Recommendations from the curriculum stocktake

The redevelopment of the New Zealand curriculum and te marautanga o Aotearoa is a result of the recommendations of the Curriculum Stocktake Report to Minister of Education, September 2002.

While this report found the structure of the current curriculum provided a sound framework for teaching and learning in New Zealand schools, it made a number of recommendations to revise the New Zealand Curriculum Framework Te Anga Marautanga o Aotearoa.

The recommended modifications to the current curriculum statements will build on the sound structure of the national curriculum. The suggested recommendations aim to improve the national curriculum so that it better supports teachers and schools to achieve the high expectations set by national curriculum policy.

The stocktake makes 11 recommendations on how the curriculum should be shaped to better meet the needs of diverse students (see executive summary of the Curriculum Stocktake Report for an overview of these recommendations).

In summary the stocktake recommends that:

• essential learning areas are reviewed and refined and outcomes are clarified
• the essential skills, attitudes, and values are revised and better integrated into the essential learning areas
• more opportunities are provided for students to learn another language in years 7–10
• there is a focus on supporting quality teaching and strengthening school ownership of curriculum
• material is developed for parents and communities so that they know what students are learning at school and why
• curriculum materials are developed to assist teachers to better meet the needs of diverse students
• the links between outcomes, pedagogy, and assessment are more explicit in curriculum materials and professional development programmes.

Back to Developing the draft curriculum – Background reading

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