Section Four: Recommendations

Recommendation 1: That The New Zealand Curriculum Framework and Te Anga Marautanga o Aotearoa are Redeveloped and gazetted as foundation policy statements

The New Zealand Curriculum Framework and Te Anga Marautanga o Aotearoa should be modified, and mandated as overarching foundation policies, as provided for by the Education Act. Kura Mäori and schools should be authorised to use either policy or a combination of both. A process of consultation and trialing should be undertaken.

As most Mäori students are in schools that use The New Zealand Curriculum Framework and curriculum statements (in English), the underlying philosophy of both frameworks should reflect their status as tangata whenua and expectations of `best outcomes' for all students. The frameworks should be similar in structure and coherent with each other, but not necessarily translations. Considerations should be given to whether a bilingual version of Te Anga Marautanga o Aotearoa should be developed for kura Mäori.

The modified versions of the frameworks should be similar in structure to the existing frameworks. They should include sections on the principles/ngä mätäpono, essential skills/ngä tino pükenga, attitudes and values/ngä waiaro me ngä uara, essential learning areas/ngä tino wähanga ako, assessment/te aro matawai and context/te horopaki.

In addition, there should be a clear statement of the purposes of the New Zealand curriculum and ngä marautanga o Aotearoa. These purposes are to clarify expectations for all New Zealand students and to develop the human capability necessary for a prosperous and inclusive New Zealand society.

A section on effective pedagogy should also be included. This section should explain the nature of the pedagogies that have been linked by research to increased achievement and social outcomes and to reduction in disparities.

Furthermore, there should be a section on the relationship between the New Zealand curriculum/ngä marautanga o Aotearoa and Te Whäriki.

There should be subsequent policy work to develop a section on the relationship between the New Zealand curriculum and ngä marautanga o Aotearoa and qualifications and work should be developed for inclusion in subsequent revisions of the frameworks after the full implementation of NCEA.

Cross-disciplinary teams should be involved in the revision of The New Zealand Curriculum Framework and Te Anga Marautanga o Aotearoa. These teams should include those with expertise in the essential learning areas, essential skills, attitudes and values and assessment, as well as those with expertise in ngä wähanga ako, ngä tino pükenga, ngä waiaro me ngä uara and te aro matawai. Consultation with representative groups from different sectors of New Zealand society, including parents/whänau, members of Mäori and Pasifika communities and business should occur.

Recommendation 2: That a section on the purposes of the New Zealand curriculum and te marautanga o Aotearoa is Developed

The New Zealand Curriculum Framework and Te Anga Marautanga o Aotearoa should include clear statements about the purposes of the New Zealand curriculum and ngä marautanga o Aotearoa. These purposes are to clarify expectations for all New Zealand students and contribute to developing the human capability necessary for a prosperous and inclusive New Zealand society.

Rationale

Curricula help schools/kura to address issues of cultural relevance, indigeneity and to address disparity, such as that due to social class.

Curricula help develop a creative and innovative citizenry, developing life-long learners and safeguarding and promoting social cohesion.

Curricula that reflect current learning theory are flexible, inclusive and recognise that student learning progresses in the socio-ecological context of the classroom environment.

The outcomes of the curriculum can be expressed as both aspirations that reflect higher level thinking, and expectations of what students should learn at different levels.

Recommendation 3: That the principles/ngä mätäpono in the New Zealand Curriculum Framework and Te Anga marautanga o Aotearoa are Revised

The principles and ngä mätäpono should be modified, so that both focus on student outcomes and relate to the purposes of the national curricula defined in the stocktake.

Suggested changes to principles/ngä mätäpono of the national curricula so that they relate to the purposes are listed in the table below.

Review groups should use the principles/ngä mätäpono suggested in meetings and submissions to develop rationale and guidance statements to support the suggested principles.

Recommendation 4: Revision of the essential skills/ngä tino pükenga and attitudes and values/ngä waiaro me ngä uara in the New Zealand Curriculum Framework and Te Anga marautanga o Aotearoa

The essential skills/ngä tino pükenga should be modified from the current organisation of fifty-seven essential skills/ngä tino pükenga in eight groupings to five groups of essential skills and attitudes to be consistent with Te Whäriki.

Incorporation of values should be more explicit in the frameworks and support materials, but values should not be presented as an exclusive list.

It should be obligatory that the essential skills, attitudes and values of The New Zealand Curriculum Framework and Te Anga Marautanga o Aotearoa are reflected in programmes of learning in all New Zealand schools.

Teams of cross-disciplinary specialists and different members of the community should determine the nature of the values in the revised frameworks. The revised values should link to the purposes, essential skills and attitudes and higher order thinking in the essential learning areas of the New Zealand curriculum and ngä marautanga o Aotearoa.

There needs to be further consultation within the Ministry on the titles of five groupings of skills, but:

• the essential skills/ngä tino pükenga need to include attitudes;
• there should be three dimensions of these skills and attitudes - the capability to use skills, discernment in use, and willingness to use skills; and
• the groups should relate to creative and innovative thinking, participation and contribution in communities, relating to others, reflecting on learning, and developing self-knowledge, and making meaning from information.

Rationale

Reducing of the number of essential skills/ngä tino pükenga ako may give a clearer sense of priorities.

The skills stated as needed for participation in a knowledge society, life long learning and by employers fall into the following categories: critical thinking[1] and creative thinking skills[2];

local and global citizenship skills; interpersonal skills and intrapersonal skills; and literacy.

A common argument in current literature is that skills should be embedded in domain specific knowledge and not taught in isolation.

Literature also suggests that skills require: students to use a skill; be discerning about how and when to use a skill; and willing to use the skill and apply a skill in a variety of contexts.

Many of the existing essential skills/ngä tino pükenga ako could be incorporated within these groupings. While other skills can be incorporated into school curricula, these skills and attitudes could be the priorities for all New Zealand students.

There are similarities between these skills and the strands of Te Whäriki -mana atua/wellbeing, mana whenua/belonging, mana tangata/contribution, mana reo/communication and mana aotüroa/exploration.

Attitudes and values/ngä waiaro me ngä uara have the potential to aid the effectiveness of the curriculum by strengthening social cohesion, developing a stronger sense of civics, citizenship and more enterprising attitudes, and fostering a culture of innovation, respect for others and critical thinking.

Sector feedback has criticised the curriculum statements (except for Health and Physical Education) for giving insufficient attention to values and not providing clear expectations of what schools should do to promote and support community values.

PISA (2000) data indicates that changes to the psychosocial environment of classrooms are likely to affect student achievement in New Zealand.

Literature on the education of gifted and talented students highlights the importance of values and affective components in differentiated curricula for these students.

Current international thinking favours an eclectic approach to values education.

Webster (2001) found differences in the values between different ethnic groups in New Zealand.

Recommendation 5: That the essential learning areas/ngä wähanga ako in the New Zealand Curriculum Framework and Te Anga Marautanga o Aotearoa are Revised

This recommendation aims to address some of the concerns about the curriculum/marautanga manageability, crowdedness, and a need to prioritise learning in the national curricula.

The essential learning areas/ngä wähanga ako of the frameworks should include the outcomes (aims and achievement objectives) from the curriculum statements/ngä tauäkï marautanga. Specialist cross-disciplinary teams should audit the outcomes against the purposes of the curricula and against the future-focused curriculum themes of:

• social cohesion (including developing resilience and a sense of social connectedness);
• citizenship (local, national, and global);
• education for a sustainable future (including sustainable development and environmental sustainability);
• bicultural and multicultural awareness;
• enterprise and innovation; and
• critical literacy (including digital literacy).

The outcomes of the revised frameworks should contain the knowledge and skills that are critical for all students in New Zealand. The broad and flexible nature of the achievement objectives should be maintained.

Level one and two outcomes should emphasise foundation learning for each of the learning areas, particularly the development of literacy and numeracy skills. To ensure a focus on foundation learning and indicate priorities, there should be fewer strands and achievement objectives at levels one and two.

In the sections of the Frameworks on the essential learning areas and ngä tino wähanga ako there should be guidance statements that explain that the essential learning areas do not have to be taught as distinct subjects. This section should make explicit:

• that the outcomes of each essential learning areas inter-relate;
• that learning should be holistic; and
• the value of developing connections between the outcomes within and across essential learning areas/ngä tino wähanga ako.

The eight level and strand structures are useful for organising and clarifying expectations of learning. They are not intended to specify a one-size fits all learning progression. Although the rationale for and the number of levels has been questioned there are significant risks associated with changing the number of levels. This structure should be maintained, but the number of strands and objectives specified at each level should be reviewed.

New outcomes should only be developed where it is deemed necessary to make the curricula more efficient at fulfilling their purposes and to strengthen the emphasis on the future-focused curriculum themes. Overlap between the essential learning areas/ngä wähanga ako should be identified to avoid unnecessary duplication. Where overlap is necessary for transfer of knowledge, the links should be made explicit.

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.

The large number of achievement objectives has increased teacher workload and reduced 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.

The outcomes of national curriculum need to recognise that students develop at different rates and that student's learning may be asynchronous.

A significant number of the achievement objectives need to be rewritten, as they do not always represent progression of concepts, processes and functions.

The outcomes of national curricula need to recognise the diverse nature of New Zealand students.

The outcomes need to be flexible enough so that schools can use them to develop their own curricula.

A focus on critical foundation learning at earlier levels is helpful for students with special education needs. Students for whom English is a Second Language also need a sound base of literacy on which to apply their prior knowledge in their first language.

The essential learning area Language and Languages/Te Körero me ngä Reo should be two separate learning areas - English/Te Reo Mäori and Languages. Additional Languages include foreign, community and heritage languages and second language learning in English and in te reo Maori.

Schools should be required to provide instruction in another language for students in years 7 to 10 (except for Mäori immersion settings), but it should not be mandatory for all year 7-10 students to learn another language.

Generic outcomes for Languages should be developed and included in the revised New Zealand Curriculum Framework and Te Anga Marautanga o Aotearoa.

Rationale

Learning languages is key to students developing greater understanding of the cultures of others.

Relative to other countries, New Zealand has very low levels of language learning.

Language education helps to foster bicultural and multicultural awareness.

The teaching of languages supports literacy in English and forms part of a broad general education for all students.

There is general agreement amongst the New Zealand languages community that years 7-10 are the most appropriate years for any significant investment in languages teaching.

The section on ngä tino wähanga ako should ensure that language and layout is consistent between statements.

Rationale

While the concept of ngä marautanga o Aotearoa is philosophically sound, teachers find ngä tauäkï marautanga o Aotearoa difficult to use.

The objectives are too broad to be easily understood, they use difficult and inconsistent vocabulary, and there are inconsistencies between the layout and terminology of the statements.

Recommendation 6: That the section on assessment in New Zealand Curriculum Framework and Te Anga Marautanga o Aotearoa is Revised

The New Zealand curriculum and ngä marautanga o Aotearoa do not provide enough guidance on assessment. The commencement of the National Assessment Strategy since the publication of The New Zealand Curriculum Framework and Te Anga Marautanga o Aotearoa his addressing the lack of material about effective assessment practice. Information about `good practice' from this strategy will need to be incorporated into the reviewed frameworks.

Rationale

Effective teaching practice is complex and involves dynamic relationships between curriculum, pedagogy and assessment. All of these components are integrated as teachers respond to the individual learning needs of students.

Teachers reported the following as strengths: curriculum policy is linked to assessment policy; assessment focuses on learning goals; and the curriculum emphasises the needs of learners who are having difficulty.

There is concern that about the clarity of assessment information provided by the curriculum and ngä tauäkï marautanga mö te motu. The international commentaries state that the achievement objectives are not expressed in terms of measurable outcomes.

Recommendation 7: That a section on the relationship Between the New Zealand curriculum/te marautanga o Aotearoa and Te Whäriki is Developed

The New Zealand Curriculum Framework and Te Anga Marautanga o Aotearoa should include a section for primary schools on how to ensure a smooth transition between early childhood education for new entrants. This section should:

• outline the similarities and differences between the school curriculum frameworks and the early childhood curriculum;
• explain features of effective early childhood learning environments and ways that reception classroom learning environments can also reflect these features; and
• explain how schools and kura Mäori can develop closer relationships with parents/whänau, whänau and the community in the first two years of students' education.

Rationale

Smooth transitions between early childhood and school minimise the barriers to learning faced by young children.

Disjunction in approaches to teaching and learning hinder a child's ongoing development and reduce gains made in early childhood education.

If children's early primary school experiences interface appropriately with their early childhood experiences, they are likely to be confident that can participate fully and successfully in all learning opportunities.

Recommendation 8: That further policy on the senior secondary school curriculum is undertaken

Further work on the issues that the curriculum poses for secondary schools needs to be undertaken.

The present curriculum frameworks do not provide sufficient guidance on how the curriculum relates to post secondary pathways, and these need to be investigated.

Further work on the links between the senior secondary school and work and tertiary study need to be undertaken once the NCEA has been fully implemented.

A section on the transition to the senior school, qualifications and work should be included in subsequent revisions of The New Zealand Curriculum Framework and Te Anga Marautanga o Aotearoa after the full implementation of NCEA.

Recommendation 9: That Curriculum guidance materials for parents/whänau and members of the community and business are Developed

Publications explaining The New Zealand Curriculum Framework and Te Anga Marautanga o Aotearoa should be developed for parents/whänau, community organisations and business.

The parent publications should explain:

• the reasons for, and purposes of, national curricula;
• the obligations of schools in regard to curricula;
• the different elements of learning expressed in the curriculum - essential skills/ngä tino pükenga, attitudes and values/ngä waiaro me ngä uara, essential learning areas/ngä tino wähanga ako;
• the continuum of learning from years 1 to 10 through illustrations of student work exemplifying what they can expect their children to achieve at different levels of the curriculum;
• how parents/whänau can effectively participate in their child's learning;
• how parents/whänau can assist their children to transfer their knowledge from school to the world outside of the classroom; and
• what is currently known about learning, for example, the importance of literacy, numeracy and early childhood oral language development.

The content of the community and business publications should resemble the parent publications, in that they also explain:

• the reasons for, and purposes of national curricula;
• the different elements of learning expressed in the curriculum - essential skills/ngä tino pükenga, attitudes and values/ngä waiaro me ngä uara, essential learning areas/ngä tino wähanga ako;
• reasonable expectations of what students should know and be able to do towards the end of schooling;
• information on the National Certificate of Educational Achievement; and
• information on how school-business partnerships can be developed through mentoring, field trips and guest speakers.

Rationale

Parents/whänau, members of the community and business are all key stakeholders of the education system.

Parent involvement is linked to improved student outcomes.

There is a lack of knowledge in the general community of the scope and expectations of the New Zealand curriculum and ngä marautanga o Aotearoa. Providing better access of knowledge about the curriculum for key stakeholders could develop this sense of connectedness.

Providing better access to curriculum knowledge for members of the community and business may improve the effectiveness of schooling through active citizen participation and a more connected community.

Providing better access to curriculum knowledge for parents/whänau has the potential to increase the expectations parents/whänau have for their children and to focus these expectations on educationally significant learning.

If students are to transfer their learning to the real world, parents/whänau and members of the community have a fundamental role in assisting this transfer.

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.

Recommendation 11: That further guidance materials and professional development for teachers is provided

Support materials and professional development that develops teachers' understanding of the content knowledge underpinning each of the curriculum statements and ngä tauäkï marautanga mö te motu should be provided.

In addition, high quality professional development and materials should be developed for teachers which:

• updates teachers' knowledge of content in all of the essential learning areas and ngä tino wähanga ako; and
• provides information on effective pedagogies, such as the most effective strategies for integrating curricula, and how teachers can better recognise and cater for diversity in all of the essential learning areas and ngä tino wähanga ako.

There is a case for having bilingual versions of ngä tauäkï marautanga mö te motu for schools who do not have the benefit of a staff member fluent in the specialised language of all of ngä tauäkï marautanga mö te motu.

Professional development and materials for kura Mäori should reflect Mäori aspirations for education and be cognisant of the difficulties of working in Mäori medium education. More resources for children and teachers should continue to be developed. Consideration should be given to whether bilingual versions of guidance materials should be developed for kura Mäori and Mäori immersion teachers.

Rationale

A significant number of teachers believe that they need more content knowledge to teach from the curriculum statements and ngä tauäkï marautanga mö te motu.

Most teachers still feel that they need more professional development about all of the curriculum statements and ngä tauäkï marautanga mö te motu.

There are significant problems with materials and professional development to support the implementation of ngä tauäkï marautanga mö te motu.

There are too many small, unlinked initiatives, and professional development and resource development initiatives in kura Mäori need to be aligned.

A lack of resources for ngä tauäkï marautanga mö te motu has placed pressure on experienced and fluent teachers of te reo, as well as new teachers with limited language capability.

Available Mäori medium resources are also not effectively utilised. There are also particular curriculum issues for bilingual units and for students shifting between Mäori medium and English medium instruction.