The New Zealand Curriculum Framework

Foreword

I commend this important document as the foundation for learning programmes in New Zealand schools for the 1990s and beyond.

New Zealand has reason to be proud of its education system. We were among the first countries in the world to provide a state-funded education for all our children. A national curriculum, which has served most of our children and our country well, has been a strong feature of this system. However, the curriculum as a whole has not undergone substantial overhaul since the 1940s Thomas reforms for secondary schooling.

Today, New Zealand faces many significant challenges. If we wish to progress as a nation, and to enjoy a healthy prosperity in today's and tomorrow's competitive world economy, our education system must adapt to meet these challenges. We need a learning environment which enables all our students to attain high standards and develop appropriate personal qualities. As we move towards the twenty-first century, with all the rapid technological change which is taking place, we need a work-force which is increasingly highly skilled and adaptable, and which has an international and multicultural perspective.

To address these challenges, the Government has initiated several educational policies. The New Zealand Curriculum Framework sets out the foundation policy for learning and assessment in schools. It is linked closely to the Achievement Initiative. It brings together the best of our past curriculum experience, recommendations of the major reviews of education in recent years, submissions from schools, boards of trustees, and the public, and the views of business and enterprise. It provides a balance between the interests of individual students and the requirements of society and the economy.

The New Zealand Curriculum provides a coherent framework for learning and assessment in New Zealand schools. It establishes the principles which give direction to all teaching and learning. It identifies the essential learning areas and skills, and defines the national achievement aims and objectives for all students in terms that are understandable to them, their parents, and the wider community, as well as to teachers. It sets in place effective assessment procedures, which link assessment more closely to the curriculum. It promotes new emphases in learning areas which are important to the country's health and growth, such as technology, second language learning, te reo and nga tikanga Māori, and studies of New Zealand and those regions important to New Zealand, such as Asia and the Pacific. It is a gender-inclusive curriculum, which acknowledges and includes the educational needs and experiences of girls equally with those of boys, both in its content, and in the language, methods, approaches, and practices of teaching. It acknowledges also the value of the Treaty of Waitangi, and of New Zealand's bicultural identity and multicultural society. And it allows schools the freedom to develop programmes which are appropriate to the needs of their students.
I recognise that if these significant developments are to be effectively implemented, teachers and trustees must feel a sense of ownership and must be given adequate support. This will include resources and professional development opportunities for teachers, and guidelines for school organisation and management. Developments will involve wide consultation.

I wish to record my deep appreciation to the many people who have contributed to the development of this document. I believe it will provide a basis for successful and exciting learning experiences for all students. I am confident that educators will respond positively to the challenges it sets, and that it will be welcomed by students, parents, and the wider community. With its successful implementation in the schools of New Zealand, I believe we can look forward to the challenges of the twenty-first century with confidence.

Dr Maris O'Rourke
Secretary for Education
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Foreword | National Curriculum | The Principles | Essential Learning Areas |

The Essential Skills |Attitudes and Values | National Curriculum Statements | Context

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