The release in 2006 by the New Zealand Ministry of Education of a Draft national Curriculum set for release in November 2007 challenges schools and teachers to evolve their role to align with the priority to "embed" enterprise values and methodologies. These values and methodologies will be expressed in curricula that school communities…

This second research paper on science education in Maori-medium school contexts complements an earlier article published in this journal (Stewart, 2005). Science and science education are related domains in society and in state schooling in which there have always been particularly large discrepancies in participation and achievement by Maori. In…

Recent literature on the role of the interactive whiteboard (IWB) has indicated numerous ways in which teachers make use of the IWB to support children's learning. In these studies there is a growing awareness of changing roles in the classroom as teachers gain confidence in the use of new technologies. This study describes how a researcher worked…

This is the second publication in the Teaching and Learning Research Initiative (TLRI) Project Plus series. Project Plus aims to inform questions of policy and practice by synthesising findings of educational interest from projects funded by the TLRI. This Project Plus focuses on literacy in the early childhood education (ECE) and school…

New Zealand has become an increasingly multicultural society since the 1990s. But multicultural education is complicated in this nation by its position on biculturalism, a commitment founded in its postcolonial history. The finding of an investigation in secondary schools, which showed that national and visual arts curricula emphasize…

The Government is committed to ensuring that the new National Curriculum compares favourably with the curricula in the highest performing jurisdictions, and sets rigorous requirements for pupil attainment which measure up to the highest standards set internationally. The Government is also committed to slimming the National Curriculum so that it…

This paper reports on a national evaluation project that investigated characteristics of environmental education (EE) practice in New Zealand schools in 2002-2003. The research included a review of New Zealand and international environmental education literature, a survey of nearly 200 New Zealand schools and case studies of environmental…

The New Zealand technology curriculum requires children to solve problems to meet people's needs. So who are these people? Are they the users of the product, people who are affected by the product or someone else? This article investigates the confusion and limitations that exists in the New Zealand curriculum about the terms society, community,…

In order to analyse physical education (PE) curriculum policy in England, Penney and Harris (2004) compared it with that in New Zealand. Their aim was to distinguish between policy as a source of either "stability and inequity in schools" or "resistance and change." While acknowledging that all curriculum policy documents are…

This paper reports on the reality of classroom-based inquiry learning in science, from the perspectives of high school students and their teachers, under a national curriculum attempting to encourage authentic scientific inquiry (as practiced by scientists). A multiple case study approach was taken, utilising qualitative research methods of…

This book focuses on educational change processes in the context of larger scale educational reform. The first of 2 volumes, the book contains 11 chapters that examine the historical, social, and economic forces at work in the formulation and implementation of educational policy. The chapters present different cross-cultural experiences of…

The New Zealand Curriculum Framework consists of principles of learning and teaching, essential learning areas, skills, attitudes, values, and assessment methods. Conflicts to be resolved include cooperation versus competition, priorities among subjects, testing, equity versus economic goals, and ownership of the curriculum. (SK)

Sketches the history of the New Zealand educational system and the ways in which the English and Welsh technology education curriculum model was revised to reflect indigenous conditions and culture. (SK)

Recent research indicates that children develop the emergent knowledge and skills that lead to formal literacies in their homes and early childhood settings long before school entry. The research evidence is clear that emergent literacy needs to be actively encouraged in the early years, if children are to have optimum chances of learning to read…

A survey of 851 New Zealand teachers (64% response) implementing the technology curriculum found they were satisfied with the usefulness of the curriculum statement to guide planning and assessment. Nearly three-quarters received professional development to prepare them for teaching technology. (JOW)