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.
Curriculum stocktake report to Minister of Education September 2002
Synthesised information from a wide range of sources
You can download a PDF of the full report.
The redevelopment of the New Zealand curriculum and te marautanga o Aotearoa is a result of the recommendations of the Curriculum stocktake report.
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.
Alongside the introduction of new curriculum timelines in 1997 came a promise that, following the publication of the full set of curriculum statements, a time of consolidation and reflection would occur.
The last document produced was the arts curriculum in September 2000.
Rather than rush into revision of the curriculum, the intent was to take stock of the previous decade's developments and consider both the implications for teaching and learning what the developments indicate for future curriculum directions.
The curriculum stocktake investigated a number of problems and issues associated with the New Zealand curriculum and its development which have been raised in and outside the sector.
These were:
The recommended modifications to the current curriculum statements will build on the sound structure of the national curriculum. The suggested recommendations aimed to improve the national curriculum so that it better supported teachers and schools to achieve the high expectations set by national curriculum policy.
The stocktake made 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 2002 for an overview of these recommendations).
In summary the stocktake recommended that:
Curriculum stocktake report to Minister of Education September 2002 synthesised information from a wide range of sources, including:
- critiques from international curriculum experts:
- international and national assessment data:
- 4000 teachers (the National School Sampling Study)
- meetings with a stakeholder reference group:
- meetings with a range of other groups, including principals and the business sector
- essential learning area meetings:
- a literature review
- Ministry of Education ongoing work
- submissions: The New Zealand Curriculum: An ERO Perspective, Education Review Office, 2001
Published on: 29 Apr 2021
