New Zealand's new school curriculum has received positive reviews but concerns remain around resourcing and teacher skills.
The Government involved 15,000 New Zealanders to develop the new curriculum - one of the most comprehensive consultations carried out.
The key objectives hope young New Zealanders will become literate and numerate, resilient, critical thinkers, reliable, enterprising, and entrepreneurial through the new curriculum.
However, concerns were expressed over whether the Ministry of Education will provide the resources needed to implement it.
Post Primary Teachers Association (PPTA) president Robin Duff said in a press release that they welcomed the curriculum but the Ministry of Education falls short in assisting teachers to carry it out.
"We want to be assured that School Support Services are funded to provide sufficient advice – and in particular subject-specific advice – to enable secondary schools to successfully implement the curriculum," Duff said in a press release.
The Education Minister is giving a teacher-only day next year to help, but workloads similar to NCEA are expected.
"One day is not enough. Teachers need at least two days in each of the four implementation years from 2008 to 2011 if the process is to be effective," Duff said.
Finding and recruiting quality teachers and graduates and giving them resources will determine failure or success according to the Education Forum. Chairman and leading state school Principal Byron Bentley said the curriculum's "outcomes focus" highlights the need for skilled teachers.
"New Zealand has many good teachers but those with the levels of skills required to implement outcomes-based education are missing right across the country," said Bentley.
"The curriculum's intentions are good, with regards to literacy and numeracy; its success or failure will rest on how it is implemented, the quality of teachers and the resources provided," Mr Bentley said.
Prime Minister Helen Clark said the new curriculum aims to give all young people the best opportunity possible to achieve their full potential.
"Principals and teachers have been very supportive of the new curriculum. It replaces seven documents with one simplified document. This curriculum represents a shift away from focusing on knowing facts and figures to knowing also how to use knowledge effectively and apply it outside the classroom," Ms Clark said.
The new look also gets approval from the business community. Business NZ sees the key objectives of literacy, enterprise, and entrepreneurial development falling in line with their policies.
"These are exactly the attributes that employers are looking for in young people," Business NZ Chief Executive Phil O'Reilly said.
The focus on second languages and financial expertise is also welcomed. These skills should help get young people ready for global careers and help make them responsible, independent citizens, O'Reilly said.
"This is going to be a huge challenge, teachers are in short supply, and what we have are very good, but there are gaps."
Making the new curriculum's goals a reality by getting schools, teachers, parents, and communities on board is key to its success believe Business NZ.
"There has to be a vast improvement. So we need to engage the Government and teachers. We have to have more funding from Government to make it happen," said O'Reilly.
The Quality Public Education Coalition (QPEC) website suggests that using the word "entrepreneurial" in the new document is a serious and backward step for New Zealand.
John Minto, National Chairperson for QPEC said it represented the power of the business lobby to reflect its narrow capitalist values in the curriculum.
"New Zealand children should develop 'economic literacy' but it must be broadly based and encourage children to be challenging and critically question any economic system, "said Minto.
QPEC were pleased the business values had been toned down somewhat compared to the draft released last year.
Feeds