Revise Curriculum Statements

Recommendation (10): that the curriculum statements and Ngä Tauäkï Marautanga Mö te Mötu are revised

If The New Zealand Curriculum Framework and Te Anga Marautanga O Aotearoa are gazetted, the legal status of the current curriculum statements and ngä tauäkï Marautanga mö te mötu should change to that of support materials.

Once modification of The New Zealand Curriculum Framework and Te Anga Marautanga O Aotearoa has been completed, the curriculum statements and ngä tauäkï Marautanga mö te mötu should be modified to include the new outcomes.

Each modified statements should include more specific information on effective pedagogy and assessment strategies for increasing achievement and social outcomes, and reducing disparity.

Rationale

The essential learning areas/ngä tino wähanga ako of the frameworks and their transformation into curriculum statements/ngä tauäkï Marautanga mö te motu fosters a `subject silo' approach which artificially compartmentalises and limits transference of knowledge.

Replacing the curriculum statements and ngä tauäkï Marautanga mö te motu with foundation policies could increase the emphasis of the curriculum on the connectedness of learning, and encourage schools to develop as holistic, connected learning communities.
The large number of achievement objectives increase teacher workload and reduce opportunities for creativity.

The broad and flexible nature of the achievement objectives do not currently help teachers to set priorities or determine the key messages of the statements.

A significant number of the achievement objectives do not represent progression of concepts, processes and functions.