Education in 2008; Curriculum for New World
By HANN, Arwen
When the new school curriculum was unveiled it sparked concerns that reading and writing were being sacrificed for manners and conversation. ARWEN HANN looks at whether schools can teach personal skills alongside the three Rs.
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THE developers of New Zealand’s new curriculum say it is no longer enough for children to be able to do fractions or recite the dates of historic events.
To cope with the 21st century and beyond, not only do they need this knowledge, they also need to know how to to use it.
They must value things like integrity and diversity and be able to think creatively.
In response to that, the curriculum launched this month puts more emphasis on values and key competencies designed to produce a more rounded student.
The move has drawn support from some, including Business New Zealand and the Electoral Commission, which says it will help create “a healthy democracy”.
But there have been concerns a stronger emphasis on these skills will create more work for already busy schools and that children will be taught how to hold a conversation at the expense of learning how to add up.
The Education Ministry’s senior manager for curriculum, teaching and learning, Mary Chamberlain, says such concerns are misplaced.
Schools are not expected to explicitly timetable lessons on abstract values.
“These are things that people live by and underpin their actions. They inform everything we do,” she says.
“It is not about teaching morals. It is about schools working with their communities to decide what is important to them and how to do those things.”
St Bernadette’s School in Christchurch is a prime example of how Chamberlain’s vision can work.
Its classrooms are decorated with words like co-operation and initiative that form part of the school’s Hei Flyers scheme — named after Hei Hei Road in Hornby where the school is situated — set up two years ago.
Each week one value — known at the school as a habit — is chosen from a list of about 40 that make up the programme.
Apart from one short period at the beginning of the week, when the habit is explicitly explained to the children to make sure they understand it, the habit is taught as part of everyday schooling.
Certificates are given to children who show relevant skills, and newsletters keep parents informed so they can talk about the habits at home.
“It is quite easy once you get into it,” teacher Simon Moriarty says.
“In literacy, for example, you can talk about the characters in the book you are reading and ask the children which values the characters show.
“In maths, if they are doing group work you can emphasise co- operation.
“It isn’t a tag-on thing; it really informs everything we do here.”
The programme was developed in consultation with staff and the community, and new teachers get support and training to help them implement it.
No formal assessment is done to see how well it works, but principal Maureen Moore says it is evident in the way pupils behave, the culture of the school and feedback from parents.
“I think society has been breaking down because people haven’t got those values,” she says.
“People say we do it because we are a Catholic school, but these are things that can apply to everyone.
“We have really noticed a change since we started this programme.
“I am really pleased to see values in the new curriculum and I think it is something that all schools can do.”
The Education Ministry has launched a website to provide a space for schools like St Bernadette’s to share their ideas and resources are being developed to help teachers.
However, Kathleen Quinlivan, a lecturer in curriculum studies at Canterbury University, says it will take more than just resources to make the new curriculum work.
Secondary teachers may find it especially difficult to integrate wide-ranging values into subject-specific classes.
“You need to think outside the box to implement this new curriculum and the big question is whether schools can come to the party. I think that could be difficult for teachers, especially secondary teachers, who are trained as subject specialists,” she says.
“What needs to happen is teachers need to be taught these things during their training. They need to think about it in a different way.” Quinlivan is not surprised at the uproar that surrounded the new curriculum but says New Zealand education needs to move with the times.
“The curriculum is about the knowledge worth knowing and that is always a contested thing,” she says.
“Everyone has a different idea of what that is and it changes as society changes. That has big implications for the role of schools. It is not just about learning facts any more.”
Whatever people think of the new ideas, it seems they are here to stay.
New Zealand Council for Educational Research director Robyn Baker says they have been developed from a growing body of international research that says this is the future of education. The key is to help people understand that.
“It is no longer sufficient for students to store knowledge away in case they need it. Rather, they need to be active users and creators of knowledge — people who are ready, willing and able to actively participate in learning at school and beyond,” she says.
“These ideas are not some new fad that will be here for a few years and then forgotten. They reflect an important shift in our understanding of how to equip young people for a future that is much more unpredictable than it was for earlier generations of students.”
VALUES: The curriculum document lists the values below as enjoying widespread support, but says the list is not exhaustive:
* Excellence — by aiming high and persevering in the face of difficulties.
* Innovation, inquiry and curiosity — by thinking critically, creatively and reflectively.
* Diversity — as found in our different cultures, languages and heritages.
* Equity — through fairness and social justice.
* Community and participation — for the common good.
* Ecological sustainability — which includes care for the environment.
* Integrity — which involves being honest, responsible and accountable and acting ethically.
Key competencies:
* Thinking.
* Using language, symbols and texts.
* Managing self.
* Relating to others.
* Participating and contributing.
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(c) 2008 Daily News; New Plymouth, New Zealand. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.