Curriculum
The New Zealand Curriculum and Te Marautanga o Aotearoa are the guiding documents that together form the national curriculum for New Zealand schools.
The social sciences are one of eight learning areas described in the curriculum, and social studies is the foundation, integrating subject for the social sciences at years 1 to 10.
Links to key curriculum documents for social studies are provided here:
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The New Zealand Curriculum: Social sciences
Find out more about social sciences in The New Zealand Curriculum in the social sciences learning area section of The New Zealand Curriculum Online website.
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The New Zealand Curriculum
The New Zealand Curriculum sets the direction for teaching and learning in English-medium New Zealand schools. It became mandatory as from February 2010.
Find Social Studies in the New Zealand Curriculum 1997 here.
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Te Marautanga o Aotearoa
Te Marautanga o Aotearoa is the new curriculum for Māori-medium teaching, learning, and assessment. Launched in September 2008 was New Zealand’s first curriculum to be developed and written in te reo Māori. It set he direction for teaching and learning in Māori-medium schools and settings.
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Understanding the social sciences as a learning area - a position paper
This position paper is about the importance of the social sciences and the place of social studies as a social science in the New Zealand curriculum. It focuses on the broader social sciences and includes classical studies, economics, geography, history and social studies, along with other related options which are developed by schools for the senior years.
It brings together historical developments, research findings, and recent curriculum, assessment and resource initiatives to provide a discussion of how the social sciences learning area is defined, and how teachers, teacher educators and researchers can move forward with a stronger sense of shared understandings.