INCA Education around the world
New Zealand : Curricula (age 3-19)
- 5.1 First phase: Pre-compulsory, age 0 - 5/6
- 5.2 Second phase: Primary, age 5/6 - 12/13
- 5.3. Third phase: Compulsory lower secondary, age 13 - 16
- 5.4. Fourth phase: Post-compulsory upper secondary, age 16+ - 18+
Following a 'stocktake' of the New Zealand curriculum, a revised curriculum for English-medium teaching and learning for compulsory phase education was released at the beginning of November 2007. This aimed to contribute to all students having a strong foundation for learning, high levels of achievement, and a lifelong engagement in learning. It encourages schools to put personalised learning into practice and supports the aims of the Government for students to stay at school longer and attain higher levels of achievement.88
The new curriculum was introduced between 2007 and 2010. It was a matter for schools to manage implementation, although a design and review table was available to schools to assist with the process. This is available to download.
The revised New Zealand curriculum aims to support students to learn in a way which will prepare them for the world of tomorrow. It is different from the curriculum it replaces in that it:
- Includes a set of common values.
- Places more emphasis on themes relevant to today's society.
- Contains five key competencies for students.
- Raises the profile and status of learning a second language.
- Raises the profile and status of statistics within mathematics.
- Makes the Treaty of Waitangi explicit in the overview, purpose, principles and values.
- Recognises the need for schools to work closely with communities to design relevant learning programmes.88
The revised curriculum also provides greater clarity for teachers, students and trustees by providing clear and simple statements about priorities, expectations and outcomes for each learning area. It also details the type of teaching which brings out the best in students.88
There are two partner documents, the New Zealand Curriculum for English-medium teaching and learning and Te Marautanga o Aotearoa for Maori-medium teaching and learning. The New Zealand curriculum includes and explains:
- A vision for young people who are confident, connected, and actively involved lifelong learners.
- The principles that guided the curriculum's development: high expectations, Treaty of Waitangi, cultural diversity, inclusion, learning to learn, community engagement, coherence and future focus.
- The values to be developed and modelled through teaching and learning: excellence; innovation, enquiry, and curiosity; diversity; equity; community and participation; ecological sustainability; integrity and respect.
- The key competencies - the capabilities people need in order to live, learn, work and contribute as active members of their communities. They are: managing self; relating to others; participating and contributing; thinking; and using language, symbols and texts.
- The eight learning areas: social sciences; arts; technology; science; mathematics and statistics; health and physical education; English; and learning languages. The curriculum explains the rationale and structure of each of these learning areas.
In addition, the designing and planning sections provide guidance to schools on working with their communities to design and implement the curriculum to plan for clear learning objectives and to assess for learning. Schools are advised on how to incorporate significant themes such as sustainability, citizenship, enterprise, globalisation, and financial literacy into their teaching programmes.
Also included in the curriculum documentation is a section on effective pedagogy which outlines how teacher actions can promote student learning. This covers:
- Creating a supporting learning environment.
- Encouraging reflective thought and action.
- Enhancing the relevance of new learning.
- Facilitating shared learning.
- Making connections to prior learning and experience.
- Providing sufficient opportunities to learn.
- Teaching as inquiry.
Information on the previous curriculum arrangements is available in the Appendix to this Archive.
