The Ministry of Education says the changes are the finalised version of the Year Zero to Ten Maths and English curriculum. Photo: RNZ / Unsplash
Educators say they have been blind-sided by major changes to the Maths and English curriculum less than a year since it was last updated.
The Ministry of Education said the changes were the finalised version of the Year Zero to Ten Maths and English curriculum brought in at the end of last year.
But some in the sector say it is much more than minor tweaks.
Jordan Priestley is a relieving teacher and runs a business making resources for teachers to use in the classroom.
She said the number of changes announced to the English and Maths curriculum was overwhelming and would massively increase the workload for teachers.
As part of her resource business, Priestley said she had a very active Instragram page, and she had been contacted by worried teachers.
"I have had teachers reach out to me to say they feel like resigning, they want to quit, they are so done, (saying) why is the government and the ministry doing this to teachers.
"You know the workload, the stress levels that we already have, your assessment. We have a new assessment we are supposed to be reporting with that still hasn't come out. Reporting, parents, so many aspects and adding this on to it, after already changing (the curriculum), its such a nightmare," Priestley said.
She said teachers got four curriculum days to unpack the new curriculum, but she said the curriculum had been changed so much that all of that will now need to be updated.
Professor of Mathematics Education at Massey University Jodie Hunter said many teachers would be blind-sided by the extent of the changes.
She said the maths curriculum was already very busy and had been loaded up further.
"There is a lot of new content that has been added, and a lot of movement in terms of expectation where things that were previously at Year 9 or 10 and now in Year 7 and 8 or even Year 6."
She said new aspects including algebra, which used to be introduced to Year 9 and 10, as it is in Singapore and Australia, and is now been moved into Year 7 and 8.
The previous update to the maths and English curriculum were brought in at the beginning of this year.
The convenor of the Principals' Council on the largest education union, the New Zealand Educational Institute, Stephanie Madden, said teachers got professional learning and development sessions to come to grips with the changes, but teachers would now have to start that process all over again.
The entire process of bringing in the changes to the curriculum had been flawed, Madden said.
"We want to be included in the process. We want New Zealand academics to be involved in the process. We are really concerned that much of this is coming from overseas. We are concerned that perhaps some of these changes are designed to align the curriculum with the new Smart tool we are supposed to be getting."
Deputy secretary of Education Pauline Cleaver said the changes had been made in direct response to widespread consultation with the education sector.
She said they would make sure the curriculum was well-sequenced, consistent and coherent across all year levels and the wider curriculum.
Extending the content up to Year 10 was a major step forward in their ongoing work to lift student achievement and strengthen the National Curriculum, Cleaver said.
The Ministry of Education has also started its Curriculum Roadshow aimed at helping school leaders bring in the new changes.
The NZEI said hundreds of principals were boycotting the events due to a lack of support from the government.
Despite this, the Minister said the first event in Christchurch was well attended and at full capacity.
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