Image: Getty Images/Ministry of Education/Tina Tiller
Image: Getty Images/Ministry of Education/Tina Tiller

SocietyMarch 18, 2022

What’s in the new New Zealand history curriculum

Image: Getty Images/Ministry of Education/Tina Tiller
Image: Getty Images/Ministry of Education/Tina Tiller

In 2019 the government announced its plan to require all schools and kura to instil in students a comprehensive understanding of New Zealand history. Yesterday that curriculum was released. Here’s what students can expect when the new programme is introduced next year.

After almost three years of drafting and consultation, the new history curriculum for school students has been released. The programme – Aotearoa New Zealand’s histories/Te Takanga o Te Wā – will be taught in all schools and kura from 2023, revamping a curriculum critics have long characterised as insufficient and Eurocentric.

Announcing the release of the curriculum, the prime minister, Jacinda Ardern, said it would give students a better understanding of one another through learning “more about Māori, the migrant history of Pasifika, and our Asian communities”.

“Across the board it’s all part of who we are and it’s all part of this curriculum.”

Aotearoa New Zealand’s histories/Te Takanga o Te Wā is a meaty, ambitious and wide-ranging overhaul structured around the three elements – Understand, Know and Do – taught concurrently and woven together through years one to 10. It was developed in conjunction with academics, teachers, historians, the New Zealand Council for Educational  Research and the Royal Society Te Apārangi as part of a broader five-year overhaul of the national curriculum.

The full programme rewards closer reading, but for the rest of us, what’s actually in it?

Broadly, the “understand” component outlines the big picture stuff through four key concepts:

  • Māori history is the foundational and continuous history of Aotearoa New Zealand
  • Colonisation and settlement have been central to Aotearoa New Zealand’s histories for the past 200 years
  • The course of Aotearoa New Zealand’s histories has been shaped by the use of power
  • Relationships and connections between people and across boundaries have shaped the course of Aotearoa New Zealand’s histories

The “know” component investigates these concepts through the lenses of:

  • Whakapapa me te whanaungatanga/culture and identity
  • Tino rangatiratanga me te kāwanatanga/government and organisation
  • Tūrangawaewae me te kaitiakitanga/place and environment
  • Kōwhiringa ohaoha me te whai oranga/economic activity

And the “do” component of the curriculum is a typical “how to study history” set of guidelines such as:

  • Identifying and exploring historical relationships
  • Identifying sources and perspectives
  • Interpreting past experiences, decisions, and actions

Here’s what the combination of the three elements looks like in practice:

Years 1-3 

At an early primary school level, this means understanding basic concepts like Māori as tangata whenua and the original inhabitants of Aotearoa New Zealand, the significance of Waitangi Day, the implications of the different naming conventions between Māori and Pākehā, and the ways in which people’s lives and jobs have changed over time within their rohe.

Years 4-6

From years four to six, students will learn about Māori navigation and exploration throughout the Pacific, the Pacific origins of Māori whakapapa and cultural identities, and the ways in which those identities evolved over centuries of interaction with the environment in Aotearoa New Zealand. They will learn about the two versions of the Treaty of Waitangi/Te Tiriti o Waitangi, the differences in translation, and the understanding held by Māori signatories as at 1840.

Students will also learn the ways in which the state has variously supported and excluded people in Aotearoa New Zealand through restrictions on voting rights and access to education and the welfare state, and the prevailing public attitudes towards ethnic groups at various points throughout history. They will learn about the struggles for equality led by groups like the suffragette movement and the Māori Women’s Welfare League, the difficulties faced by early Chinese migrants, and the activism of land rights icons like Dame Whina Cooper.

Students will explore the ways in which early Māori adapted to conditions far from the tropical Pacific, the economic realities of intertribal trade, early Māori commerce with European settlers and the beginnings of colonial industries like whaling and forestry.

Years 7-8

At intermediate level, students will learn about the mid-20th century urbanisation of Māori and the resultant effects on te reo, tikanga Māori and traditional papa kāinga. They will also explore the movements to reassert te ao Māori that formed in response.

Students’ understanding of the ethnic, cultural and religious groups that comprise Aotearoa New Zealand – and their contributions to our current milieu – will deepen through study of early Irish, Chinese, Indian and Pacific communities. They will learn about the barriers to participation these groups often faced, and the ways in which they retain their unique identities today.

Students will gain a broader understanding of the context in which Te Tiriti was signed, including the significance of He Whakaputanga/The Declaration of Independence and the role played by Christian missionaries of the time.

They will learn about New Zealand’s actions in the Pacific, including the occupation of Sāmoa, the mismanagement of the 1918 pandemic and the annexation of the Cook Islands, Niue and Tokelau.

Students will also study the ways in which the Māori economy sustained early European settlements, and the damage to that economy caused by the New Zealand Wars and subsequent land confiscations.

Years 9-10

In high school, students will take a deeper look at how immigration policy has been used to shape Aotearoa New Zealand’s population in pursuit of a dominant cultural ideal. They will explore how Māori, excluded from this ideal, felt colonised and forced towards assimilation. And they will learn how groups like the Polynesian Panther Party fought back to remedy racial injustices.

They will learn about Aotearoa New Zealand’s evolving attitudes towards international conflict, from unquestioning patriotic fervour in the early 20th century towards an acceptance of protest and a movement towards peacekeeping operations in the modern era. Students will also learn about Aotearoa New Zealand’s more shameful military histories, from the murder of Palestinians to the massacre of prisoners at Featherston.

The effects of the settler economy on the environment will be studied, including deforestation for pasture, the introduction of foreign pests and the rise and fall of primary industry in places like the West Coast. Looking forward, students will consider Aotearoa New Zealand’s opportunities and vulnerabilities in the international economy as well as the impact of neoliberal reforms in the 1980s and their repercussions which are still felt today.

The study of the colonial state also increases at this level. Students will learn about the intentional dispossession of Māori, the effects of raupatu, and the diminishment of mana Māori. They will explore assimilation imposed through the Native Schools Act 1867 and the treatment of prisoners following the events at Parihaka. The efforts of Māori to address injustice will be studied, including political actors within the system such as the Māori Party and those outside of it, such as Te Kooti and Rua Kēnana.

Finally, students will also learn about the workings of the Waitangi Tribunal and its role in the settlement process as well as its powers and methodology moving into a post-settlement Aotearoa New Zealand.

This is Public Interest Journalism funded through NZ On Air.

Keep going!
The government plans to replace Māngere’s existing 2,700 state houses with 10,000 new homes, a mix of state and open-market properties (Photo: Justin Latif, additional design Tina Tiller)
The government plans to replace Māngere’s existing 2,700 state houses with 10,000 new homes, a mix of state and open-market properties (Photo: Justin Latif, additional design Tina Tiller)

SocietyMarch 17, 2022

Will the government’s massive Māngere housing project repeat past mistakes?

The government plans to replace Māngere’s existing 2,700 state houses with 10,000 new homes, a mix of state and open-market properties (Photo: Justin Latif, additional design Tina Tiller)
The government plans to replace Māngere’s existing 2,700 state houses with 10,000 new homes, a mix of state and open-market properties (Photo: Justin Latif, additional design Tina Tiller)

Plans to build 10,000 new houses in Māngere may help solve Auckland’s housing shortage, but many fear it will gentrify the suburb in the process.

Sir Douglas Bader was a disabled British air force pilot credited with bringing down a number of German fighter planes in the second world war. Among the many accolades his heroics garnered him, town planners of a massive state housing development project in Māngere decided to name one of its main arterial roads after him – Bader Drive.

The development, which began in the 1960s, would soon become home to the majority of Auckland’s Pacific population. And thanks to the sterling work of the Polynesian Panthers, the stories of how families were moved and in many cases pushed out of suburbs like Ponsonby and Grey Lynn into Māngere and Ōtara is now well-known. 

Fast forward to today, and the government is undertaking an equally ambitious plan to replace the suburb’s existing 2,700 state houses with 10,000 new homes that will be a mix of state and open-market properties. 

The first stage of this development is well under way and Bader Drive is currently the focus. In 2020, four large multi-level apartment buildings made up predominantly of two-bedroom homes were opened to replace a collection of ramshackle dwellings that were well past their shelf life. 

For someone who has lived on Bader Drive, and would often push my young daughters to sleep on long walks up and down this road, it was clear these ageing state houses were well overdue for a revamp. On rainy days the inadequate underground drainage meant the footpaths were a slippery mess and the moss and mould on these flimsy weatherboard bungalows was starkly clear.

But despite the promise this splurge of new housing offers, many harbour fears we may see history repeated as Pacific families are pushed further south to make way for higher-earning newcomers. 

Ten thousand new houses will be built in Māngere over the next 10-15 years as part of the government’s plans to tackle the housing crisis (Photo: Kāinga Ora)

Monte Cecilia Housing Trust is the main community housing provider in the area, and chief executive Bernie Smith shares these concerns. 

“First-home owners [from Māngere] can’t afford $800,000 to $900,000 houses,” he says. “Basically we’re going to see a lot of gentrification, as it will only be those that can afford to [who will get a house].” 

Smith says if Māngere is to retain its identity as a capital of Pacific culture within Auckland, then larger, affordable homes need to be a key part of the development. 

“We know communities like Māngere are very tightly knitted together by culture, and have been there for generations, but I suspect that cultural fabric is going to be broken.

“Sadly, and particularly for Pacific families who live generationally, their families have been broken up as state houses have been demolished, and the state isn’t building big enough homes for them.” 

Penina Trust, New Zealand’s only Pacific-led community housing provider, has already built a number of multigenerational homes in other parts of South Auckland and is hoping the government can help fast-track further funding to meet the Pacific community’s housing needs.

“We’re going to live to regret building all these one- and two-bedroom houses,” Penina’s chief executive Roine Lealaiauloto says.

“I know as a Pacific provider we see a lot of bigger families, with a need for more space, and they also want to remain together purely because of the economic side of things.”

Māngere Housing Community Reference Group members Vicki Sykes and Vicky Hau (Photo: Justin Latif)

Vicki Sykes and Vicky Hau are members of the Māngere Housing Community Reference Group, which is advocating on behalf of locals with Kāinga Ora.

“I was born and bred here and lived and worked here my whole life,” Hau says. 

“One of the things that got me is seeing how dense the housing is and it concerns me how this will affect our families. I know we need more affordable homes but they also need to be suitable for families.”

Another concern is the lack of homes with easy wheelchair access, which is somewhat ironic given Sir Douglas Bader, who lost both legs in a flying accident, would have struggled to visit many of the new homes along this road if he was still alive today. Sykes says research shows at least 60% of people will face some kind of disability issue over their lifetime, whereas only 15% of the new homes have disability access in mind. Sykes says the government needs to get the balance right in providing more affordable housing while ensuring these homes match the needs of the community.

“When they started building all these one- and two-bedroom apartment blocks, we began to challenge them on that, and the big issue for us is that there are a whole bunch of people who need more flexible housing options, but aren’t necessarily on the government’s radar because they are not on the social housing register.”

Māngere’s local MP and Pacific peoples minister Aupito William Sio, who helped set up the community reference group, is another who has been impressing on Kāinga Ora’s staff the need for housing to not only accommodate larger families but also enable cultural practices, such as having a garage or lounge for prayer or funeral services.

“I worry about how we maintain our cultural uniqueness [when the housing is much smaller], and some of the early housing, while it was necessary, its design was more for singles and couples, not for families with children. 

“I know the officials have good intentions and are trying to follow a certain policy direction, however if they’re not from this area, they have no idea how an elderly mum or dad will require sons, daughters, nieces and nephews to live with them.”

Sio says home ownership rates among Pacific peoples were as high as 40% in the 1970s, but dropped down to 16% just prior to his government coming to power. He says it’s now up to 21% and his ministry has secured a further $40 million “to deliberately target” home ownership rates through financial literacy education and establishing more Pacific community housing providers. 

“My ministry is still working through the process of ensuring we can staircase Pacific peoples that have got a bit of a deposit to get that extra support.”

Monte Cecilia Housing Trust chief executive Bernie Smith and Penina Trust chief executive Roine Lealaiauloto (Photos: Justin Latif)

Sykes says partnering with more community housing providers could be another way to improve the development.

 “It seems Kāinga Ora and the developers are under so much pressure to build more and more houses, and so connecting the dots with education, health and the community services has been very piecemeal at best.

“There is a need for improved overall planning for the Māngere community so that the impact of increased housing is also matched by improved facilities.

“And an advantage the community housing sector has is that when it’s well-resourced, it knows our people better and it’s able to connect people to more wraparound support and services than the government can do.”

The new three-storey apartment buildings, and right, the older state housing that is to be replaced by Kāinga Ora over the next 10-15 years (Photo: Justin Latif)

In a written statement, Kāinga Ora’s project director for Māngere, James D’Anvers, acknowledged the need to provide a range of purchasing options for local families. 

“As we’re only in the early stages of this development, we’re continuing to investigate alternative housing options – such as progressive home ownership, shared equity and rent-to-buy – with our development partners to provide greater opportunities for local whānau to transition into homeowners.”

This includes signing an agreement with the New Zealand Housing Foundation (NZHF) to deliver 67 new homes, of which 70% will be available through shared equity and rent-to-buy schemes, and 30% will only be sold to Māori whānau. There will also be six homes provided by Habitat for Humanity (HFH) and Mike Greer Homes under HFH’s progressive ownership scheme. Kāinga Ora also has a new shared home ownership scheme – called First Home Partner – to help first-home buyers whose deposit and home loan aren’t enough to buy a home.

Regarding the building of larger homes, D’Anvers said that within the three neighbourhoods being built in Māngere, between 35%-60% of planned or under-construction homes will have three to five bedrooms. 

“We’re still in the process of master planning the remaining neighbourhoods and will take into account the needs of existing and future customers. [And] in our current build pipeline, around 42% of public housing is planned to be built in the Māngere-Ōtāhuhu area with three to six bedrooms. In the past two years, over 100 homes with three to six bedrooms have been built in the Māngere-Ōtāhuhu area as public housing.”

A Kāinga Ora spokesperson also pointed out that the percentage of accessible housing is inline with its national policy.

But as Māngere’s local MP Aupito William Sio puts it, a sign of whether this development is a success or not will be whether it splits up families or makes them stronger.  

“At the end of the day, we’re not a community of individuals, we’re a community of families, and families like to stay together.”