Key Competencies in the New Zealand Curriculum: Development through Consultation

Abstract The Curriculum/Marautanga Project was launched in 2003 to build on the recommendations of the Curriculum Stocktake Report (Ministry of Education, 2002) in reframing the national curriculum. A key change to the curriculum is the proposed replacement of the essential skills with key competency groups. The process of co-construction, through various forms of contribution, has led to the development of a framework of five key competency groups. This article (1) reflects upon those contributions and traces movements in thinking around the concept, construction, and inclusion of key competencies in the New Zealand Curriculum Project. Key themes of exploration include the "concept" of key competencies, the definitions it encompasses, and the theories of learning, teaching, and curriculum it implies. Questions about the place of key competencies within the New Zealand curriculum in relation to the essential learning, areas and defining and naming a key competency framework relevant to New Zealand are also explored. Introduction In 2003 Cabinet agreed to the Ministry of Education undertaking redevelopment of the curriculum to focus on high-quality teaching and empowering schools to meet the needs of all students. While the Curriculum Stocktake Report (Ministry of Education, 2002) concluded that the New Zealand Curriculum Framework and Te Anga Marautanga o Aotearoa are coherent, sound statements, it recommended modifications to ensure a clearer focus on high expectations for all students and more flexibility for teachers and schools to help students achieve these expectations. Believing that revised curriculum policy is not sufficient in itself, the Ministry decided to take a co-constructive approach to the Curriculum Project. The Ministry sought engagement with the sector in the redevelopment of the curriculum by consulting with teachers, principals, advisers, lecturers, and students, both face to face and through an online discussion forum. The Ministry also sought a range of position papers and discussion documents based on current theory and international research. This article is based on the feedback provided by those processes. The Maori medium strand of the Curriculum Project is entitled Te Alga Marautanga o Aotearoa. This project follows the same goals and premise as the Curriculum Project. Perspectives relevant to Maori medium curriculum, including issues surrounding essential skills, values, and attitudes, have been sought through concept papers still due for submission. These perspectives have not been included in this article. A definition of competencies In 2004 the Ministry commissioned a background paper to consider the implications of the OECD Defining and Selecting Key Competencies (DeSeCo) project for the New Zealand curriculum. The paper (Brewerton, 2014a) takes the DeSeCo definition of competencies as representative of the international scene and shows an acceptance of the work of the OECD as it is based on extensive and robust cross-disciplinary research and international debate. As the OECD framework may be used as the basis for international assessments such as PISA (2) and ALL, (3) alignment with their work would make these international assessments more directly useful for evaluating the effectiveness of New Zealand policy and practice. The OECD framework has also been adopted as a starting point by New Zealand's tertiary education policy developers for their work on key competencies. (4) A brief explanation of the competencies model is given in Figure 1. Figure 1 The competencies model * Competencies are integrated, holistic, and complex: they include the knowledge, skills, attitudes, and values needed to meet the demands of a task. * Competencies are not synonymous with "skills" and are a concept fuller than "abilities". * Competencies are performance based and inferred from the action, behaviours, and choices of an individual in a particular context. …