There is often a steady trajectory of curriculum change under the surface of developments that might seem arbitrary or inconsistent. This article traces the change from key competencies to science capabilities and, most recently, to enduring competencies. All these changes (and names) respond to increasing awareness of the challenges involved in…

This paper unites the history of Computer Science (CS) Education in Ireland by plotting Ireland's roadmap leading to the implementation of formal Computer Science Education in schools. It first outlines the educational system in Ireland. The history roadmap starts in the 1970s with the first notions of introducing computing in post-primary school,…

Profound anatomical knowledge is the basis for modern demands in medicine and surgery, but many countries worldwide including Australia and New Zealand have discontinued offering dissection courses to medical and dental students during the past decades. This educational project done in Australia aimed at enhancing basic and advanced anatomy…

This article presents an illustrative and instrumental case study of participatory design and co-production as used in curriculum renewal for a bachelor's degree in library and information studies (LIS). It outlines the process of constant review and reflection to improve the next round of development. The authors use the lenses of participatory…

Variability in education systems is a given. Variability has at once positive and negative implications for the main goal of education which is accelerating learning across diverse contexts and for all learners. In this article, we explain and employ a tight-loose framing to understand the scope for variability within an education system. A…

In this paper we have examined the position and roles of Computer Science in curricula in the light of recent calls for curriculum change and we have proposed principles and issues to consider in curriculum design as well as identifying priority areas for further research. The paper is based on discussions within and beyond the International…

Emerging careers in technology-focused fields such as data science coupled with necessary graduate outcomes mandate the need for a truly interdisciplinary pedagogical approach. However, the rapid pace of curriculum development in this field of inquiry has meant that curricula across universities has largely evolved in line with the internal…

The theoretical inquiry undertaken in this paper examines the discourse of knowledge equivalence used to justify conflating academic and non-academic subjects in New Zealand secondary school science. The purpose is to open up a critical discussion of the discourse and its influence on curriculum and pedagogy. Using a conceptual methodology, we…

As a non-indigenous science educator, I have embraced the idea of critical reflexive practice in order to be more responsive to the cultures and values of my Pasifika students and to become more inclusive of their indigenous knowledges. In this article I share three ways I have negotiated the incorporation of Pasifika values and knowledge into my…

New Zealand has had a national school science curriculum for more than 80 years. In the past the evolution content of this document has varied, and has at times been strongly influenced by creationist lobby groups. The "new" science curriculum, to be fully implemented in 2010, places much greater emphasis than before on understanding…

This is one of two papers developed for a Ministry of Education (MOE)-funded project, Competencies in New Zealand Council for Educational Research (NZC). The first paper draws on archived policy discussion papers to document the provenance of the NZC key competencies. This second paper analyses a series of research projects to describe how…

Learning about controversial historical issues is an essential feature of citizenship education in democratic societies, but in New Zealand, the high-autonomy national curriculum leaves it up to teachers to choose whether they engage their students with difficult questions about the past. This can place teachers in an awkward position. They do not…

The revised Technology Curriculum for years 1-13 now includes two Digital Technologies areas: 'computational thinking for Digital Technologies' and 'designing and developing digital outcomes'. By 2020, all schools are expected to address these curriculum additions. This article outlines some of the background stated purposes for introducing this…

For many years computing in New Zealand schools was focused on teaching students how to use computers, and there was little opportunity for students to learn about programming and computer science as formal subjects. In this article we review a series of initiatives that occurred from 2007 to 2009 that led to programming and computer science being…

Bridging/foundation programmes are often provided by tertiary institutions to increase equity in access and academic performance of students from under-served communities. Little empirical evidence exists to measure the effectiveness of these bridging/foundation programmes on undergraduate academic outcomes. This research identifies the predictive…