Opportunities for geography in the New Zealand senior secondary school in the context of current curriculum developments

New Zealand Geographer

(2006)

62

, 208–214 10.1111/j.1745-7939.2006.00071.x

© 2006 The AuthorsJournal compilation © 2006 The New Zealand Geographical Society Inc. Published by Blackwell Publishers Ltd.

Blackwell Publishing Asia

Geo-Ed

XXXX

Opportunities for geography in the New Zealand senior secondary school in the context of current curriculum developments

Roger Baldwin

1

and Jocelyn Papprill

2

1

Teacher Support Services, Christchurch College of Education, PO Box 3252, Christchurch,

2

Unlimited Paenga Tawhiti, PO Box 4666, Christchurch

Abstract:

Current curriculum developments will provide a new framework for the teaching ofsocial sciences, including geography, in New Zealand secondary schools. This article outlinesrecent challenges faced by the subject, and the development and likely nature of the newcurriculum. Some ways in which teachers can plan and implement innovative programmeswithin the framework of the existing syllabus and the new curriculum are suggested.

Key words:

assessment, curriculum development, geography, programme planning.

Secondary school geography teachers haveexperienced a number of challenges over thelast decade. The geography syllabus publishedin 1990 provided an effective framework forthe development of courses at the seniorsecondary level. However, by the late 1990s anumber of teachers were worried about theperceived status of geography as a school sub-ject. It had started to suffer from competitionfrom other subjects and student numbers fellat some levels (Baldwin 2002). There was someconcern expressed that within the existingsyllabus it was difficult to provide coursesthat reflected recent trends within the field ofgeography. There have also been challengeswith the development and implementation ofNational Certificate of Educational Achieve-ment (NCEA) achievement standards forgeography in recent years. This assessmentsystem, while effective in many ways, has ledsome teachers to suggest that assessment require-ments have dominated their programmeplanning.

The recent developments to revise the nationalcurriculum have included geography within theessential learning area of the social sciences. Adraft curriculum statement was distributed inJuly 2006 for consultation (Ministry of Education2006). Teachers are now considering the impactthat this curriculum may have on the subject.

It is our contention that there are currentopportunities, within the context of existingframework documents and also the nature ofthe draft curriculum, for teachers to developinnovative geography courses that cover theimportant principles of the subject, and that arerelevant, interesting and meet the needs of theirstudents. We will provide some reflections on thecurrent context for school geography and suggesta number of new approaches for the future.

The geography syllabus and other curriculum developments

Current geography courses offered in second-ary schools are predominantly based on the

Note about the authors: Roger Baldwin is a geography adviser based at the Christchurch College of Education. Hehas been involved with curriculum and assessment developments at a national level, and works to support theirimplementation with teachers in schools. Jocelyn Papprill is a learning adviser at Unlimited Paenga Tawhiti, asecondary school in central Christchurch. She has been head of department in a number of schools and is a regionalrepresentative on the New Zealand Board of Geography Teachers.

E-mail: [email protected] or [email protected]

Opportunities for geography

209

© 2006 The AuthorsJournal compilation

© The New Zealand Geographical Society 2006.

Syllabus for Schools, Geography, Forms 5–7

(Ministry of Education 1990)

.

The robust processfollowed by the National Geography Curricu-lum Committee to bring about this significantcurriculum change at that time ensured thatthe syllabus developed was able to provide asound basis for the design of school geographycourses from the early 1990s. The developmentsthat led to the publication of this syllabus havebeen outlined by Chalmers (2005).

General curriculum developments progressedthroughout the 1990s.

The New Zealand Cur-riculum Framework

was published by the Min-istry of Education in 1993. While this referredto geography within the essential learning areasof social sciences and also science, it did notsignal any particular changes that were toimpact on the subject. A new curriculum state-ment was developed for social studies (

SocialStudies in the New Zealand Curriculum

1997).However, geography was not included in this,and the existing syllabus remained as theframework that guided the way courses weredesigned, delivered and assessed.

Achievement standards

Geography achievement standards have beendeveloped to outline assessment requirementswithin the subject for NCEA. The backgroundto the development of these standards hasbeen outlined by Fastier (2001). The achieve-ment standards were predominantly basedon the existing syllabus statement, which isreferred to in the explanatory notes of thestandards.

As the achievement standards were written,and as they were subsequently reviewed, theopportunity was taken to make some changesthat have impacted on the teaching of geography.For example, students are expected to havean understanding of a variety of perspectivesand M

a

ori concepts, and natural hazards arenow referred to as extreme natural events. Theemphasis on prescribed common topics hasbeen reduced in some schools, probably as aresult of clearly defining expectations for theinternally assessed standards. However, suchchanges have not constituted a comprehensivecurriculum review of the subject. The NCEAtraining days that were held for teachers focusedmainly on developing understanding of assess-

ment requirements rather than approaches toprogramme planning.

The New Zealand Curriculum Marautanga Project

The Ministry of Education’s

CurriculumStocktake Report

(2002) reviewed recentcurriculum developments (including the socialstudies curriculum statement, but not the geo-graphy syllabus directly) and made a number ofrecommendations. The Curriculum MarautangaProject (CMP) was subsequently establishedto implement the recommendations of thestocktake.

The stated aim of the CMP is to redevelopthe New Zealand curriculum and Marautanga.

1

The goals listed for the project are to:

• clarify and refine outcomes;• focus on effective teaching;• strengthen school ownership of curriculum;• support communication and strengthen part-

nerships with parents and wh

a

nau.

The emphasis of the CMP is on refiningrather than replacing the existing curriculum.

The social studies curriculum statementdeveloped in the 1990s was considered as partof this process. On the other hand, geographyhas a syllabus statement rather than a curriculumstatement, and it is a post-compulsory levelcourse. As the CMP process progressed it wasthought important to consider geography, his-tory and economics alongside social studiesat the senior level. For example, achievementobjectives were developed for each subject atcurriculum levels 6, 7 and 8 (studied by stu-dents in Years 11, 12 and 13). The subjectswere also referred to more explicitly in thelearning area statement for the social sciences.(There is a general statement in the draft cur-riculum document for each essential learningarea that outlines what it is about, why it canbe studied and how it is structured. These havebeen referred to as learning area statements.)

The Ministry of Education wished to followa co-construction process in reviewing thecurriculum and actively sought practitionerinvolvement. The New Zealand Board of Geo-graphy Teachers has been represented on thesocial sciences curriculum panel ensuring that

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R. Baldwin and J. Papprill



the perspectives of geographers have been heardat this level. Teachers were encouraged toparticipate in an online discussion forum andto provide feedback on the curriculum draftfollowing its publication.

Six future focused, and cross-disciplinary,themes lie behind the redevelopment of thecurriculum, and have significance for geography:

• social cohesion (resilience and a sense ofconnectedness);

• citizenship (local, national and global);• education for a sustainable future (sustainable

development and environmental sustainability);• biculturalism and multiculturalism in Aotearoa

(acknowledging partnership under the Treatyof Waitangi);

• enterprise and innovation;• critical literacy (includes digital literacy).

These themes address such issues as theincreasing importance of the impact of global-ization on social connectedness and indigineity.It will be necessary for geography teachersto consider how topics in the courses theyoffer may support these themes. Geography iswell positioned to foster an understanding ofaspects of citizenship and education for a sus-tainable future.

The draft of the new curriculum containslearning area statement and a framework ofachievement objectives for each of the essen-tial learning areas (including social sciences).There are also a number of sections in the doc-ument which have relevance to all essentiallearning areas. These include:

• principles;• values;• key competencies;• effective pedagogy;• designing a school curriculum.

Teachers of geography will need to beaware of each of these, and the expectationsand implications of them for the subject.

Social sciences and geography in the new curriculum

The current curriculum development aims toachieve an integration of geography into the

wider social sciences, whilst trying to maintainits distinctiveness and integrity. The followingquotation is from the existing geography syllabus:

‘Geography aims, through its integrativeapproach, to foster a balanced view of andrespect for the environment at all scales,from local to global. Students are helped tounderstand the factors that have influencedtheir heritage, that currently influence them,and that are relevant to today’s environmentaland planning issues.’ (Ministry of Education1990: 5)

In this respect the subject synthesizes wellwith the other disciplines of the social sciencesas they each develop skills and knowledge instudents that will ensure that they can ‘contri-bute to society …’, ‘develop an empathy with’others, and understand ‘the interrelationshipsbetween the phenomena and processes of thenatural and cultural environments’. The aimsof the existing geography syllabus thus re-sonate with the aims of the draft curriculumfor the social sciences, as outlined below in aquotation from the draft learning area statement:

The social sciences learning area is abouthow people participate in society and howsociety operates. It has significance for peoplein their everyday interactions as citizens andmembers of communities in New Zealandand the world. Through the social sciences,students engage critically with societal issues.They gain knowledge, skills and experiencethat help them to understand, participate in,and contribute to the communities in whichthey live and work. The focus of the curriculumis on New Zealand contexts; its people, places,cultures, histories and economic world.Students explore the unique nature of NewZealand society and its bicultural heritage.This enables them to identify their place andthat of others in relation to their heritages,and in relation to New Zealand’s multiculturalsociety and its global context. (Ministry ofEducation 2006: 22)

The intention of the CMP overall was todevelop learning area statements that reflectedkey foci of each essential learning area. Thestatement above reflects the focus for the social


211



sciences as a whole, but the quotation below, alsofrom the learning area statement, indicates geo-graphy’s position with the wider framework:

In the

Place and Environment

strand, studentslearn about how people perceive, represent,interpret and interact with places and en-vironments. They come to understand therelationships that exist between people andenvironment. (Ministry of Education 2006: 22)

A number of geography achievement objec-tives for each of curriculum levels 6, 7 and8 are included in the draft curriculum. Thesewere designed as broad learning outcomes forthe subject, and consequently provide a gen-eral framework, rather than specify contentor contexts to be covered. They sit alongsideachievement objectives for social studies,history and economics at these levels.

Implications of recent curriculum developments

It is our belief that while the draft curriculumprovides a distinct place for geography withinthe social sciences, we cannot afford to losesight of the principles underlying the 1990syllabus, as they remain important drivers inthe development of what can be exciting andinnovative programmes in schools.

A strong case was made by McPherson andKeown (2004) that there is a need for significantchange in school geography. However, theextent to which it may be possible to reviewand redevelop the existing geography syllabusas part of the CMP is still uncertain. Neverthe-less, we contend that within the framework ofthe existing syllabus, the current assessmentsystem, and the likely form of the new curric-ulum, there are opportunities for schools todesign and implement geography courses thatare innovative and interesting. It is possible,through a combination of student focus andsubject focus, to plan courses that are flexibleand responsive to students’ needs, and thatmaintain academic rigour.

Teaching and learning

The draft curriculum also intends that teachersreflect on the way they implement a programme

of learning. The change signalled is more aboutthe way aspects of geography are delivered,rather than about coverage of specific contentor topics. As stated in the draft social scienceslearning area statement: ‘By integrating achieve-ment objectives within the social inquiry processstudents develop understandings …’ (Ministryof Education 2006: 22). Learning is not justabout facts and skills, but also about combin-ing sound inquiry (research) skills with valuesexploration and social decision-making. Insome social inquiries the emphasis may be onresearching the physical environment leadingto a values exploration task. In other cases theresearch may be nominal as the emphasis is onsocial decision-making. In a whole theme ortopic it is likely that students will use each partof the social inquiry process. This processemphasizes the need for students to developtheir thinking and questioning skills, in orderthat they may develop new knowledge andunderstandings.

As teachers develop programmes they willneed to be cognizant of the five key competencies(listed in Table 1) that are outlined in the draftcurriculum. Each may need to be consideredwhen planning courses, along with the valuesthat underpin the curriculum (listed in Table 2).

There are particular opportunities withingeography to cover the key competencies andvalues. For instance, the value of diversity could

Table 1 Key competencies

managing selfrelating to othersparticipating and contributingthinkingusing language, symbols and texts

Table 2 Values

New Zealand students are encouraged to value:excellenceinnovation, enquiry and curiositydiversityrespectequitycommunity and participationcare for the environmentintegrity

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be delivered within a population topic, whereculture and perception are important aspectsof understanding the different choices peoplemake about contraceptive use and familysize.

In order to foster effectively the values andkey competencies it is important that learningprogrammes are flexible and adaptive to theneeds of the students. The draft curriculumencourages schools to develop their own school-based curriculum.

It may be useful for teachers to considerwhere the synergies between geography andother subjects can occur so that programmesare developed that interrelate and build oneach other, rather than compete.

Opportunities to be innovative

Since the inception of the NCEA some teachershave sought to use the flexibility possible withinthe system to develop innovative programmesof learning, with the focus being on learning first,and then methods of assessment. However,other teachers have delivered programmes thatemphasize the accumulation of factual know-ledge and preparation for assessment.

The CMP has as one of its outcomes thatteachers reflect on the way they deliver theirprogrammes of learning. The following sugges-tions are some possible approaches that couldbe used by geography teachers in any school.

Include relevant and interesting topics.

Allow for studies of the sorts of topics thatstudents are interested in. These could includesignificant environmental events as they occur,global or local happenings with geographicalsignificance, issues that support students’ under-standing of world affairs, and things that maybe important to them in their future. Teachersneed to continue to take time to find out whatstudents are interested in and to look forsignificant international events, such as theFootball World Cup or global music festivals.

Use thematically based programmes.

Teach-ers could have a theme, or a big picture idea,or a ‘fertile question’, which would provide aframework within which learning programmescan be developed. This would allow studentsto see more clearly linkages between the dif-ferent components of the course. There couldbe a major theme for a whole year (such as

Challenges for our Future

), under which sub-themes are developed (for example,

ResourceUse and Sustainability

).

Allow students some control over theirlearning.

Students at all levels will appreciatethe opportunity to suggest topics to be studied;for example, local issues that may be invest-igated. There is also scope at the senior levelto allow students to spend considerable timeinvestigating topics of their own choosing. AtYear 13 students could spend most of the firsthalf of the year investigating an issue of theirchoice (to meet the assessment requirementsfor the research, issue, planning and decisionmaking, and global achievement standards, orother geography unit standards, or even stand-ards from other domains), followed by twoterms preparing for the externally assessedstandards that they may wish to work towards.

Contribute to general social science courses.

There are also opportunities to devise coursesthat cover aspects of different social sciencessubject areas at the one-year level. A mixtureof achievement objectives from the social sci-ences curriculum could be used to provide aframework for a course. Such a course wouldrequire detailed planning and discussion withinsocial science faculties. It would also meanlooking beyond subject silos to determine whatsocial science learning could look like for students.Draft achievement objectives for curriculumlevel 7 are listed in Table 3.

Assessment approaches

To some extent assessment requirementshave tended to dominate programme planning.Many schools used the geography matrix ofachievement standards as a basis for coursedesign, as well as for assessment. A preferableapproach would be initially to plan a coursebased on the syllabus and which meets theneeds of students, and then consider the bestway aspects could be assessed.

Flexible approaches to assessment withinthe framework can also be considered. Forexample, some schools are offering programmesthat allow for assessment for fewer than 24credits, some are using a mixture of unit andachievement standards, and some are providingfor assessment at different levels of the NCEAfor students in the same year level class.


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Examples of possibilities for geography courses

The following examples are ways in whichgeography courses have been planned to meetparticular needs in the context of two schools.However, each example illustrates some generalapproaches outlined in the previous section.

School A

Context.

The school designed a modified Year11 geography course to cater better for thosestudents who commonly had low levels ofachievement at this level. The teachers wantedto provide a course that the students wouldfind relevant and motivating. They also wantedto provide a pathway for students progressingto Year 12 to take subjects such as PacificStudies and Tourism. The school is in Auck-land, and has a relatively high proportion ofPasifika students.

Nature of the course.

A number of topics ofparticular interest to the students were plannedfor the course, e.g. extreme natural events.This topic included only a study of tropicalcyclones in the South-west Pacific setting, andwas assessed using the unit standard. It wasalso planned to include different topics ofinterest, e.g. considering a work of fiction froma geographical perspective (and to assess thisusing the unit standard 11082). All of the topicschosen were internally assessed, and assess-ment could therefore be carried out after thestudents had had appropriate time to developunderstandings and skills. The total numberof credits available through the course wasapproximately 15. This reduced the pressure of

covering a large amount of content. A balancedcourse covering many aspects of the syllabus(including physical and human geographicalapproaches) was planned; however, not all ofthese were to be assessed. For example, geo-graphical skills and ideas were integrated withtopics throughout the year, but students werenot assessed for the related standard.

Summary.

It was felt that the new course metthe needs better of a particular student groupwithin the year level. Such students were morelikely to achieve success. Because the coursewas quite broadly based, it was also possiblethat some students would be able to progressto a full Year 12 geography course in the nextyear.

School B

Context.

The Year 12 course was developedwith the specific aim of trying out some differentapproaches to supporting student learning. It wasbased on the discovery or inquiry method oflearning. The school operates a 5-week rotationof modules; students can opt to stay in a courseall year and complete a series of modules, orjust take a 5-week module from the course asa taster.

Nature of the course.

The modules are basedaround one theme per term. The theme for thefirst term is related to landscapes. The firstmodule is entitled ‘Come paint a picture of ourland …’, and includes elements of art, poetryand prose, supported by a field trip to thefeatured landscape. Module 2 moves to devel-oping in the students an understanding ofthe physical landscape of the high country. It

Table 3 Draft Level 7 achievement objectives

Social Studies History Geography Economics

Communities and nations meet their responsibilities and exercise their rights in local, national and global contexts.

Historical forces and movements have influenced the causes and consequences of events of significance to New Zealanders.

Natural and cultural patternsand processes change over time and vary in scale and from place to place. Perceptions of, and relationships with, natural and cultural environments differ and have changed over time.

Economics provides an understanding of contemporaryNew Zealandeconomic issues. Economic issues inNew Zealandare interrelated.

Different cultural beliefs and ideas can lead to conflict and tension.

People have different interpretations of events that are of significance to New Zealanders.

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is entitled ‘To the … “rain-hewn rocks, icechiselled bastions”’. The second term has atheme of sustainability, with the learning focusedon urban issues globally and locally. The sub-themes ensure that students gain some under-standing of the political processes involved inurban growth or decline, rather than lots oflearning about models and graphs. Globaliza-tion is the theme that links the two modules interm three. Students look at the process his-torically and try to understand the causes ofglobal disparities. Students also investigatethe debate around development theories andinvite in speakers who may challenge ourperception of ‘poor’ nations.

Summary.

Essentially this course aims tochallenge students’ perceptions and under-standings of the world in which they live. It isdesigned to ensure that they have the tools andknowledge to make a difference in their com-munity if they so desire. The gaining of creditson the way is a bonus, but not the main outcome.

Conclusion

The draft national curriculum emphasizesthe importance of each school designing andimplementing its own curriculum. It is thereforean opportune time for teachers to consider thelearning needs of their students and effectiveways to plan courses to meet these needs, andto reflect on the nature of the courses that theycurrently offer. There are opportunities withinthe context of the existing syllabus, and thesuggested framework of the new curriculum,to devise innovative courses that are interest-ing and relevant, that cover important aspectsof geography, and that allow for students togain qualifications.

Endnote

1

The draft New Zealand Curriculum was released forconsultation in July 2006. The M

a

ori partnership

document, Te Marautanga o Aotearoa, will appear in2007.

Drawing Out The Geography:

The Editor of theGeo-Ed section of the


invites responses to this article of no more than500 words, which identify opportunities for schoolsto design and implement geography courses thatare innovative and interesting, developed fromthe geography and other achievement objectivesof the NZ Draft Curriculum 2006.

The submission deadline is 15 January 2007.Send to Mary Flaws, [email protected].

Authors of full articles of up to 3000 words onways forwards for school geography in NewZealand are also sought. Please refer to BlackwellPublishing’s Web site at http://www.blackwell

-

publishing.com/authors/journal.asp for submissionguidelines.

References

Baldwin R (2002). The status of geography as aschool subject.

New Zealand Journal of Geo-graphy

114

, 32–3.Chalmers L (2005). Traces of the secondary geo-

graphy curriculum.


61

,148–57.

Fastier M (2001). The evolution of achievementstandard-based assessment in the New Zealandsenior secondary school context.

New ZealandJournal of Geography

111

, 16–23.McPherson D, Keown P (2004). Beyond the

‘mish-mash’: A new opportunity for curriculumchange in geography?

New Zealand Journal ofGeography

117

, 1–9.Ministry of Education (1990).

Syllabus for Schools,Geography, Forms 5–7.

Learning Media,Wellington.

Ministry of Education (1993).

The New ZealandCurriculum Framework

. Learning Media,Wellington.


Social Studies in theNew Zealand Curriculum

. Learning Media,Wellington.


Curriculum Stocktake:Report to the Minister of Education.

Ministry ofEducation, Wellington.


The New ZealandCurriculum: Draft for Consultation 2006.

Learn-ing Media, Wellington.

Documents

Opportunities for geography in the New Zealand senior secondary school in the context of current curriculum developments