News
It is with great pleasure that Teacher Development Aotearoa congratulates the New Zealand History Teachers Association (NZHTA) – and in particular the mahi of Graeme Ball and Bronwyn Houliston – for their role in the development of the much anticipated new Aotearoa New Zealand Histories Curriculum, which has recently been released.
The impetus for the ANZHC came from ākonga at Otorohanga College who were dismayed by the lack of teaching about the New Zealand Wars and the who took a petition to the government advocating for the inclusion of a curriculum that explicitly taught students about the history of Aotearoa. Click on this link to view some introductory videos about the ANZHC.
First announced by Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern in 2019, this new curriculum will ensure New Zealand history is taught in all schools and kura from 2022. Prior to this, whether or not ākonga learnt about our past was purely down to chance. Prime Minister Arden acknowledged:
“It would be very rare to find a country that didn't teach its own history so I think this is about New Zealand joining the pack and being proud to teach our kids about where we've come from in all its parts - those stories that are harder for us to learn and hear and those stories we feel proud of too." (RNZ).
Graeme Ball (Chairperson and Kaiārahi of the NZHTA) has the following advice about the ANZHC:
"I would encourage NEX/Subject Associations, school leaders and teachers to look for ways that the larger kaupapa of this curriculum can be embraced by all."
Ball also recognises that for some subjects this will be easy and is happening in some schools already. He also acknowledges that for others it may require some lateral thinking. There does need to be someone driving the implementation and that person should ideally come from a history background.
We believe our present and future kaiako and ākonga are incredibly fortunate to have this taonga and it will be exciting to look back in a few decades time at the release of this new curriculum as a pivotal turning point in Aotearoa’s history. We are proud to support our three NEX with Aotearoa New Zealand Histories funding – NZHTA, the Aotearoa Social Studies Educators’ Network (ASSEN), and the Aotearoa New Zealand Association of Art Educators (ANZAAE) in delivering support for the implementation of this important new curriculum across the motu.
You can access the ANZHC document and all supporting resources from this link.
