This paper explores relationships and sexuality education (RSE) in New Zealand secondary schools. After conducting a nationwide survey of teachers and producing a report on the challenges reported by RSE teachers, we began to develop a paper exploring the perennial issues faced by RSE teachers as they enact curriculum policy. Given that these…

A global concern in recent years has been the formal incorporation of computing and digital technology subjects into high school curricula. Despite many initiatives to make these subjects accessible to students, significant barriers to uptake remain in many countries. In this study we convened a panel of 32 academic, research, and other experts…

The primary objective of this paper is to present a curriculum design model that extends the 'Powerful Knowledge' ideas of social realist theory. The Model called 'Curriculum Design Coherence' (CDC) hypothesizes an approach in which subject concepts and the subject's epistemic structure are central to the design process to enable deep learning.…

In New Zealand/Aotearoa, high levels of secondary school absenteeism are a nationwide problem. Absenteeism is associated with a range of adverse outcomes for individuals and has detrimental effects on society. Since the global COVID-19 pandemic, with the government closing schools during lockdowns, absenteeism has reached epidemic proportions as…

A standards-based assessment system provides opportunities to join curriculum intentions to demonstrations of complex learning. In this article we use New Zealand's senior secondary qualifications system--the National Certificates of Educational Achievement (NCEA)--to illustrate how adaptations of existing structures might help to better reflect…

In this article I explore a challenge identified by teachers involved in a recent research project on curriculum integration. Teachers described this challenge as how to balance the need to "cover" "The New Zealand Curriculum" with the need to support student agency. I describe how teachers saw this challenge, and the different…

In this third and final paper from the Delphi study One Direction, we report on participants' responses to four secondary school music curriculum scenarios. These scenarios present four possible directions for a C21 secondary school music curriculum. The scenarios were devised from a combination of ideas derived from the data from the earlier…

This article examines the potential of history as a subject to contribute to a "knowledge economy". Global trends in curricula reforms have often emphasised generic competences and development of students' critical thinking to benefit the future economic position of citizens and nations. However, viewing knowledge in these terms presents…

This paper examines how a standards-based form of assessment in operation in New Zealand has impacted upon the knowledge taught to secondary history students. The segmentation of history into assessable components along with assessment mechanisms which encourage the reduction in the number of standards being attempted has impacted upon both the…

The driver of this research arose from the findings from our earlier TLRI-funded research on academic literacy: that there was a significant disconnect between literacy expectations in the tertiary and secondary sectors, and that "information literacy" (IL) was a key to that transition. The research questions that directed this study…

Achievement data from New Zealand secondary schools suggest that students from lower socio-economic communities have fewer opportunities to engage with complex content in subject English. This article examines this phenomenon by drawing on Foucault's notion of governmentality and considers how a context of simultaneously increased autonomy and…

To drive the wider adoption of STEM in schools, researchers have promoted the benefits of teaching STEM subjects integrated across the curriculum. This integration can support more authentic learning opportunities where learning is framed in real-world application or driven through problem/project-based learning. The integration of digital…

The recently revised New Zealand Curriculum in technology education [Ministry of Education (MoE) Digital technologies: Hangarau Matihiki, Wellington, 2017. https://education.govt.nz/assets/Documents/Ministry/consultations/DT-consultation/DTCP1701-Digital-Technologies-Hangarau-Matihiko-ENG.pdf] presents opportunities for teachers to provide a…

This article presents a systematic review of the ways in which inequality is featured within New Zealand's secondary curriculum and Ministry of Education-supported Te Kete Ipurangi online teaching resources. Despite an increasing awareness of global inequality, there is minimal research on how inequality is represented within "The New Zealand…

This article reviews Education for Sustainability (EfS) in the secondary sector across a range of countries. Drawing on journal articles, book chapters and official reports, it identifies some of the more successful approaches to implementing EfS within the secondary sector. The authors first discuss the importance of educating for sustainability…