This section contains information, records and links relating to the development and consultation phases of the New Zealand Curriculum Project between 2004 and 2007.
The NZ Curriculum (2007) is the result of one of the most comprehensive consultation processes undertaken by the Ministry of Education with more than 15,000 New Zealanders involved and more than 10,000 submissions received on the draft.
Prior to the comprehensive revision of the whole school curriculum in the 1990s, the curriculum was specified through more than a dozen syllabuses and guidelines. These were provided for subjects and in some cases aspects of subjects, such as handwriting. The documents were of different vintages (spanning 1961–1986), covered different year levels (forms 1–4, junior classes to form 2, and so on), and were written in different forms.
Following a public consultation on the curriculum in the mid 1980s (the Curriculum Review), the Department of Education began work on an overall framework for a revised school curriculum. However, the work did not proceed beyond a draft document (published 1988 as National Curriculum Statement: A Discussion Document for Primary and Secondary Schools [Draft]).
The reform of the administration of education in 1989 and the a change of government in 1990 sidelined the project.
Curriculum development resumed in 1991, at first under the Achievement Initiative policy and from 1993 under the umbrella of The New Zealand Curriculum Framework (Ministry of Education, 1993).
The total revision of the New Zealand school curriculum began in 1991 in both English and Māori.
New National Curriculum Statements progressively replaced old syllabuses from 1992. They were published initially in draft form for consultation and trialling, then published in final form, and gazetted for mandatory implementation in years 1–10.
In 1996 the development and implementation of new statements was paused in response to widespread concern across the school sector about the pace and scale of change. New timelines for the curriculum were announced in July 1997 introducing a transition period of at least two years between the publication of a final statement and its mandatory application.
Background, records, and references from all aspects of the development of the draft curriculum, published in 2007.
Nine thousand, one hundred and seventeen (9117) feedback questionnaires were received between August and November 2006. The questionnaires were processed by Colmar Brunton – 21 per cent were completed online. In addition, Colmar Brunton prepared a penetration and understanding report.
Two international critiques were carried out – one from the Australian Council of Educational Research and one from a UK consultancy firm.
Four New Zealand commentators read and synthesised all reports. They reported to the Curriculum Project Reference Group on 1–2 March.
One hundred and sixty-eight (168) "long" submissions (over three pages) were received. A number of writers have given permission to publish their long submissions on this site. Seven hundred and seventy four (774) short submissions were received. The long and short submissions were collated and analysed by Lift Education.
The Reference Group considered the feedback and reports from experts and commentators and made recommendations to the Ministry of Education. The Ministry developed a policy statement to guide the redrafting process.
Small groups, with experts as needed, reworked the draft curriculum in line with the Ministry’s policy brief.
The Ministry of Education received 168 long submissions (over three pages) in response to The New Zealand curriculum: Draft for consultation 2006. A number of writers kindly gave permission to publish their long submissions on this site, and these have been reproduced below as PDF files. The submissions are listed in order of when they were received.
Reports and analyses prepared for the Ministry of Education regarding the submissions received on The New Zealand curriculum: Draft for consultation 2006.
The questionnaires were processed by Colmar Brunton – 21 per cent were completed online. In addition, Colmar Brunton prepared a penetration and understanding report.
Colmar Brunton. (2006).
The draft New Zealand curriculum – penetration & understanding (PowerPoint, 5 MB)
. [PowerPoint presentation] Presentation prepared for the Ministry of Education’s New Zealand Curriculum Marautanga Project.
Colmar Brunton. (2007).
The draft New Zealand curriculum – feedback questionnaire results (PowerPoint, 5 MB)
. [PowerPoint presentation] Presentation prepared for the Ministry of Education’s New Zealand Curriculum Marautanga Project.
The long and short submissions were collated and analysed by Lift Education.
Watson, S., Bowen, E., Tao, L. & Earle, K. (2006a).
The New Zealand curriculum draft for consultation 2006: Analysis of long submissions – Draft supplementary report (PDF, 645 KB)
. Wellington, NZ: Lift Education. Paper prepared for the Ministry of Education’s New Zealand Curriculum Marautanga Project.
Watson, S., Bowen, E., Tao, L. & Earle, K. (2006b).
The New Zealand curriculum draft for consultation 2006: Analysis of long submissions – Report (PDF, 1 MB)
. Wellington, NZ: Lift Education. Paper prepared for the Ministry of Education’s New Zealand Curriculum Marautanga Project.
Ferguson, S. (2007).
Commentary on the New Zealand curriculum draft for consultation 2006 (PDF, 84 KB)
Australia: Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER). Paper prepared for the Ministry of Education’s New Zealand Curriculum Marautanga Project.
Le Métais, J. (2007).
Critique of the New Zealand curriculum: Draft for consultation 2006 (PDF, 518 KB)
. Berkshire, UK: Le Métais Consulting. Paper prepared for the Ministry of Education’s New Zealand Curriculum Marautanga Project.
Four New Zealand commentators read and synthesised all reports. They reported to the Curriculum Project Reference Group on 1–2 March.
Aitken, G. (2007).
Commentary for MoE Reference Group Meeting, 1–2 March 2007 on reports analysing submissions to the New Zealand curriculum draft for consultation, 2006 (PDF, 55 KB)
. Auckland: University of Auckland. Paper prepared for the Ministry of Education’s New Zealand Curriculum Marautanga Project.
Doig, C. (2007).
The New Zealand curriculum: Draft for consultation 2006 – Impact of the feedback on the final curriculum (PDF, 522 KB)
. Paper prepared for the Ministry of Education’s New Zealand Curriculum Marautanga Project.
Flockton, L. (2007).
Consideration of submissions and questionnaire responses on the draft New Zealand curriculum (PDF, 387 KB)
. Dunedin: University of Otago. Paper prepared for the Ministry of Education’s New Zealand Curriculum Marautanga Project.
Patara, L. (2007).
Report to Ministry of Education on draft New Zealand curriculum 2006 (PDF, 95 KB)
. Paper prepared for the Ministry of Education’s New Zealand Curriculum Marautanga Project.
| 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2008-2009 |
| July / August Draft New Zealand Curriculum (English medium) published for consultation and feedback. (Feedback must be returned by 30 November 2006.) | Draft Te Marautanga o Aotearoa published. | Final Te Marautanga o Aotearoa published. | Implementation of the two partnership documents: the New Zealand Curriculum and Te Marautanga o Aotearoa. |
| September / October Independent survey carried out to gauge penetration and understanding. | September Proposed release of the revised New Zealand curriculum. | ||
| September / October / November Independent focus groups. | |||
| 30 November All feedback and consultation completed. |
A review of the Māori curriculum occurred in parallel with the New Zealand curriculum review.
Submissions were made via Te rēhita mō Te Kaupapa Marautanga o Aotearoa where people could contribute to the bilingual discussions relating to Te Kaupapa Marautanga o Aotearoa (TKMoA) project.
The curriculum facilitators and their teams worked on refining the essence statements and whainga paete (learning outcomes) for their respective areas. These were collated and then critiqued to ensure clarity and consistency. The drafting process was near completion by the end of 2006 in preparation for publication in 2007.
The published curriculum is accessed online from Te Marautanga o Aotearoa
Published on: 29 Apr 2021
