A revised New Zealand Curriculum for compulsory phase education was launched on 6 November 2007. Implementation will be gradual during the period 2007-2010. Information on this new curriculum has recently been added to sections 5, 5.2 and 5.3 of this Archive. Detailed information is also available at: http://nzcurriculum.tki.org.nz/
The information which follows describes the pre-reform curriculum in New Zealand. It will be updated shortly.
New Zealand Curriculum
The New Zealand Curriculum (the official policy for teaching, learning and assessment in New Zealand schools) applies to all New Zealand schools, including kura kaupapa Maori, and special education schools; all students, irrespective of gender, ethnicity, belief, ability or disability, social or cultural background or geographical location; and to all years of schooling from Years 1 - 13 (compulsory primary level and lower secondary level education, students aged 5/6 to 15/16 and post-compulsory senior secondary education for 15/16- to 17/18-year-olds).32 However, national curriculum statements are mandatory only to the end of Year 10, students aged 14/15. This national curriculum, determined by the Ministry of Education, is organised as follows:
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The New Zealand Curriculum Framework |
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The Principles |
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The Essential Learning Areas |
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The Essential Skills |
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Attitudes and values |
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National curriculum statements - |
Source: NEW ZEALAND. MINISTRY OF EDUCATION (1999).
The New Zealand Curriculum was developed to take New Zealand education into the future. It provides guidelines covering teaching, learning and assessment for all students in all New Zealand schools. The main principles of the curriculum are based on the belief that the individual student is at the centre of all teaching and learning. The curriculum outlines the need for education to be both relevant and responsive to the needs and abilities of all students so that they are able to play a full part in the world in which they will live and work. .13
The New Zealand Curriculum Framework sets out the official policy for teaching, learning and assessment in New Zealand schools. There are seven national curriculum statements, one for each essential learning area,36 which detail the programme achievement objectives that all students should aim for.13 It is the responsibility of boards of trustees to ensure that schools implement the curriculum. Every school charter and proposed charter must include the aim of meeting and following the National Education Guidelines which include the national curriculum statements.32
The Ministry of Education controls curriculum development for schools. The national curriculum statements for the seven 'essential learning areas' (language and languages; mathematics; science; technology; social sciences; the arts; and health and physical well-being) are developed by the Ministry of Education (or by contract curriculum developers, many of whom are subject specialists from amongst teacher educators or advisors) after widespread consultation with teachers, other educators, boards of trustees, and the wider community, including the business community. In this way, all statements build on the best of New Zealand experience and research. Draft statements are released across all schools in the country for a trial period before being evaluated, revised, finalised and published for implementation.32,44 . Mandatory implementation follows after a period of time (usually two years), when schools can access professional development and other support. All national curriculum statements in English and Maori 17 were completed during 2001.
The final four national curriculum statements (for technology, social studies, health and physical well-being, and the arts) were affected by the slowing down in the pace of curriculum reform (announced in July 1996 in response to widespread concern across the school sector about the scale, pace and workload implications of the changes).36,22
(For each new national curriculum statement, there was a transition period of around two years between the publication of the final version and the date on which it was gazetted (made mandatory). From that date, it was expected that all schools would be implementing it. During the transition period, schools were expected to provide programmes in each of the seven essential learning areas of the New Zealand Curriculum, including the area covered by the new curriculum statement. Schools were expected to progressively develop programmes so that they were prepared to implement the new statement fully, once it had been gazetted. During the transition period, schools could be using the old syllabus, the new curriculum statement, or a mix of the two. Schools could also introduce the new curriculum in a phased way. For example, a secondary school could trial the new social studies curriculum in 1998, fully implement it in Year 9 (age 13-14) in 1999 and in Year 10 (age 14-15) in 2000. To make the transition effective, each existing syllabus was revoked as soon as the final national curriculum statement was published, rather than when it was gazetted.) 22 (All previously existing compulsory syllabuses have now been revoked.) 17
Users should note that a 'stocktake' of the New Zealand curriculum began in late 2000, once the final curriculum statements from the review process initiated in 1991 were nearing final completion. This review, which involved an element of international comparison/critique of the New Zealand Curriculum; the establishment of a curriculum stocktake reference group; and a schools sample research project to gather data on the curriculum as implemented, was completed during 2002/2003. In particular, the review examined concerns regarding curriculum overload and manageability.
For further information see the curriculum stocktake report at http://www.minedu.govt.nz/index.cfm?layout=document&documentid=7823&indexid=
1004&indexparentid=1072.
National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA)
New Zealand is nearing the end of a period of major reform at the post-compulsory upper secondary level, with the New Zealand Qualifications Authority (working in harmony with the New Zealand Curriculum) becoming a significant shaper of the curriculum at this level. In 1999, the Ministry of Education began work on a revamped school qualifications programme entitled "Achievement 2001". A Qualifications Development Group was established in the Ministry to manage the process of developing achievement standards at four levels. One effect of this new policy was the alignment of senior qualifications and curriculum with the national curriculum and the launch of the overarching National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA)17. Further details are provided in sections 6.3.1 and 6.4.1.
Responsible agency
In New Zealand, there is no specialised agency comparable with the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority in England (QCA) (see section 5.2.1 of the England Archive). Although the Ministry is largely policy driven, it still retains an extensive operational role, though much of this activity is carried out under contract. As a consequence, although curriculum development in New Zealand is still centrally managed, much of this work is now managed by a small core of officers within the Ministry developing curriculum policy, and another group facilitating the contractual process. In the policy group, officers within the 'Learning and Evaluation Policy' Section have prime responsibility for developing the core curriculum policy documents such as The New Zealand Curriculum Framework, coordinating policy work on national curriculum statements for specific learning areas, and preparing policy statements on diagnostic and formative assessment.44
Subjects
The continuation of a balanced curriculum experience in the post-compulsory upper secondary senior school will help to provide all students with life skills and with equal access to a wide range of education and employment opportunities.32
The New Zealand Curriculum consequently requires that a broad and balanced education be available for all years of secondary schooling. Schools are required to ensure that students in Years 11, 12 and 13 (ages 15/16 - 17/18) maintain a balanced curriculum, building on the broad and balanced education of their earlier years, whilst recognising the diverse educational and training needs of students at these levels. Schools should therefore provide students at this level with the opportunity to continue studies in each of the seven essential learning areas:
All students should also continue to develop the full range of (eight) essential skills (communication skills; numeracy skills; information skills; problem-solving skills; self-management and competitive skills; social and cooperative skills; physical skills; and work and study skills). It is considered that this continuation of the balanced curriculum experience of the compulsory years during post-compulsory upper secondary education will help to provide all students with life skills and with equal access to a wide range of education and employment opportunities.32
Although the national curriculum statements cover years 1-13 of schooling in New Zealand (students aged 5/6 - 17/18), these are not mandatory for students in senior secondary education, Years 11, 12 and 13.5
The New Zealand Curriculum Framework (NZCF) guidelines recommend that, in Year 11 (Form 5, age 15/16+) students should be offered a wide choice of courses, but should be required to undertake study in a minimum of six subjects, three of which should be English or Maori, mathematics, and a science subject. This is, however, not a mandatory requirement, as the NZCF is a guide to policy, not a set of mandatory requirements. Students in Years 12 and 13 (ages 16 to 18) should be able to make informed personal choices from a wide range of courses, which lead to further study or to work and training opportunities. They should also be able to undertake studies in greater depth.36,32
In August 2004, a new online career guidance programme - 'Pathfinder' was launched. It is designed to assist New Zealand students in career planning by guiding them through steps in the decision-making process. The website is available via: http://www.kiwicareers.govt.nz/
Time allocation
The curriculum is not a time-based curriculum.10 That is, there are no regulations regarding timetabling or the amount of time schools must allocate to each subject. 62 Schools may achieve a balanced and broad curriculum in a number of ways; for example, by organising their programmes around subjects, by using an integrated approach, or by using topic or thematic approaches. Schools have the flexibility to plan programmes to meet their particular needs; for example, kura kaupapa Maori programmes, English programmes for speakers of other languages (ESOL), or Pacific Islands language courses. In whatever way programmes are organised, they must incorporate the knowledge and understanding described in all seven essential learning areas.32
With the introduction of "Achievement 2001", the National Qualifications Framework and the National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA) (see sections 6.3.1 and 6.4.1), it is tntended that, from Year 11 (Form 5, age 15/16+), more options are available to students - via a wide range of subjects/courses offered by a range of providers - both within the school setting and in external settings. However, there is usually less choice in small schools, often located in rural areas.10
It is also intended that students in Years 12 and 13 (Forms 6 and 7, ages 16-17 and 17-18) should be able to make informed personal choices from a range of courses, which can lead to further study or to work and training opportunities. They should also be able to undertake studies in greater depth.32 Further information is available in sections 6.3.1 and 6.4.1.
The curriculum is expressed in terms of both input and output.10
For upper secondary and adult learners, where students are seeking credit for unit standards (see section 6.4), the curriculum is expressed in terms of unit standards and credits.10
See section 5.3.4 also. This contains information which is particularly relevant to the formulation of the curriculum for those students whose post-compulsory upper secondary education takes place in the school environment.
For students following post-compulsory upper secondary courses in schools
The New Zealand Curriculum specifies eight groupings of essential skills to be developed by all students across the whole curriculum throughout the years of schooling. These categories encompass other important groups of skills, such as creative skills, valuing skills, and practical life skills. The eight groupings of essential skills are:
The eight essential skills are expressed as competencies/results statements. For example, for numeracy skills, the statement includes:
Students will:
- calculate accurately;
- estimate proficiently and with confidence;
- organise information to support logic and reasoning;
- recognise and use numerical patterns and relationships.
The curriculum framework is like a matrix; the essential skills are woven through all essential learning areas (language and languages; mathematics; science; technology; social sciences; the arts; and health and physical well-being).10
Textbooks are not approved by the State, but are produced by state and commercial sources. (See section 5.3.6 for further information on textbook producers.)
Teachers and heads of departments choose the books to be used for each class.10
Schools provide students with supplementary materials to support classroom programmes, such as books and journals. Textbooks are usually loaned to students and only paid for by students if lost. In the senior secondary school, students are often required to buy supplementary materials, such as a laboratory manual, revision books, art materials etc.5
Parents providing their children with Ministry of Education-approved home-based schooling are given an annual grant to help with the cost of learning materials.26
Online resources
The Ministry of Education has launched an online resource centre. The 'Online Learning Centre's' url is http://www.tki.org.nz/. Curriculum-related materials from state and commercial sources are available in a range of databases via this medium and via the Ministry of Education's website (http://www.minedu.govt.nz/).10
In August 2004, a new online career guidance programme - 'Pathfinder' was launched. It is designed to assist New Zealand students in career planning by guiding them through steps in the decision-making process. The website is available via: http://www.kiwicareers.govt.nz/