Education

Consultation on teaching Aotearoa New Zealand history begins

What Kiwi students will learn about this country's history at school is up for public discussion, Education Minister Chris Hipkins says.

<p>Public engagement on draft curriculum content for Aotearoa New Zealand’s Histories to be taught in schools began last week and will run until 31 May&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>&OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;In September 2019 we announced Aotearoa New Zealand’s Histories would be taught in all schools and kura from 2022&period; This was a response to the growing calls from New Zealanders to know more about our own history and identity&comma;” Chris Hipkins said&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>&OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;In practice&comma; learners across New Zealand will explore the stories that are unique to us&period; In Te Tai Tokerau&comma; for example&comma; I know people will be interested in learning about the battle that took place in Ruapekapeka during the Northern Wars in the 1800s&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<blockquote>&NewLine;<p>In Waikato&comma; &amacr;konga may learn about the invasion of Waikato led by Governor George Grey and the implications this had for people living in the region&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<&sol;blockquote>&NewLine;<p>&OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;In Otago&comma; they may delve deeper into the region’s M&amacr;ori and Chinese heritage and how it has helped shape the area into what it is today&comma; while in Northland they may explore M&amacr;ori histories and early Croatian stories&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>&OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;In Porirua&comma; learners may explore the stories of Pacific migration to the area&comma; including when and how people came to the city and the reasons for coming such as work and education&period; They could also explore how Pacific people have influenced the culture of Porirua&comma;” Chris Hipkins said&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<blockquote>&NewLine;<p>We want all New Zealanders to have their say on the draft content and we are hoping to hear from as many people as possible&period; I urge all New Zealanders who are interested in our history and kura to provide feedback&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<&sol;blockquote>&NewLine;<p>&OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;Over the past year&comma; the Ministry of Education has been working with teachers&comma; school leaders&comma; school sector representatives&comma; academics&comma; representatives from the M&amacr;ori&comma; Pacific&comma; migrants and disabled persons communities to draft curriculum content&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>&OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;The content was tested in a small number of schools and kura in Term 4 last year and this year the Ministry is seeking input from all schools and kura and the public before the content is finalised&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Chris Hipkins said having the resources and infrastructure in place to teach our young about all aspects of New Zealand’s past will be a watershed moment for us&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>&OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;It will provide <a class&equals;"wpil&lowbar;keyword&lowbar;link" href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;www&period;schoolnews&period;co&period;nz&sol;2015&sol;10&sol;developing-opportunities-at-school-with-a-view&sol;" title&equals;"opportunities" data-wpil-keyword-link&equals;"linked" target&equals;"&lowbar;blank">opportunities<&sol;a> to learn about history from a local&comma; regional and national perspective and will help students get a stronger sense of how the past has shaped who we are&comma;” Chris Hipkins said&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>&OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;Support from school communities is critical to get this exciting new subject up and running&period; The Ministry will be rolling out a range of resources to support the teaching of the updated content in schools and kura&period; This includes local curriculum guides and support through professional learning and development&period;”<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Draft content and an online survey is available at <a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;www&period;education&period;govt&period;nz&sol;our-work&sol;changes-in-education&sol;aotearoa-new-zealand-histories-in-our-national-curriculum&sol;" target&equals;"&lowbar;blank">www&period;education&period;govt&period;nz&sol;our-work&sol;changes-in-education&sol;aotearoa-new-zealand-histories-in-our-national-curriculum&sol;<&sol;a><&sol;p>&NewLine;

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