The aim of this paper is to contribute to the debate about the phenomenon known in Aotearoa New Zealand as "twenty-first Century Learning." In recent additions to the local literature Hirschman and Wood (2018) have noted a lack of critical engagement with this narrative which is fast becoming normalised in New Zealand, and Lourie (2020)…

For learners to be individuals equipped with the 21st-century skills when they start business life after graduation, they must be able to gain these skills during their education. However, due to their nature, it's not possible for students to acquire these skills under a specific course. For these skills to be achieved, they must be integrated…

This article traces the reframing of the relationship between knowledge, skills and competencies in New Zealand education policy from the 1990s onwards. It argues that this reframing is the result of New Zealand's recontextualisation of global policy ideas about the kind of education thought to be needed in the twenty-first century, and in…

Significant funding is devoted across the world to transforming traditional classrooms into flexible learning environments. These efforts are often motivated by a desire to create learning spaces attuned to twenty-first century competencies, which involve learning how to communicate, collaborate, think creatively, and how to become critical users…

Empty spaces, open spaces, prefabricated buildings, disused school halls, patches of grass and suchlike have long been the teaching spaces of subjects such as Drama and Physical Education; likewise, ECE and Marae-based learning are other 'marginalised' domains of education in Aotearoa New Zealand today. Subjugated in the educational landscape,…

Background and Context: Computational Thinking (CT) has been recently integrated into new and revised Digital Technologies content (DTC) in the Technology learning area of the New Zealand School Curriculum. Objective: To aid this change, this research examined how CT supports learning outcomes in both music and programming with the Sonic Pi…

New Zealand has had a technology curriculum since the mid 1990s. The curriculum has recently been revised, with a view to foster students' digital fluency and ability to function in a technologically mediated world. The nature of schools is also changing in New Zealand. Advocated approaches encourage students' engagement in creative and practical…

From the outset, the Labour-led Coalition Government of 2017 was intent on 'transformation'. For the education sector, this was signalled immediately with the announcement of an extensive programme of review and reform initiated in their first 100 days of power. Yet, what is at the heart of the proposed changes and what were they trying to…

Traditional sole-teacher classrooms are being replaced by large, open, flexible learning environments in New Zealand schools. Teacher collaboration within these shared teaching and learning spaces raises important questions about curriculum organisation in secondary-school settings. If secondary teachers are to work collaboratively in shared…

The Technology Learning Area statement in the New Zealand Curriculum has been recently reviewed to prioritise Digital Technology as a context for learning (Ministry of Education (MoE), 2007, 2017a). The emphasis provides the opportunity for teachers of technology education to guide learning in a future-focused manner, whilst also accommodating…

The notion of teaching social studies through inquiry is far from a new development. With the publication of the "College, Career, and Civic Life (C3) Framework: Guidance for Enhancing the Rigor of K-12 Civics, Economics, Geography, and History," however, there is arguably a greater emphasis on inquiry in K-12 social studies education…

Many ideas from the discourse of 21st-century learning are already present in much secondary school music teaching in New Zealand and have been for some time. The adoption of these ideas has resulted in many positive changes in students' experiences of music at secondary school. On the other hand, there have been some unintended consequences which…

Background: The importance of digital technologies for enhancing learning in formal education settings has been widely acknowledged. In the light of this expectation, it is important to investigate the effects of these technologies on students' learning and development. Purpose: This study explores longitudinal empirical research on digital…

Over the past few decades, the world has experienced a period of major social, economic and political change. Globalisation has placed increasing pressure on our work, families and communities and is continuously transforming the way we live in the 21st century. Internationally, and despite calls for freedom and equality, social and economic…

As the tenth anniversaries of "The New Zealand Curriculum" and "Te Marautanga o Aotearoa" approach it is timely to consider how we should prepare the next generation of New Zealanders for their digital future. In this article I explore what should be included in a curriculum if we would like all citizens of the future to be…