NZ history to be taught in all schools
Rt Hon Jacinda Ardern
Prime
Minister
Hon Chris
Hipkins
Minister of
Education
12 September, 2019
Embargoed until 7.30am PĀNUI
PĀPĀHO
MEDIA
STATEMENT
New Zealand history will be taught
in all schools and kura by 2022, Prime Minister Jacinda
Ardern and Education Minister Chris Hipkins announced
today.
“This Government is committed to a better New Zealand that we can all be proud of and which recognises the value of every New Zealander,” Jacinda Ardern said.
“We have listened carefully to the growing calls from New Zealanders to know more about our own history and identity. With this in mind it makes sense for the National Curriculum to make clear the expectation that our history is part of the local curriculum and marau ā kura in every school and kura,” Jacinda Ardern said.
The National Curriculum currently enables schools and kura to decide how New Zealand history is covered, but variation in delivery means too much is left to chance in the teaching and learning of New Zealand history, Jacinda Ardern said
“The curriculum changes we are making will reset a national framework so all learners and ākonga are aware of key aspects of New Zealand history and how they have influenced and shaped the nation.”
They will span the full range of New Zealanders’ experiences and are expected to include:
• The Arrival of
Māori to Aotearoa New Zealand
• First
encounters and early colonial history of Aotearoa New
Zealand
• Te Tiriti o Waitangi / Treaty of
Waitangi and its history
• Colonisation of, and
immigration to, Aotearoa New Zealand, including the
New
Zealand Wars
• Evolving national
identity of Aotearoa New Zealand in the late 19th and
early
20th Centuries
• Aotearoa New
Zealand’s role in the Pacific
• Aotearoa New
Zealand in the late 20th century and evolution of a
national
identity with cultural plurality
Chris Hipkins said it is important for learners and ākonga to understand New Zealand history as a continuous thread, with contemporary issues directly linked to major events of the past.
“Our diversity is our strength, but only when we build connections to each other. We can move forward together, stronger when we understand the many paths our ancestors walked to bring us to today.”
The Ministry of Education will work collaboratively to develop a New Zealand history update, Chris Hipkins said.
“The Ministry will call on historical and curriculum experts, iwi and mana whenua, Pacific communities, students and ākonga, parents and whānau, and other groups with a strong interest in shaping how New Zealand history is taught.
“Once the updates to the curriculum are known, existing supports will be reviewed and an implementation package with teaching and learning resources will be developed ready for the 2022 school year.”
The package will allow schools and kura to include the new content and learning expectations in their local curriculum, working in partnership with their local communities and mana whenua.
Q and
A
When will the
changes be introduced?
The curriculum changes
will come into effect in 2022. They will be gazetted during
2020 in order to give schools and kura time to prepare to
implement them.
What year levels will be
supported?
The changes will cover the entire
breadth of the national curriculum. This means we would
expect New Zealand’s histories to be taught as part of the
local curriculum and marau a kura throughout the compulsory
curriculum.
The changes will include setting specific achievement objectives at each level of the curriculum that clarify the themes, events and perspectives that should be explicitly included in local curriculum and marau ā kura.
Learning areas, including Social Sciences and Tikanga-ā-iwi, are compulsory from years 1-10. From year 11 schools can choose which subjects their students are required to take.
Will this
mean New Zealand’s histories will become a compulsory
subject?
We will expect New Zealand’s
histories to be taught as part of the local curriculum and
marau a kura at every level of the compulsory
curriculum.
Will New Zealand’s histories
be included in NCEA?
Yes. The curriculum changes
and NCEA change package will provide opportunities for New
Zealand histories.
How much will this
cost?
Initial work to be done in the 2019/2020
financial year will be funded through Ministry of Education
baselines. This means that there is no initial additional
funding required at this stage.
What effect
will this have on the rest of the
curriculum?
The curriculum is being updated to
make explicit the expectation that New Zealand’s histories
are taught as part of the local curriculum and marau ā kura
in every school. No other parts of the curriculum will be
altered through this change.
Who will be
involved?
The Ministry of Education will work
collaboratively with historical and curriculum experts, iwi
and mana whenua, Pacific communities, the sector, students
and ākonga, parents and whānau, and other groups with a
strong interest in shaping how New Zealand’s histories is
taught.
What will happen if a school decides
not to teach the New Zealand history
curriculum?
The curriculum changes will come
into effect in 2022. They will be gazetted during 2020 in
order to give schools and kura time to prepare to implement
them.
The Ministry will review and adjust supports to help schools meet this expectation, so that a lack of knowledge or capability does not stop schools and teachers using the curriculum.
ERO reviews look at how schools reach positive learning outcomes – knowledge, skills, attitude and habits – for all children and young people. Their indicators include that students learn, achieve and progress in the breadth and depth of The New Zealand Curriculum and/or Te Marautanga o Aotearoa. Making expectations for New Zealand histories explicit within The New Zealand Curriculum and/or Te Marautanga o Aotearoa will support ERO to identify whether schools need to make improvements in this area.
What will be
taught at each year level under the changes and how is it
different from the status quo?
It is too early
to say what will be taught at each level. Details of what
will be taught and when will form part of the Ministry of
Education’s discussions with stakeholders, including
historical and curriculum experts, iwi and mana whenua,
Pacific communities, the sector, students and ākonga,
parents and whānau, and other groups with a strong interest
in shaping how New Zealand’s histories are taught.
This will reset a national framework that ensures all
learners and ākonga are aware of key aspects of New
Zealand’s histories, and the ways it has influenced and
shaped our nation.
This will include setting specific
achievement objectives at each level of the curriculum that
clarify the themes, events and perspectives that should be
explicitly included in local curriculum and marau ā
kura.
What happens next?
The
first step is to collaboratively develop a New Zealand’s
histories update to the National Curriculum with historical
and curriculum experts, iwi and mana whenua, Pacific
communities, the sector, students, parents and whānau, and
other groups with a strong interest in shaping how New
Zealand’s histories are taught.
Once the content for the updates is known, existing supports will be reviewed and an implementation package will be developed that will enable all schools and kura to include the new content and learning expectations in their local curriculum and marau ā kura, working in partnership with their local communities and mana whenua.
ends