Curriculum Update - September 3
Maths Curriculum Consultation
The revised draft mathematics and statistics curriculum document for Years 0 - 8 was released on August 12th, with consultation open for 4 weeks until Sept 6th.
Note that the maths draft also includes two pages that act as an introduction, with an altered version of Te Mātaiaho framework (Pg 4 of the document). Schools and organisations are invited to provide feedback using this survey.
We encourage you to read the information below and submit your own feedback before the survey closes this Friday Sept 6th.
You are welcome to use our feedback as a guide, but make sure you adapt it to work for your own organisation, which will make the feedback more effective.
As part of our curriculum review work, NZAEE's advocacy sub-committee completed a comparison of the 2023 draft maths curriculum and 2023 Te Mātaiaho draft framework, with the current August 2024 maths draft, to inform our feedback to the Ministry of Education. Web archive links have been used for the 2023 drafts, which are no longer available through MoE sites.
We have focused on the areas that are most likely to interest and impact environmental educators, such as the overall framework (Te Mātaiaho and UKD), purpose statements, and teaching guidance, and will not be commenting on the specific maths knowledge and skills or the progressions.
You can read our analysis of the changes between the two documents here: Maths draft analysis Aug 2024
Guidance for Maths Feedback Survey
To help make the process easier, this section outlines the key steps we used to complete the survey and more information about what is involved.
Who can complete the survey?
Individuals or organisations, including Schools, Educational Organisations or 'Other'. Providing the name of your organisation is optional.
Which questions are required?
There are only a few required questions, allowing you to provide general feedback without getting into specific maths skills/content or progression levels. You can select 'Neither agree nor disagree' for those questions that don't apply to you.
Required questions include:
Q5 - Learning area structure. We chose a neutral answer for this question.
Q6 - Teaching guidance (includes space for comments). We chose to comment on this question (see below).
Q8 - 10 Phases: these sections allow you to choose whether or not to comment specifically on Phase 1 (Yrs 0 -3), Phase 2 (Yrs 4 - 6) and Phase 3 (Yrs 7 - 8). We chose not to comment on these (so selected 'No' for these), since they are focused on maths-specific content and skills and we are not experts in this area.
Q11 and 12 - Overall comments (note these question numbers will be different if you choose to complete the earlier sections about each phase).
We provided most of our feedback in this section, using the agree/disagree scale and then the comments box (see below for the full text of our feedback). Where the statements related to our feedback, we chose to select 'Disagree' or we chose a neutral answer.
Q13 - Resources: this question is only for teachers/schools, so we selected 'No' but we did include some questions about resources in our general feedback.
NZAEE responses to maths survey
Q6 - Teaching Guidance:
"The teaching guidance will support effective practice in the classroom." DISAGREE
Comments: The current teaching guidance does not adequately support culturally responsive practice. We would like to see the inclusion of these statements from the 2023 maths draft Pg 3:
“The most effective teaching of mathematics and statistics follows a strengths based approach that creates opportunities for all students to learn and progress. Such an approach recognises that all students exist within their whānau and culture and includes parity for mātauranga Māori.”
“When planning tasks, teachers can ask: What are the cultural contexts that will resonate with my students? How can I support students to engage with a context’s whakapapa, tikanga,and significance while honouring and maintaining the integrity of both the mathematics and the context?”
Q11 - Overall Comments: Please indicate your level of agreement with the following statements about the draft mathematics and statistics Years 0 to 8 content:
It is knowledge rich. DISAGREE
It is underpinned by the science of learning. NEUTRAL
It is organised logically. NEUTRAL
It uses consistent and clear language. DISAGREE
It is clear and easy to use. NEUTRAL
It is inclusive of evidence informed teaching practices. DISAGREE
It is internationally comparable. DISAGREE
It is inclusive of all students. STRONGLY DISAGREE
With specific reference to the questions above, our responses were given for the following reasons:
Knowledge rich: we disagree because this draft does not include te ao Māori worldview and mātauranga Māori.
Uses consistent and clear language: we disagree because the specific use of and focus on te reo Māori has been removed from this draft.
Inclusive of evidence informed teaching practices: we disagree because culturally responsive teaching practices have not been included in this draft.
Internationally comparable: we disagree because there are a growing number of countries focusing on competency-based learning instead of content alone. Examples close to home are curriculum documents from Australia that emphasise cross-curricular learning, incorporating Indigenous perspectives, place-based learning and real-world application of knowledge.
Inclusive of all students: we strongly disagree because this draft does not specifically include a focus on ākonga Māori, and lacks inclusion of tikanga, te reo Māori and mātauranga Māori
Please see a more detailed explanation of these points in our comments below.
The section that follows is a copy of the general feedback we added into the Overall Comments box (question 12).
NZAEE’s feedback on 2024 Maths Curriculum draft
The New Zealand Association for Environmental Education (NZAEE) comprises individuals, organisations and networks involved in environmental and sustainability education across Aotearoa New Zealand. Our members are community action groups, teachers and educators, researchers and academics, professional development providers, and more. NZAEE’s mission is to connect and inspire educators, ākonga and communities to learn, collaborate and take action for te taiao.
As an organisation, we are deeply committed to honouring the principles of Te Tiriti o Waitangi, recognising it as the foundation upon which all work and relationships in Aotearoa are built. This commitment must extend to the education system, where we believe that the integration of concepts, tikanga and mātauranga from te ao Māori are crucial and fundamental to shaping an inclusive and equitable learning environment.
At the heart of sustainability education is a commitment to integrating cultural, social, environmental, and economic perspectives, weaving these themes across all learning areas. Based on this understanding of sustainability education, and recognising the important role sustainability education plays, and will continue to play, as we work to transition to a more sustainable and equitable future for Aotearoa, we would like to raise the following points in relation to the maths curriculum:
- We are concerned by the removal of explicit reference to Te Tiriti o Waitangi in Te Mātaiaho framework introduction and the maths purpose statement. This is concerning as it undermines the foundational role of Te Tiriti in guiding educational practices and promoting equity, inclusion, and partnership in the curriculum. This is also in conflict with the Education and Training Act 2020 (including, but not limited to section 127) which identifies one of the primary objectives of school Boards as giving effect to Te Tiriti o Waitangi.
- We are also concerned by the removal of explicit references to mātauranga Māori. Whilst we support aspects of Science of Learning, we acknowledge there are diverse ways of learning and knowing, including ones that value Indigenous perspectives and knowledge. We recognise the value and importance of offering education with a diversity of perspectives, and within a New Zealand context where Māori are the Indigenous people we uphold the stance that this must include recognition of te ao Māori and mātauranga Māori. Without it, there is a risk of education and our education system being used as a way to perpetuate colonising worldviews. The removal of references to mātauranga Māori is also in conflict with what the Education and Training Act (section 127) places as requirements for schools.
- We note that the introduction section briefly acknowledges the whakapapa of the curriculum. While this acknowledgment is important, the current presentation appears tokenistic and fails to fully honour the depth and significance of the curriculum’s origins. We would like to see this section expanded.
Specifically for the maths curriculum draft, we would like to raise the following concerns:
- We note the removal of references to climate education as an application of maths (from within the Purpose statement Pg 2-3 of the 2023 draft maths curriculum). The removal of this represents a missed opportunity to engage students with one of the most pressing global challenges of our time. While other parts of the curriculum link maths to some real-world issues and applications, explicitly including climate education would help encourage students to apply mathematical concepts to understand and address climate change, fostering both critical thinking and a sense of responsibility towards environmental stewardship.
- We are deeply concerned at the removal of references to connection to place and learning within a local context. By omitting these references, the curriculum risks disconnecting learners from the unique ecological and cultural contexts of their local area, and a place-based understanding of their lives and livelihoods. From an environmental education perspective, this shift moves away from empowering students to learn from and care for their local environments, which we see as critical to becoming future leaders and informed citizens.
- We have concerns about how the curriculum addresses 'diversity of cultures and languages,' but omits mention of Māori language and culture specifically. While acknowledging diverse cultures and languages is important, failing to explicitly recognise the unique and foundational role of Māori language and culture marginalises this important and unique aspect of Aotearoa's identity. As Treaty partners, tangata whenua should have their culture, language, tikanga and knowledge frameworks prominently reflected and given equal status throughout the curriculum. Omitting this focus fails to honour Te Tiriti o Waitangi or to provide students with a comprehensive, respectful, and representative education that truly reflects the values and heritage of Aotearoa. The 2023 maths draft Purpose statement (Pg 2-3) included specific reference to mana ōrite for mātauranga Māori and we would like to see this and other references to mātauranga Māori returned.
Given the points above, we would like to know how (or whether) maths content and accompanying resources will be specific to Aotearoa. We care about this because local relevance underpins meaningful and effective education. When content and resources are tailored to the context of Aotearoa, and when students see themselves and their communities reflected in their education, learners are more likely to see the material as relevant and engaging, as it reflects their own experiences and environments.
