more control over pay and appointment of teachers.
[6]: pp.xi-xiii A full appendix of the discussions, written as Minutes of Evidence, shows a range of views on the issue of equal pay for men and women.
[5] Reflecting in 1922, the then secretary of the Association Emily Chaplin recalled correspondence between her and educational reformer Phoebe Myers that helped bring the regional groups together into a national organisation.
[18] The Annual General Meeting of the Association held in 1916, noted that branches had been formed in Napier, Gisborne, Palmerston North, New Plymouth, Nelson, Marlborough and Southland.
At the annual meeting of the Association in 1917, remits submitted by a range of regional associations included, the need for a satisfactory pupil / teacher ratio, women being appointed to the Inspectorate, organisation and management of infant departments, addressing the lack of a satisfactory of sick pay for teachers, better provisions for teaching students of special needs and women having higher status and positions in schools and in bodies dealing with education.
Chaplin stressed that now World War I was over, it was important to pay attention to educational issues, and reporting on the value of the work done by NZWHA to raise the status of women teachers.
"[21] Specific concerns raised by Chaplin included children leaving school without sufficient knowledge of the basics, overcrowded classrooms, unattractive working conditions for teachers and poorly equipped buildings and playgrounds.
[5] Another issue arose in 1935 when, in spite of both organisations taking a stand against differentiated pay scales, some of the men in NZEI chose not to support this position because they felt their own salaries were at risk of being reduced.
[25] The first conference of PPSEAWA held in 1928, and attended by a delegation from New Zealand along with representatives from other countries in the region, agreed to set up a permanent women's organisation in the Pacific.
[25] On 18 April 1931, a New Zealand national committee of the Pan-Pacific Women's Association was established in Wellington with Elsie Andrews from NZWTA elected as secretary.
Her concluding point was that it was important for any woman to have a respected place in civic life there should be no restrictions on her labour, so she could "attain that stage of development which would fit her to be the companion of man in the direction of humanity.
Bradstock, the president of NZWTA at the time, suggested to the annual meeting of the organisation in 1959 that the status of a teacher could be determined by their role and impact within the community.
"[35] The Taranaki News was cited as claiming that Carr had shown genuine courage and "set an example to other Ministers as to how real control can be exercised in spite of the hospitality of departmental heads.
"[36] The 1924 conference of the Association passed a remit strongly protesting against "the invidious differentiation recently introduced by the Education Department in respect of the salaries to be paid to men and women teachers for services of equal value to the State.
"[41] In 1919 NZWTA raised concerns about the design of school playgrounds and buildings and suggested this was as important as what was being promoted in town planning to provide suitable housing.
"[44] At its annual meeting on 7 April 1922, The Wellington Women Teachers' Association passed remits concerning infant education for consideration at the National level.
At the conference on 31 December 1917, the association approved the principle that classes with one teacher should be limited to forty students and "not more than sixty if assisted by a full-time pupil-teacher.
"[46] In 1944 a deputation from the Wellington Branch presented their case to the National Council of Women that overcoming "public apathy" was the key and listed several concerns about overcrowding.
Social and life skills likely to be adversely affected by overcrowding included developing the "mental powers and talent for leadership", learning to organise themselves into "groups under elected leaders to tackle problem incidental to their school work" and modifying their freedom by being considerate of others.