Recently my students were discussing their futures: more than one talked about becoming a travel-blogger. I was embarrassed to admit that I had never read one? How could I prepare my students for such a job when I knew so little? How could I best use my set timetable of English, Maths, Social Sciences to address the issue? We all know that education in NZ needs an urgent paradigm shift to meet the needs of our students in the twenty-first century. NZCER have recently released their review on Curriculum Integration in NZ (McDowell & Hipkins, 2019).
Prescribed timetables, and summative assessments are strangling exploration into new areas of learning. Graham Foster discusses the dominance of NCEA and how this continues to drive NZ secondary education. Conversely primary-schools are continuing to do what they have always done so well: give students plenty of new experiences and learning opportunities with more flexibility with their daily six hours. For some this is Project Time, i-time or Inquiry Learning. But alongside this, there is a growing roller-coaster towards Reggio and play-based learning, where students have more autonomy to follow their interests and drive their own learning. Foster cites research which shows that Māori and Pasifika students struggle most in making the transition from such open-learning to the more traditional teaching style of secondary schools.
New Zealand has pioneering secondary schools who are working hard to remove the dual strangleholds of timetabling and assessments. Hobsonville Point in Auckland "have been determined to invite students into the process of designing learning" (Wright 24.9.18). They have replaced hierarchical teaching models with opportunities for the students to learn with, and from each other. In Christchurch Ao Tawhiti Unlimited Discovery and are providing opportunities for students to utilise their passions to earn the NCEA credits. Increasingly schools are looking for ways to help students develop their soft skills - skills we know employers are looking for, and those that we believe society will be demanding in the future. We need young people who can think, not simply remember (Boyes 4.9.18). The challenge is providing the education system that allows this to happen.
Amos, Claire (21.3.19) https://educationcentral.co.nz/opinion-claire-amos-tomorrows-school-review-little-to-lose-and-much-to-gain/
Boyes, Karen Tui (4.9.18) http://www.karentuiboyes.com/2018/09/why-our-education-system-needs-to-change/
Foster, Graham (11.2.19) https://educationcentral.co.nz/tomorrows-schools-review-redesign-or-restructure/
McDowell, S & Hipkins R., (2019) 'Curriculum Integration: What is happening in New Zealand schools?' NZCER
Education is changing more rapidly in the 21 century than ever before. Every aspect is up for debate; the curriculum, pedagogy, learning spaces, new skills and technologies.
