SCHOOL CURRICULUM; Treaty Returned to Core Lessons After Feedback

By HANN, Arwen

The Treaty of Waitangi has been put back into the school curriculum which is being officially launched next month.

Explicit references to the treaty were left out of the draft curriculum put out for consultation last year, causing outrage among Maori groups.

The Education Ministry’s senior manager for curriculum, teaching and learning, Mary Chamberlain, would not reveal specific details of the final curriculum before the launch but said people could expect to see “more emphasis” on the treaty in the revised document.

The omission had provoked some of the strongest feedback among more than 10,000 submissions which were received on the draft and the ministry had listened, she said.

Among the critics was the Human Rights Commission which said in its submission on the draft that the treaty was a “fundamental reference point for the realisation of human rights and race relations in New Zealand”.

Maori Party co-leader Pita Sharples said he was delighted to see references to the treaty strengthened.

“We are very pleased,” he said.

“At the time a lot of Government parliamentarians, including Maori ones, made all sorts of noises about the treaty being present in all areas (of the curriculum) but I think it is great that it will now be made stronger rather than just being an implication.”

Sharples said he believed the change was in part down to the Secretary for Education, Karen Sewell.

“I think Karen has done a good job. She has always had a strong opinion of where the treaty stands in our society.”

Chamberlain said more emphasis would also be put on environmental and social sustainability, another area which prompted a lot of feedback during the consultation period.

The curriculum has drawn criticism that it focuses too much on teaching children how to become well-rounded people — it is based on five key competencies including managing self and relating to others –and not enough on hard facts.

Chamberlain said she was confident it would bring about improvements in achievement.

“If people look at the document they will see things like literacy and numeracy are still there.

“In chemistry, for example, students are still expected to understand things like particles and atoms but those other skills like perseverance and communication are important.

“They are the kind of thing employers are also looking for,” she said.

“If students know how to learn and know how not to give up and how to get through those hard bits it will help them.

“Everything in this curriculum is based on research. The research shows that where schools have focused on those learning to learn skills results have gone up.

“NCEA results aren’t going to go up overnight but this is a long- term process,” Chamberlain said.

Views from the consultation period had been taken on board, she said.

“There were more than 10,000 people making comments … we have listened carefully to all the views.”

The new curriculum will be launched in Wellington on November 6.

Schools have until 2010 to implement it fully.

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