The New Zealand Curriculum is a clear statement of what we deem important in education. It takes as its starting point a vision of our young people as lifelong learners who are confident and creative, connected, and actively involved. It includes a clear set of principles on which to base curriculum decision making. It sets out values that are to be encouraged, modelled, and explored. It defines five key competencies that are critical to sustained learning and effective participation in society and that underline the emphasis on lifelong learning.
The New Zealand Curriculum states succinctly what each learning area is about and how its learning is structured. The sets of achievement objectives have been carefully revised by teams of academics and teachers to ensure that they are current, relevant, and well-defined outcomes for students. A new learning area, learning languages, has been added to encourage students to participate more actively in New Zealand’s diverse, multicultural society and in the global community.
