Attitudes and values
Te Whāriki sets out principles, strands, and goals that are appropriate for the early childhood years. The attitudes and values of The New Zealand Curriculum Framework will be reflected in classrooms with NZSL programmes. Learners of NZSL will develop and clarify their own values and beliefs and will respect and be sensitive to the rights of people who may hold values and attitudes that are different from their own. Learners will explore personal as well as collective attitudes, which will help them, as individuals, to develop positive attitudes towards learning as a lifelong process. As they locate themselves amongst the wider community (including Deaf communities overseas), learners will examine the context and implications of their own attitudes, of New Zealand’s social system, and of the values on which different social structures are based.
Through learning NZSL, learners will develop an understanding of:
- Deaf culture and the attitudes and values of the Deaf community, which include:
- Deaf behaviour
- technologies used by Deaf people
- the importance of eye contact
- the “long goodbye”
- the value of working with an interpreter and the importance of knowing how to work with an interpreter
- the fact that the Deaf and hearing worlds are different
- the value of Deaf clubs and of Deaf history, sport, and community
- the extent and value of Deaf arts, including drama, poetry, dance, and the visual arts
- storytelling in NZSL
- the Deaf way of life.