Curriculum Matters 1 : 2005

The article discusses the varied and changing concepts of literacy and English. It is argued that these changes have implications for the place of literacy in the New Zealand curriculum. Literacy and literacies must be more explicitly addressed at all levels of the curriculum and within all curriculum areas. Reference is also made to how literacy is addressed in the curriculum documents of some other English-speaking countries.

Future-focused theoretical thinking about education exhibits an ontological turn, with attendant advocacy for more attention to be paid to the nature of knowledge and to students' identity development. This article explores the second of these recommendations and makes the case that students' "selves" should be an important curriculum focus if they are to participate positively in the knowledge age. Developing a sense of wellbeing that allows students to contribute to a diverse and rapidly changing society requires a more holistic view of self that is developed through learning experiences that are both practical and academic, and also model personal responsibility within the provision of appropriate social support. Using New Zealand's Health and Physical Education learning area as an example, the article explores the potential for authentic inquiry to meet the demanding challenges of making students' "being" at least as much a curriculum focus as their "knowing".

Instrumentalism is a growing disposition of thought in authorised curriculum theory. It is detrimental to education because it enfeebles the curriculum's ethical orientation. Instrumentalism reflects an "instrumental orientation" that is based on five myths: (i) society causes goodness; (ii) individuals are radically free; (iii) individuals can handle this freedom; (iv) a perfect society is a rational possibility; and (v) experts ought to be in charge. The ethical orientation in curriculum needs urgently to become a focus. It can be summarised as five assertions: (i) questions of purpose are crucial; (ii) knowledge and identity are framed by backgrounds of significance that cannot entirely be made foreground; (iii) self-identity is primarily ethical; (iv) creative thinking requires an ethical/aesthetical sensibility; and (v) know-how is ethical.

Spirituality has quietly featured in the secular school curriculum for decades but little attention was given to it until "spiritual well-being" was defined and briefly discussed in the 1999 Health and Physical Education in the New Zealand Curriculum document (Ministry of Education, 1999). The definition provided in this statement, however, is so broad ranging that it provides little clarity to teachers who are required to interpret what spirituality might mean for classroom practice. This article explores the implications of spirituality for teaching and learning in Aotearoa New Zealand. It examines several teachers' narratives of classroom experiences that reveal spiritual dimensions. In attempting to capture the intangible, these narratives provide some insights to the possibilities, both conscious and unconscious, of creating a climate that fosters spirituality.

The current New Zealand Curriculum/Te Marautanga o Aotearoa Project involves a wide-ranging process to engage teachers, principals, students, lecturers, and others in revitalising the New Zealand curriculum. In 2004, as one of many facets to this project, the Ministry of Education commissioned a background paper to explore principles and practices associated with the concept of "school-based curriculum development". This article discusses the different ways school-based curriculum development (SBCD) has been conceived, and considers the current relevance and implications of SBCD for New Zealand schools today. I argue that a rekindling of SBCD could stimulate schools, policy makers, and communities to reflect on three of the most fundamental questions about curriculum: What should students learn at school? Why? And who decides?