Key competencies archive

March 2006 | October 2005 | September 2005 | August 2005 | July 2005 | June 2005 | May 2005 | April 2005 | March 2005

Update posted March 2006

The Key Competency Exploratory Studies

The Ministry of Education has contracted four school clusters in different parts of the country to investigate what the implementation of key competencies might mean for teaching, learning and school leadership in a range of school settings.

Twenty-seven schools and around 300 teachers will be involved in the project. Teachers in each school will explore different aspects of the key competencies. These include:

• the implications of key competencies for pre-service teacher education
• the implications for junior class teachers and the links with early childhood
• school leadership and how school principals can assist each other in the process of curriculum leadership
• the transition from primary to secondary schools and the implementation of key competencies in secondary school settings.

Researchers will work with the teachers to capture stories about their practical experiences using the key competencies. These will be published later in the project.

Update posted October 2005

Project audits

The emerging curriculum is currently undergoing various audits. Some of these audits are to ensure that the following future-focused themes are apparent:

• social cohesion
• citizenship
• education for a sustainable future
• multicultural and bicultural awareness
• enterprise and innovation
• critical literacy.

Other audits are concentrating on diversity, Māori in the mainstream, ESOL (English for speakers of other languages), financial literacy, and special education.

A draft curriculum will be published in 2006 for feedback and trialling.

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Update posted September 2005

What's emerging

The writing group has re-drafted the statement on key competencies (see above) for the New Zealand Curriculum. The group has considered the original work of the OECD DeSeCo project, along with position papers and comments provided from various interest groups and feedback from school consultation in March 2005 (Word, 35 KB) .

The emerging curriculum is currently undergoing various audits to identify cross-disciplinary connections, and to ensure that the following future-focused themes are apparent:

• social cohesion
• citizenship
• education for a sustainable future
• multicultural and bicultural awareness
• enterprise and innovation
• critical literacy.

A recent report (August 2005) on qualitative research exploring teachers' and parents' perceptions and understanding of the draft statement of key competencies in the New Zealand curriculum included the following conclusions:

• Teachers and parents understand the concept of key competencies to be an underpinning philosophy for day-to-day learning, and for the development of overarching school charters and culture.
• Teachers and parents support the ideas and concepts behind the key competencies statement as values that they can recognise and identify with as having value and importance.
• Teachers and parents believe that key competencies are already implemented into everyday teaching and learning, and teachers can provide examples of this implementation. In this regard, the draft statement is perceived as a 're-stating' and 're-focusing' of current practice, rather than as a new initiative.
• Parent and community involvement needs to be enhanced and valued. For example, people perceive the competencies of 'belonging', 'relating to others', and 'managing self' as joint responsibilities of parents, schools, and communities.
• The most effective communication with parents will be through school newsletters and/or parent evenings. These can be used to explain what key competencies are, why their importance is being highlighted, and what they mean for teaching and learning.
• Teachers' engagement with the concept and (further) implementation of key competencies will be led by school management, principals, and school heads of department.

What's coming up

Focus groups of teachers and parents have provided feedback on the draft statement. This feedback will be added to continuing cross-curricular audits looking for consistency in themes and approaches to teaching and learning across the draft curriculum.

Update posted August 2005

New background reading

A paper Key competencies and the arts in the New Zealand curriculum (Word, 89 KB) has just been completed and circulated.

Update posted July 2005

New background reading

Proposed key competencies and health and physical education in the New Zealand curriculum (Word, 154 KB)
 Paper prepared by Lisette Burrows, for the Ministry of Education, June 2005.

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Update posted June 2005

What's emerging

The writing group has drafted a revised statement on key competencies (Word, 42 KB) for the New Zealand curriculum. The group has considered the original work of the OECD DeSeCo project, along with position papers and comments provided from various interest groups, and feedback from school consultation.

What's coming up

An advisory group consisting of cross-curricular and cross-sector representatives has met with the writers to provide feedback. The next draft from the writing group is due to be presented to the Curriculum Project Reference group in late July.

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Update posted May 2005

Online discussions

A new site has been developed, Curriculum Project Online, to provide information and a feedback facility about the key competencies. It also houses archives of the online discussions about the key competencies that took place in 2004.

What's emerging

Responses to the consultation paper sent to New Zealand schools in March 2005 overwhelmingly supported the proposed changes to replace the current lists of essential skills and attitudes with five overarching and interconnected key competencies.

In addition most respondents felt that their community's vision and goals were reflected by the key competencies.

Reasons for satisfaction with proposed key competencies:

• will lead to teaching and learning that is less focused on specific content matter, and more on learning skills and processes that will be relevant for life
• language is concise, relevant, useful to report on
• promote higher order, better quality teaching of thinking skills
• provide the freedom for schools to be innovative in delivering the curriculum
• focus on the students as independent, self-directed learners.

Challenges included:

• articulating the key competencies as learning outcomes, and to assess them
• integrating and coordinating the key competencies across the curriculum
• providing thee necessary teacher professional development and resources for implementation.

Aspects identified as missing included:

• lack of emphases on competition and excellence
• physical skills and movement
• spiritual dimension
• lack of emphasis on learning essential knowledge and content, in particular literacy and numeracy.

Areas mentioned in statements of disapproval included:

• impractical, theory driven
• dislike of word competencies
• do not meet the requirements of a rigorous educational environment
• change for change sake.

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Update posted April 2005

Key Competencies: The New Zealand Curriculum/Marautanga Project issue 2, March 2005 (PDF, 248 KB) has been sent to all schools. This document outlines the proposed key competencies and invites schools to engage in discussions and contribute to the development of key competencies.

Update posted March 2005

Feedback form

Download a feedback form on the proposed key competencies (Word, 81 KB) and return it as an attachment to [email protected], or send it freepost to:

Key Competencies Response
 Freepost 192041
 PO Box 17727
 Sumner
 Christchurch

The initial round of closed feedback is 20 April 2005, but feedback received after this date will still be considered.

From essential skills to key competencies

The Curriculum Stocktake Report recommended five sets of skills and attitudes. More work has been carried out on the skills and attitudes since the publication of the Curriculum Stocktake Report. As a result of consultation, feedback about the proposed skills and attitudes, publication of a critique of key competencies by the OECD, and ongoing Ministry of Education work around key competencies, five key competencies have been proposed.

What key competencies are suggested?

Five overarching and interconnected key competences are proposed:

• Thinking is about all kinds of thinking in all kinds of contexts. It includes creative, critical and logical thinking, and the ability to think about thinking – as well as self-awareness, reflection, and judgment.
• Making meaning is about discovering meaning in ideas – represented as they may be in any of their countless forms. It is about interpreting cues and clues; about getting below the surface, about wanting to get to the bottom of things.
• Relating to others is about the knowledge, skills, values, and attitudes needed for living, working, and playing with others. It includes the ability and inclination to take a variety of roles in group situations – for example, leadership, conflict resolution, and negotiation – and demonstrating consideration for others.
• Managing self is about making good decisions for oneself whilst recognising that we are part of a wider, interdependent, social context. It is about the inner independence that comes from being given manageable amounts of responsibility and choice. 'Managing self' includes the ability to make plans, set goals, and estimate time needed for activities. It is also about developing strategies to overcome hurdles, and knowing when a change of course is needed.
• Participating and contributing involves gaining a panoramic view of what is possible. It is about seeing one's potential to be a member of multiple communities – for example, family, iwi, and friendship groups, or communities of artists, problem solvers, sportspeople, or mathematicians. By participating, we gain the sense of achievement that comes from making a contribution to local and global communities.

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