National President, New Zealand Principals’ Federation
Coming from ‘Te Wai-o-nui o Tirewa’, the great forest of Tirewa, better know as the Waitakere Ranges in West Auckland, I have often reflected upon what it is that makes this place so special to me. It is my turangawaewae and the place I call home. It is also an intricate, complex ecosystem that is sustained because of the inter-relationships within it. As an eco-system, it works because a huge range of different plants, shrubs and trees co-exist, creating multiple layers of flora and fauna that makes it distinctly special. When in balance, every tree thrives and the result is a stunning environment that people respond to on many different levels. Te Marautanga o Aotearoa and the New Zealand Curriculum (NZC) is another eco-system of different curriculum areas that are interrelated through the values, key competencies, concepts and content that teachers weave through every subject area. It has a key role in supporting students to become engaged, motivated, active, life-long learners. Like the trees of the Tirewa forest, children are all different. They are not like a forest of pines with predetermined narrow futures. The complexity of balance In the 1990s, every year for nearly a decade, a new curriculum document was implemented. These were dense, with many strands, achievement outcomes and an expectation that all strands and achievement objectives would be taught. How to manage the balance of coverage and student mastery was a dilemma. In the early 2000’s the curriculum documents were revisited and condensed into the NZC – a curriculum framework. Known as one of the least prescriptive curriculums in the OECD, New Zealand educators valued the flexibility and creativity the curriculum framework afforded teachers to plan and deliver curriculum relevant for their local context. In 2009, with a change of government came a change in education ideology. The ‘National Standards’ era saw literacy and numeracy results became high-stakes drivers that narrowed the curriculum and our definitions of success in learning. Success in literacy and numeracy was the goal, but student achievement outcomes did not improve. Metaphorically, while the forest of pines grew, opportunities to nurture and grow a native forest declined and many students, whose talents were not primarily in literacy and numeracy were diminished and their strengths, achievements and aspirations were under-valued. Not only did the forest of pines fail to achieve success with a singular and narrow focus, as measured by OECD PISA test results, neither did the native forest. Declining student achievement trends were also seen in other countries that had
adopted the ‘Global Education Reform’ ideology. To reform or refresh? In 2017 our new Minister of Education announced that New Zealand would no longer be pursuing National Standards as the predominant measure of success for students, for schools and for the system. For the first time since 2009, New Zealand school leaders could consider and prioritize what a balanced curriculum might be. In 2020, it was announced that Te Marautanga o Aotearoa and the New Zealand Curriculum would be updated. In addition to having the opportunity to develop a balanced curriculum approach, the introduction of the Aotearoa New Zealand Histories curriculum has enabled leaders to consider how we might localize our curriculum content, to know, learn and teach New Zealand history. Alongside the work being done on the New Zealand Histories curriculum, the ‘Curriculum Refresh’ workstream was begun. How to ensure equitable outcomes for all students, with a focus on well-being, identities, languages and culture were key drivers for this work. Research findings suggested we needed to identify key concepts in each curriculum area that all students would be taught, so phases of learning would be more consistent and systemic. The first two curriculum areas chosen to refresh were literacy and mathematics. Initial timelines for the roll-out of the ‘Curriculum Refresh’ have been delayed by COVID. But, as we look to create ‘new normals’ in our schools, the review and refresh of curriculum priorities is now our focus. Decisions leaders make for the future will impact every learner, at every level. High quality teaching and learning in every classroom is our core business, our purpose and our legacy. If we want every student to flourish like a beautiful, diverse native forest, we need to be clear we are not here to grow a forest of pines. So, what are the challenges being presented by the Curriculum Refresh that school leaders need to consider? How are we going to achieve equity and excellence in education, as ‘leaders of learning’ in Aotearoa in 2022? The challenge and the opportunity: Simply put, as leaders our job is to support our teachers, staff, students and parents through a change process. Current curriculum documents, content and planning needs to be reviewed and aligned to a.
Key concepts deemed essential to teach, in literacy and mathematics
b. c. d.
A localized curriculum focus and Incorporating local Māori histories Where our students are ‘at’ in their learning and wellbeing, after a disrupted two years of pandemic
What we teach needs to have purpose and relevance for our learners. It needs to start from where students are at and sequentially scaffold the learner so success is an everyday event. But, learning also needs to be engaging, motivating and inspiring. What we teach can be the spark that ignites a passion for learning and a catalyst for future careers, aspirations, dreams and goals. Curriculum content can strengthen students’ sense of self, identity, culture and language. It can build understanding of connection, community and whanaungatanga. As Dr. Hana O’Regan has said ‘We’ve got an incredible opportunity in front of us . . . within the education system and as a community to grow up as a country, to stand up as a country, and be brave enough to really, truly understand who we are.’ Through curriculum, powerful, rich, authentic learning experiences can unleash learners’ potential. Students can be encouraged to explore, debate, wonder and critique, to make sense of our world as local, national and global citizens. As leaders, our immediate challenge is how to lead a change process in curriculum, while also establishing ‘new norms’ and reconnecting with staff, students and whānau in a pandemic that is not yet over.
Longer term, this change process gives us a unique opportunity to personalize students’ learning. We need to start from where students are at, work out what is needed to make progress to pass recognized milestones, at a pace that is right for them. ‘Ngā whakapiringatanga’ is about creating optimum conditions for learning. How we lead the change management process to refresh schools’ curriculum is like creating the perfect conditions for a forest to thrive. Leading ‘the best school years ever’: As we ‘refresh’ and reprioritize our local curriculum, we also need to rethink pre-COVID achievement benchmarks we traditionally have used to define success. Students will achieve these benchmarks, but the timeframes will be different. There is opportunity to redefine and measure success in learning in different ways, to better reflect what we value. If the ‘curriculum refresh’ is designed to improve equity of outcomes in achievement, it is school leaders who are the key to making this a reality. These pandemic years have been like no others in our living memory. Collectively, as leaders, we need to ensure that in 50 years time, when this cohort of learners reflects on their time at school after ‘the COVID pandemic of 2020 to 2022’, they remember them as ‘the best school years ever’.
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