Set 2026: no. 1

This article unpacks what a knowledge-rich curriculum means and how this concept has shaped the refreshed Aotearoa New Zealand curriculum. It looks at the whakapapa of the idea and how it connects with the science of learning. It explores the advantages and disadvantages of fact-based curricula and considers the essential place of mātauranga Māori in Aotearoa New Zealand curricula. Finally, it offers a series of prompts for educators to consider as they implement the new curricula.

The National Certificates of Educational Achievement (NCEA) were introduced to create a fairer and more flexible assessment system for all learners in Aotearoa New Zealand. Yet recent political debates and government announcements have signalled significant structural reform. These announcements have moved the reforms beyond the proposal stage and into confirmed policy direction. Cabinet has agreed to replace NCEA with a new qualification system comprising a Foundational Award in Year 11 and… Read more

This article focuses on exploring the development of a succinct resource package to support professional conversations about social studies resources. The package, designed through research conducted by the Aotearoa Social Studies Educators’ Network (ASSEN), is intended as guidance for Aotearoa New Zealand primary-school teachers when selecting, adapting, and using resources to teach social studies in their classrooms. The research was motivated by noticing an increased number of resources… Read more

Under the Wharf is a marine science outreach programme designed to engage school-aged students with the impacts of ocean warming through visual storytelling as well as hands-on, inquiry-based learning. Developed at the New Zealand Marine Science Centre, the programme integrates field, laboratory, and classroom activities to educate students about marine monitoring and climate change. Students participated in a scientific investigation that included developing their research question and… Read more

Through her postgraduate study, Julia had realised that she needed, in teaching curriculum content, to plan language objectives for the English language learners in her classroom. Rosemary, one of her former lecturers, observed how she incorporated the same specific language focus into English and maths lessons for her Year 2 students.

When Aotearoa New Zealand shifted from in-class to online learning in 2020 because of COVID-19 mitigation measures, 319 of our incoming university students ended up taking the same test in two different ways: pen/paper first and then keyboard/screen second. Five years later, we have correlated those students’ text-production capabilities at point of entry to university with their final cumulative GPA. Our data demonstrate that roughly one-third of recent school leavers in Aotearoa New… Read more

Meeting the NCEA numeracy co-requisite requires students to do more than perform calculations correctly. The common assessment activity administered by NZQA assesses students’ ability to apply mathematics and statistics in everyday contexts, interpret information, and justify conclusions. This article draws on the numeracy task complexity schema to analyse the demands of two 2025 common assessment activity items and examines a large sample of student responses to those items. The responses… Read more