Leading Aotearoa New Zealand’s histories

The stepped pattern of the poutama shows four stages that you can work through with teachers to understand, embed, and sustain Aotearoa New Zealand’s histories in your local curriculum. Each stage has actions to help you find where your school currently is and identify next steps.

Important things to note

• The suggested actions in the poutama are not exhaustive. Your school may identify additional actions to meet the needs and aspirations of your community.
• Many of the activities within this guide relate to actions in the poutama. These are signposted.
• Change takes time. Each school will be starting from a different point on their journey towards confidently and capably teaching Aotearoa New Zealand’s histories. Take a considered approach to this mahi and give it the time and attention needed to complete each part of the journey.
• This guide focuses on the first two stages of the poutama. The second guide focuses on stage three. As your school moves towards embedding and sustaining Aotearoa New Zealand’s histories, follow the actions in stage four of the poutama.

Stage One

We are getting started, as we:

• identify what we already know about Aotearoa New Zealand’s histories and who our experts are (Activities: 1, 2, 3, 5)
• improve knowledge of te reo and mātauranga Māori (Activities: 3)
• know and connect with local whānau, hapū, and iwi (Activities: 3, 4)
• connect with community networks to help us explore the historical significance of local places and people (Activities: 1, 3, 4, 5)
• understand the what, why, when, and how of including Aotearoa New Zealand’s histories in the social sciences learning area. (Activities: 1, 4, 5)

Stage Two

We are developing understandings and relationships, as we:

• grow awareness of national and local histories using a broad range of sources and perspectives (Activities: 1, 2, 3)
• develop our critical inquiry skills (Activities: 1, 2, 5)
• recognise the links between current contexts/events and the past (Activities: 2)
• grow productive and reciprocal partnerships for learning between our school and whānau, hapū, and iwi (Activities: 3, 4)
• make use of Kāhui Ako / school networks to explore mutually beneficial opportunities (Activities: 3, 4)
• take a closer look at the details of Aotearoa New Zealand’s histories in the social sciences learning area (Activities: 5).

Why is our history important?

History is a continuous thread. Contemporary issues that influence our lives can often be linked to past events. People’s actions today shape history tomorrow.

Aotearoa New Zealand’s histories sits in the social sciences learning area of the curriculum and contributes to its purpose – for students to understand “how societies work and how (students) can participate and take action as critical, informed and responsible citizens”.

Young people who know about our national and local histories can succeed in today’s world.

• When ākonga place themselves within the context of Aotearoa New Zealand’s histories, they gain a deeper sense of who they are and how they and their ancestors came to be here.
• To give effect to Te Tiriti o Waitangi, students need to understand its history and the perspectives of the diverse people who keep the Treaty alive.
• Learning about Aotearoa New Zealand’s histories helps students understand different perspectives and experiences, which grows empathy and builds connections between people.
• The study of history helps ākonga develop critical thinking skills and become informed citizens.

“Our diversity is our strength, but only when we build connections to each other. We can move forward together, stronger when we understand the many paths our ancestors walked to bring us to today.” - Chris Hipkins, Education Minister

Aotearoa New Zealand’s histories in social sciences

The national curriculum has been updated to include Aotearoa New Zealand’s histories in the social sciences. The refreshed curriculum describes the big ideas, contexts, and critical thinking practices that all schools need to embed into teaching and learning.

This includes:

• an 'understand, know, do' framework that highlights the learning that every student should experience
• important learning foregrounded in progress outcomes
• clear requirements for national content that all young people need to know wherever they are learning – with room for local content.

The curriculum includes a strong focus on understanding the unique bicultural nature of New Zealand society and recognising that Māori history is the foundational and continuous history of Aotearoa New Zealand. Curriculum content also focuses on the diverse histories of the peoples of Aotearoa New Zealand.

There is scope for schools to use local contexts for learning, which include:

• rohe and local contexts, as defined by whānau, hapū and iwi, with hapū, and iwi as the source of knowledge
• historical contexts that are relevant to local communities
• contexts chosen by students through inquiries into their local area.

“The histories that make up a local curriculum should be meaningful to children that go to that school, and they should reflect the events and stories that sit within that school.” - Pauline Cleaver, Ministry of Education

Leading change

When your school is embarking on changes to teaching and learning, encourage everyone to be open to examining their current beliefs and practices and how these will support the changes.

A collaborative process of self-review helps you probe into issues and establish focus areas. Building and sharing knowledge about teaching practices impacts positively on students’ learning. This knowledge can be used to review and refine your school’s strategic priorities.

In relation to teaching Aotearoa New Zealand’s histories, you could work with teachers to:

• explore the theories and principles that underpin the planned changes and new approaches
• examine everyone’s reactions to these changes and approaches and why they may be feeling this way
• identify together how to most effectively trial and implement the changes.

Important things to note

• People will be at different starting points in terms of both their understanding of Aotearoa New Zealand’s histories and their readiness for change. Tailor a range of support to meet diverse needs.
• Your school will already have history experts – they may be ākonga, kaiako, parents, support staff, or whānau. Recognise and empower your own people to help lead this mahi.
• Preparing for Aotearoa New Zealand’s histories may lead to difficult conversations in complex contexts. Consider how you can safely lead teachers into and out of open, authentic, and challenging conversations in an atmosphere of trust and respect.

To support the implementation of Aotearoa New Zealand’s histories in the social sciences, school leaders and teachers need to increase their own knowledge of national and local histories.

A useful starting point is to consider and reflect on the following four big ideas for Aotearoa New Zealand’s histories:

• 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 history 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.

As you learn about national and local histories with kaiako, use the big ideas as conceptual frameworks to make meaning, structure understandings, and establish connections. Understanding of the big ideas deepens through thinking critically about the past, interpreting stories about it, and growing your knowledge of national, rohe, and local contexts.

Draw on a rich range of history sources to learn about the past. Primary sources (for example, news articles, letters, photographs, paintings, interviews, and physical artefacts) provide original, first-hand, often unedited records of an event. Experts and resources in your community can be used to enrich your understanding of local histories.

Māori History in the New Zealand Curriculum provides guidance on how to approach the teaching of Māori history. The resource Te Takanga o te Wā offers ideas for using different contexts, with emphasis on local history and building collaborative relationships with iwi and hapū.

Aspects of Aotearoa New Zealand’s histories are confronting and may give rise to feelings of hurt, blame, loss, anger, and guilt. Create an emotionally safe environment where teachers can acknowledge and talk about their feelings. Keep a focus on workplace wellbeing as you engage in this mahi.

Critical inquiry

Learning about history requires thinking critically about historical events and considering why they still matter today.

As you work with teachers to learn about national and local histories, take time to explore and develop their critical thinking and inquiry skills. This table outlines the curriculum inquiry practices for thinking critically about the past. The descriptors and focus questions can be used to guide and strengthen your thinking and inquiry processes.

“When we deny our history and pain, our history and pain own us. Historical healing involves gathering the pieces broken by historical trauma and stitching them back together in bold and beautiful intricate patterns of strength and resilience.” - Phoebe Davis (Ngāpuhi), Facilitator

This activity is for school leaders and kaiako to increase their knowledge of significant events and people in Aotearoa New Zealand’s histories.

Getting started (poutama stage 1)

As a staff, read this press release or watch this Te Karere news clip to learn more about the inclusion of Aotearoa New Zealand’s histories in our national curriculum. Discuss what you already know about Aotearoa New Zealand’s histories.

Developing understandings and relationships (poutama stage 2)

Watch a selection of episodes from the Aotearoa History Show, a 14 part web-series developed by Radio New Zealand. Teachers could watch all of the episodes together or divide into groups and watch a selection of videos sharing back what they have learned.

Identify significant historical events, developments, and people from each video and plot them onto a shared timeline.

Select a historical event that happened in your region or that had an impact on people in your region. Work with your teachers to find out more about this event.

You could grow your awareness by:

• researching online
• engaging with whānau, community elders, and historians
• visiting community museums, marae, libraries, and heritage organisations
• exploring historical sites and buildings.

Encourage teachers to use the three inquiry practices for thinking critically about the past as they develop their knowledge.

School examples

Mercer School

In 2020, Mercer School held its first New Zealand History Day to embrace the past. Principal Paula Faitala led a school-wide focus on local histories following a challenge by Waikato Tainui.

Teachers and students have since learned that Mercer was named after a captain who was killed during the Waikato Invasion in 1863. The school has used a variety of resources to explore local histories, including a book of students’ writing dating from the 1950s, the old Mercer jailhouse which sits within the school grounds, and former students who have shared stories of distinguished past pupils such as Princess Te Puia. Visit TVNZ news to find out more about Mercer School’s approach.

“Waikato Tainui were invited to our school to bless our school and I got challenged with the question, ‘Do you know about the land you’re standing on?’ and I said no. And as a principal, I didn’t think that was OK.” - Pauline Faitala, 2020

Hora Hora School

Ākonga from Hora Hora School walked in the forest above their school and found pathways and kumara pits dotted along the cliff tops forming a huge fortress. They wondered about the people who had lived there before, and so began an inquiry to find out more. Students visited their local marae, where the kaumātua talked about the carvings and tukutuku panels. His kōrero helped students learn about local Māori history and gave them a rich understanding of how carvings and tukutuku panels can tell stories about the past.

Read about their discoveries on Living Heritage.

Resources for further exploration

Te Takanga o te Wā – Māori History Guidelines Year 1–8
Te Takanga o te Wā provides a framework to support the teaching and learning of Māori history.

Artefact 2
This TV series focuses on objects and taonga that relate to Aotearoa New Zealand’s histories.

This activity is for school leaders and kaiako to reflect on their awareness of Aotearoa New Zealand’s colonisation.

Getting started (poutama stage 1)

Revisit the big idea for Aotearoa New Zealand’s histories:

Colonisation and settlement have been central to Aotearoa New Zealand's histories for the past 200 years.

Ask teachers to identify what they already know about Aotearoa New Zealand’s colonisation and how their understandings relate to the big idea.

Developing understandings and relationships (poutama stage 2)

Work with teachers to develop deeper understandings about how colonisation and its consequences have been central to our history.

Watch the two videos to hear Māori and Pakehā perspectives:

Impacts of Colonisation on Modern Maori Culture

Episode 1 of RNZ’s Land of the Long White Cloud

Give staff members time to reflect on the viewpoints and information in the videos. Ask them to consider which messages in the videos resonate the most for them and why. Encourage kaiako to think about:

• their personal awareness and experiences of the impact of colonisation
• the ongoing effects of colonisation.

Resources for further exploration

Land of the Long White Cloud
Watch the entire six-part series that tells the stories of Pākehā New Zealanders who are confronting our colonial past and present, 250 years after Cook’s arrival.

Land ownership
This animation shows major Crown land acquisitions since 1840, including confiscations after the New Zealand Wars and the peak of the Native Land Court era.

Māori history is the foundational and continuous history of Aotearoa. Understanding and planning for Aotearoa New Zealand’s histories requires schools to build productive and enduring partnerships with their local whānau, hapū, and iwi.

Through these partnerships, schools can give better effect to Te Tiriti o Waitangi as specified in the Education and Training Act 2020. Schools can also work towards the guiding principles and outcome domains of Ka Hikitia and the goals of Tau Mai te Reo.

There is no land in Aotearoa that does not connect to whānau, hapū, or iwi Māori. All schools in Aotearoa have an obligation to seek out, understand, and accurately teach the histories of tangata whenua to their students.

There are opportunities to:

• invite whānau, hapū and iwi to share local tikanga and knowledge
• include mātauranga Māori and te ao Māori sources in history learning
• use place-based education to enable ākonga to better understand the events that have shaped their community.

Through this mahi, teachers can demonstrate a commitment to tangata whenuatanga and Te Tiriti o Waitangi partnership as described on page 18 of The Code of Professional Responsibility and Standards for the Teaching Profession.

A good place to start building productive partnerships is within your school. Māori students and their whānau may have expert knowledge and connections with iwi.

If you have no Māori whānau, or hapū and iwi connections at your school already, seek support and introductions to Māori communities through Kāhui Ako / school networks or talk with your regional Ministry of Education office.

For more guidance on working with Māori communities, please refer to Connecting with Māori Communities: Whānau, Hapū and Iwi (Berryman, 2014).

“There is an opportunity for a different curriculum, one based on strong relationships between schools and mana whenua, where the mana whenua, if properly resourced, can lead the process … it’s a liberating way of teaching and learning the full history of home, as told by the home people.” - Catherine Delahunty, 2020

Many of the activities in this guide involve working with Māori communities. Keep coming back to this section for advice and strategies to support the development of productive partnerships with whānau, hapū, and iwi.

To avoid overwhelming hapū and iwi with multiple requests for engagement, partner with other schools in your immediate area. There may be opportunities to work collaboratively with hapū and iwi to develop teaching resources for your community. Discuss together with hapū and iwi what histories are going to be told and how.

Evidence based strategies for working with Māori communities

There are several evidence-based strategies that schools can use for building productive partnerships with Māori communities. In two interviews about home-school collaboration, Mere Berryman (2010) and Ted Glynn (2011) responded to questions about how schools should make connections to and engage with Māori whānau and communities. From these interviews, four common themes became apparent:

1. Identify who you are

When Māori whānau and community members are provided with opportunities to know who you are, they can determine their own connections with you. Seek opportunities to interact kanohi ki te kanohi (face-to-face) and enable Māori communities to get to know who you are before finding out what it is that you do.

“Māori communities want to know who I am not what I am. What do I bring to the whānau context, am I a parent, a grandparent, (an aunt, uncle, sister, brother), they want to connect at a personal level so that they can start to build some trust with me.” - Mere Berryman, 2015

2. Build relational trust

Develop and maintain a partnership that is based on reciprocity and relational trust. Attend events within Māori communities so that you can strengthen connections. Have discussions on matters of real interest to build trust and establish shared obligations.

“I liken a relationship with a rūnanga or a marae to a friendship – so when you’re friends with somebody at the beginning of your friendship, you generally wouldn’t ask for things from them. You would develop the friendship, you would visit one another, you would talk about who you were and where you came from and what things you love before you start putting your hand out and asking for things.” - Melanie Taite-Pitama, 2017

3. Listen to communities

Listen respectfully to what whānau, hapū and/or iwi are saying, and be prepared to follow the tikanga set. By listening to what is being said, you are showing commitment and willingness to take part in the process rather than attempting to define how communities will participate.

“You learn more by being silent and listening than you do by speaking and the irony is that if you listen hard you find you can speak more.” - Ted Glynn, 2015

4. Respond accordingly

Instead of approaching partnerships with a “this is what I want you to do” mentality, try “this is who I am; this is what I have to offer; how can we work together?” Be humble and patient in your offering, and be guided by whānau, hapū, and iwi. What you are seeking and what Māori communities are prepared to give might not be the same thing.

“Look before you leap, listen before you speak and put into the network before you take something out.” - Ted Glynn, 2014

Koha atu, koha mai

Reciprocity is essential for building productive partnerships with Māori communities. As hapū and iwi share their knowledge and narratives with you, discuss and negotiate how you can give back.

This activity is for school leaders and kaiako to explore the histories of tangata whenua and develop an understanding of what is unique about the place and the people their school is part of.

Getting started (poutama stage 1)

Work with teachers to explore the meaning of the terms whenua, tangata whenua, tūrangawaewae, and whakapapa. Understand that in the Māori world view, people’s connection to the land is hugely important. As a staff, walk outside your school buildings, place your bare feet on the ground and ask:

• How well do we know the rich history of the whenua on which we stand and the history of tangata whenua?

Ask teachers to share their prior knowledge of local Māori history and ideas for building knowledge.

Developing understandings and relationships (poutama stage 2)

Discuss and develop a shared understanding of cultural narratives.

Use several staff meetings to carry out some or all of the following activities to uncover your school’s cultural narrative. Partner with whānau, hapū, iwi, local libraries, and museums for support. You could elect a representative from your Kāhui Ako (community of learning) to liaise with Māori communities so they are not overwhelmed with multiple requests from individual schools.

• Identify ancestors, historical figures, geographical and environmental features, places, and historical events that are unique to your school’s community. Include a focus on the people, places, land, and histories that matter to local hapū and iwi.
• Explore the ways that tangata whenua have interacted over time with the land that surrounds your school, learning about traditional ways of life.
• Go on a field trip to visit significant local landmarks or historical places – this is especially useful if you have kaiako who aren’t familiar with your local area.
• Read or listen to Māori histories and narratives that connect people to the land and describe how the whenua around you was formed.
• Find out what te reo Māori kupu (words), waiata (songs), and whakataukī (proverbs) are important to local people.
• Develop a school pepehā that acknowledges your school’s cultural location and visit the places named in your pepehā.
• Work out ways that you can reflect and express your cultural narrative in your school’s physical environment, curriculum, values, language, and kaupapa. The following three examples from Canterbury can be used for inspiration:
  • Haeata Community Campus
  • Rāwhiti School
  • Sumner School

“A cultural narrative describes what is unique about the place and the people your educational setting is part of. In the New Zealand context, a cultural narrative recognises the histories of and by mana whenua (tribes who have territorial authority over land), their sacred places, their interactions with the land and their ways of being as a people.” - Ten Trends 2019 Cultural Narratives

“Get to know this place first, and then spread out into the world… This is my message to teachers and educators everywhere. We need to start where our feet are, but never let it stay there. That’s the beginning point only. Everything else moves out from that.” - Professor Wally Penetito

School examples

Whangārei Boys’ High School

The rebuild of Whangārei Boys’ High School has led to authentic engagement between the school and Ngāti Kahu ki Torongare and Te Parawhau. The school partnered with iwi to learn the histories of the land and ensure that its new buildings and grounds reflect narratives of historical occupation, place, flora, and fauna.

Examples of the school’s culturally informed design include:

• the orientation of the school marae to give visitors a view of Parihaka Maunga, a sacred place for iwi
• carved pou (pillars) in the school grounds that reference the school’s values and cultural diversity
• Māori weaving patterns used on building facades that are relevant to the school and local weavers.

“We gave our lands to build a city that our mokopuna could grow and prosper in. Now to be asked to share our history of these lands with the school is really wonderful and so appreciated, I thought it would never happen. We have waited for over 130 years to be asked to share our history and stories of this land with the school.” - Te Parawhau Kuia, 2020

Sacred Heart Primary School, Petone

Ben Ngaia of Te Ātiawa shared origin stories with staff, the Whānau Support Group, and the Board of Trustees at Sacred Heart School in Petone to enrich their understanding of iwi history, perspectives, and values. Ben’s kōrero covered many layers of Māori migration, settlement, and histories. Hearing these narratives was a game changer for the school.

The Whānau Support Group and staff developed their school pepehā with a strong sense of place, heightened by classes visiting the maunga and moana in their pepehā. The school continues to work towards a culturally located curriculum with students learning and retelling origin stories, developing knowledge of te reo and mātauranga Māori, researching place and street names, and continuing to develop relationships with iwi.

Resources for further exploration

Building relationships with whānau, hapū, and iwi
The Educational Leaders website supports school leaders to build enduring, reciprocal relationships with whānau, hapū, and iwi.

Changes to our national curriculum have made Aotearoa New Zealand’s histories a stronger part of the social sciences learning area. Schools and communities can use the national framework to design their local curriculum.

School leaders and teachers need to review how they currently approach teaching and learning in the social sciences and identify ways to incorporate histories content to strengthen students’ learning of contemporary topics.

As you work with kaiako to review your social sciences programme and plan for histories, use the following questions to guide your inquiry and facilitate discussions:

• What content and conceptual understandings do we currently focus on in the social sciences?
• What histories and related conceptual understandings do we want our students to know?
• What relationships and resources do we draw on to support teaching and learning in the social sciences?
• What relationships and resources will strengthen Aotearoa New Zealand’s histories?
• How do we currently focus on students’ inquiry practices and how can these be enhanced?
• How can learning in the social sciences be strengthened with knowledge of histories?

Rich community experiences strengthen your programmes. As part of your review, look into your relationships for learning with your school community. Make use of your community’s resources and connections with different organisations, groups, and service providers. Use the productive partnerships with whānau, hapū, and iwi strategies in this guide to support your development.

You will know you’re enabling relationships across your learning community when:

• there is regular collaboration with whānau, hapū, iwi, and other important community groups
• students have a say in the design of the local curriculum, particularly for contexts linked to their interests
• your social sciences programme draws on community expertise, resources, and local contexts for learning
• building community relationships is embedded in strategic and annual planning.

This activity is for school leaders and kaiako to identify resources in their immediate area – people and places – to strengthen Aotearoa New Zealand’s histories.

Getting started (poutama stage 1)

As a staff, brainstorm a list of people and places in the community that can support the development of histories in your social sciences programme. Send a newsletter or post to social media asking for parent and whānau input into the brainstorming process.

Start by looking inward at the people who are in your school – kaiako, support staff, ākonga, parents, and whānau. Who are the experts?

Extend your view outward to hapū, iwi, and other important community groups. Who could you collaborate with, and what could you create together?

Identify relevant community services and organisations, such as libraries, museums, and historical associations, where you might find people to work with. Don’t forget to consider historical and sacred sites that exist in your towns and cities. Check "A history of New Zealand in 100 places" for heritage sites that are located near your school.

Developing understandings and relationships (poutama stage 2)

Look at your list of community resources and work through the following questions:

• Which teachers use each resource/have contact with the resource?
• How can you deepen existing relationships for learning and forge new ones?
• Which resources do you think are critical to the success of histories teaching and learning – who do you need to be in contact with?
• How can you collaborate with other schools in your area to invite hapū, iwi, and other important community groups to share their knowledge and resources?
• Which history contexts and topics can be enhanced through local connections and places?
• Who could help shape your vision and plan for Aotearoa New Zealand’s histories?

Make a database of possible connections and allocate staff to investigate further. Add action points for enabling relationships for learning into your strategic and annual planning.

School example

Whanganui City College

Arapeta Latus, a student from Whanganui City College, visited Pākaitore which sparked his interest in learning about Aotearoa New Zealand’s histories. At this local historical site, Arapeta viewed a marble statue of Taitoko Keepa Te Rangihiwinui (Major Kemp), a famous Māori military leader of the time, who fought for the British. Arapeta studied Level 1 history to learn more about the Battle of Moutoa through the broader context of the New Zealand Wars. The sharing of local history by local people enriched his understandings.

This activity is for school leaders and kaiako to develop an understanding of how local histories can be connected to national topics and big ideas.

Getting started (poutama stage 1)

Ask teachers to work in groups to discuss what they know about the history of the area surrounding your school. Encourage groups to think about historical events, people, settlements, buildings, and sacred sites that are relevant to different groups of people in your community.

Teachers may need extra time and opportunity to research local history to ensure that a rich range of events and people are considered.

Invite teachers to share their ideas with each other. Add local history to the shared timeline that you created in activity one.

Developing understandings and relationships (poutama stage 2)

As a staff, consider how local history can be connected to a broader national picture of Aotearoa New Zealand’s histories. You could:

• Examine the histories that are listed on your shared timeline and see if you can make links between local and national content.
• Match local histories to national topics in the Aotearoa New Zealand’s histories resources guide. For example, teachers in the Gisborne area might draw connections between the 1865 siege of Waerenga-a-Hika (local history) and the New Zealand Wars (part of a national context).
• Read through the big ideas for Aotearoa New Zealand’s histories (listed in this guide) and consider how these big ideas can be linked to, and explored through, local historical contexts.

Work with teachers, ākonga, whānau, and your community to decide which local content you will use to strengthen Aotearoa New Zealand’s histories. Spend time growing your understanding of this local content using a range of sources and perspectives.

Refreshing our national curriculum

The 2007 New Zealand Curriculum is being refreshed to ensure that it is clear, easy to use, and delivers inclusive and equitable learning for all ākonga. Social sciences is the first learning area to be updated, and it includes Aotearoa New Zealand’s histories as new content.

Features of the Aotearoa New Zealand’s histories curriculum content that reflect the wider curriculum refresh model include:

• Understand, Know, Do elements that explicitly describe the learning that cannot be left to chance
• opportunities for the development of mātauranga Māori, key competencies, and literacy
• progressions that identify the depth and breadth of learning required at each phase
• clear requirements for national and local content.

“I think one of the benefits of this curriculum for teachers is a much greater clarity about what it is that students need to study and a greater clarity about that study at different levels.” - Graeme Aitken, ANZH writing team member

The national curriculum content provides guidance on what ākonga should learn about Aotearoa New Zealand’s histories as they move through schooling. Leaders and kaiako decide on the teaching approaches to use, and work with their communities to determine the specific topics to be taught.

Positioning Aotearoa New Zealand’s histories within the social sciences enables schools to:

• explore histories that are historically significant and important to students’ lives and the modern world
• encourage ākonga to take action as critical, informed, and responsible citizens.

“Learning in the social sciences aims to help students to thrive in the diverse communities and environments of Aotearoa New Zealand and beyond ... Aotearoa New Zealand’s histories supports this aim through its focus on stories of interactions across time that connect people to each other and to place.” - Aotearoa New Zealand's Histories in The New Zealand Curriculum (2022, p. 1)

The implementation process

Schools and kura will start to implement Aotearoa New Zealand’s histories from 2023. Full implementation will take time. The incremental stages of the poutama and the range of existing and upcoming resources and professional support will help you move steadily towards embedding and sustaining Aotearoa New Zealand’s histories.

“We know that our students want to have a place in their community and want to have a voice. Part of this histories programme is to really encourage students to be involved in their communities.” - Michelle Tamua, ANZH writing team member 

“History has a key part to play in terms of informing our learners regarding the relationship between the past and the present and how learners can engage in that process of shaping our future. Knowledge of our history is a key part of how we understand the world.” - Hēmi Dale (Te Rarawa and Te Aupōuri), Te Takanga o te Wā writing team member

There are three elements to the Aotearoa New Zealand’s histories curriculum content: Understand, Know, and Do. These elements are not separate, and they are not in sequence.

“Teachers design learning experiences that weave these elements together so that student learning is deep and meaningful.” - Aotearoa New Zealand's Histories in The New Zealand Curriculum (2022, p. 1)

Understand – Big ideas

The big ideas for Aotearoa New Zealand’s histories are enduring understandings that ākonga explore in all learning about our histories. Although the big ideas don’t change across year levels, students gradually deepen their understanding of them as they grow their knowledge of national, rohe, and local contexts and develop their use of inquiry practices.

The topics and themes that schools select provide fertile grounds for exploring the big ideas and transferring understandings to new contexts.

When selecting a topic, teachers can ask, "How will the topic help ākonga explore the big ideas?", for example:

• the foundational and continuous history of Māori
• the impact of colonisation and settlement
• the power people and groups hold
• and the relationships that have shaped our history

Kaiako and ākonga can frame inquiry questions and learning experiences around one or more of the big ideas to develop depth and breadth of context.

“I like the fact that the big ideas that we’ve got underpin the curriculum and that the learning is taking place across the different year levels and that it’s building and deepening student knowledge through stories and interpretations of history.” - Bronwyn Houliston, Head of Social Sciences at St Mary’s College and ANZH writing team member

Know – National, rohe, and local contexts

The big ideas come to life for ākonga as they develop knowledge of national, rohe, and local contexts. These contexts are made up of stories about events, people, the land, and how they interact. As students move through schooling, they gain richer understandings of the big ideas through new and more complex contexts.

• The prescribed contexts describe the expected learning for all students across Aotearoa New Zealand.
• Rohe contexts are defined by iwi and hapū and are guided by the question, ‘What stories do local iwi and hapū share about the history of the people of this rohe?’
• Local contexts include histories that are important to local communities and students.

Learning will connect local iwi, hapū, and community histories with the prescribed contexts in ways that are relevant to the lives of ākonga, their whānau, and communities.

Exploring the rich and diverse histories and experiences of all of the peoples of Aotearoa New Zealand is an important part of knowing about our collective heritage. The learning experiences listed under each progress outcome in the curriculum provide examples of the histories of diverse groups. Teachers can use these examples to grow their own knowledge of Aotearoa New Zealand’s histories and decide what national and local content to focus on in programmes of learning.

“We wanted all New Zealanders to be able to see themselves in the curriculum and not feel like they are studying a history that’s unrelated to them. We wanted to ensure that your history journey begins with yourself and the relationships you have to local iwi and their land … Then as you start to progress through the curriculum, you start to see the layered moments of history … You can explore some really big national concepts through local contexts.” - Dr Nēpia Mahuika (Ngāti Porou), Convenor of History at the University of Waikato and ANZH writing team member

Do - Three inquiry practices

The three inquiry practices are the processes and skills that ākonga use to deepen their understanding and knowledge of Aotearoa New Zealand’s histories. They are the means by which students understand the big ideas and know national, rohe, and local contexts.

Through the inquiry practices, history becomes more than learning about facts, names, and dates. The inquiry practices are used to think critically and empathetically about our past and explore the different ways it is interpreted and told.

As students move through schooling, they apply the three inquiry practices in new and more complex ways. The Do progression describes what each inquiry practice looks like at each phase of learning. These progressions help teachers understand the increasing sophistication of the processes and skills that need to be taught.

“It’s not just about learning stories, learning narratives, learning what happened in what order, it’s also learning how to think critically. And that acts like a safety valve to some degree, for young people to think rationally and reasonably and critically about what they’re engaging with.” - Dr Mark Sheehan, Faculty of Education, Victoria University of Wellington

Progression - The phases of learning

The progressions model “chunks” learning about Aotearoa New Zealand’s histories into phases – years 1–3, 4–6, 7–8, and 9–10. Each phase makes the big purpose of learning at that phase clear. For example, years 1–3 has a focus on building a strong literacy, numeracy, and social emotional foundation, whereas years 9–10 brings in consolidating deeper learning and using the language and conventions of the discipline.

The progressions model gives clarity about the direction of learning and the key outcomes that matter across the phases, so teachers, ākonga, and whānau can see what is important and how learning develops.

“We’re providing a structure that’s much clearer about where things sit and at what level they sit.” - Graeme Aitken, ANZH writing team member

Activities 1 to 3

The following three activities support leaders and kaiako to explore the Understand, Know, Do elements of Aotearoa New Zealand’s histories using the 1981 Springbok tour as an example topic.

Through these activities you will learn how:

• the big ideas give depth and breadth to a topic
• the Knows and Dos describe what it looks like at each phase
• to weave the three elements (UKD) into your planning.

Using your own topic

You may prefer to examine the Understand, Know, Do elements through a topic of your choice and adapt activities 1–3 to suit.

Before you begin, check that your selected topic:

• is historically significant and provides varied opportunities to understand the big ideas
• is relevant to the lives of ākonga, whānau, and local communities
• supports learning at local, national, and global levels
• has contemporary significance.

Source a range of stories about your selected topic to explore through the activities. You could search for national stories related to your topic on New Zealand History and Te Ara. Find local stories by making use of community partnerships and networks.

Understand

This activity is for school leaders and aiako to use the big ideas of Aotearoa New Zealand’s histories to strengthen a topic. The activity uses the events of the Springbok tour as an example, but what happened is part of a wider national and international story about race relations.

Watch Tales from Te Papa Episode 4: Rugby Ball and John Minto, a short film about the 1981 Springbok tour. Explain to teachers that the Springbok tour is a historically significant event and an example of a meaningful topic that provides rich opportunities to understand the curriculum’s big ideas.

Ask kaiako to share what they already know about the Springbok tour. Some teachers may have limited knowledge and want to learn more about the events and impact of the Springbok tour. NZ History is a reliable source of background information. Some teachers may remember the tour and want to share first-hand accounts and perspectives.

Learning about the past involves recognising the varied experiences and perspectives of different groups of New Zealanders. Teachers’ own identities, experiences, and perspectives will influence how they feel about specific histories. Refer to Reviewing and refining your social sciences programme in this guide for strategies to protect people’s wellbeing and build understanding and empathy.

Print copies of pages 2–3 of the ANZH curriculum and read through each whakataukī and big idea statement. Highlight key words and phrases and ask teachers to share, in their own words, what they think each big idea is about.

Discuss how the 1981 Springbok tour relates to the big ideas using the following questions to guide conversations:

• What does each big idea mean in relation to the 1981 Springbok tour?
• Which big ideas have the greatest relevance to this particular topic? Why?

Capture your thinking from all three activities in a shared file or on a large piece of paper so that each activity adds to the whole.

Know

This activity is for school leaders and aiako to explore and make connections between local contexts and ANZH national contexts, using the 1981 Springbok tour as an example topic.

Listen to the ANZH curriculum writers talk about national, rohe, and local contexts for Aotearoa New Zealand’s histories in this Ministry of Education video (watch from 5:30 to 7:55). Discuss how the writers emphasise the importance of rohe and local contexts and make connections between local histories, the wider New Zealand context, and the big ideas. Make sure that teachers know the difference between topics and contexts here.

Explain that:

• a topic is an overarching theme or event that has personal and social significance for society and helps ākonga understand the curriculum’s big ideas
• contexts are the national, rohe, and local stories that relate to the topic and bring the big ideas to life.

View the "1981 Springbok tour schedule" to find out what happened in different parts of Aotearoa New Zealand when the Springboks toured in 1981. Investigate what events took place in or near your region.

Learn how local people responded to the Springbok tour by:

• inviting family members of kaiako and ākonga to share anecdotes and memories
• partnering with whānau, hapū, and iwi to find out about Māori narratives and perspectives
• sourcing information from your community museum or library
• researching online.

Compare and contrast the experiences and perspectives shared through local stories.

Use the progress outcome pages from the ANZH curriculum. Ask teachers to look through the key knowledge, key questions, and learning experiences for each national context at each phase of learning. Identify curriculum content that has relevance to the 1981 Springbok tour.

Consider and discuss:

• which national contexts have the greatest relevance to this particular topic
• how local stories about the Springbok tour connect to the national contexts and the big ideas
• how learning about the Springbok tour will look different at different phases of learning. (What will younger ākonga explore? What will older ākonga explore?)

Capture your thinking from all three activities in a shared file or on a large piece of paper so that each activity adds to the whole.

Do

This activity is for school leaders and kaiako to consider what the inquiry practices look like across the phases of learning using the 1981 Springbok tour as an example topic.

Listen to the ANZH curriculum writers talk about the inquiry practices in this Ministry of Education video (watch from 3:40 to 5:26). Consider and discuss how the writers describe the inquiry practices and the role of the practices in developing critical thinking skills.

Read through the learning experiences in the table, which promote critical thinking about the Springbok tour through use of the ANZH inquiry practices. Choose at least one learning experience to complete together as a staff.

Read the Do statements in the ANZH curriculum.

Consider and discuss:

• how the learning experiences in the table connect to and reflect the practices
• how you could simplify or extend the learning experiences to suit students working at different year levels.

Capture your thinking from all three activities in a shared file or on a large piece of paper so that each activity adds to the whole.

School examples

Pukekohe Intermediate School

Teachers from Pukekohe Intermediate developed a rich learning opportunity for ākonga around the history of Pukekohe East Church, a local heritage building that was the site of a dramatic battle during the Waikato War in 1863. This local history exemplifies the national context Tūrangawaewae me te kaitiakitanga and provided many opportunities to explore the big ideas.

Using a wide range of sources and perspectives, teachers designed a histories unit weaving the Understand, Know, and Do elements together. They compared year 6 progress outcomes with year 8 progress outcomes to identify what understandings, knowledge, and competencies students needed to develop.

A key focus of the inquiry was exploring and understanding the different perspectives and experiences of people connected to the conflict, including tangata whenua, Governor Grey, the Crown, and British settlers.

“So when we looked at doing a lesson on the Pukekohe East Church, we realised that we had to go back a little bit further and that created an even bigger picture for us. When we looked back at the curriculum, it really covered three big ideas. We were looking at Māori history being our first history, we were looking at colonisation and power struggles. So what we thought was actually something quite small actually became something that was quite a powerful lesson and quite thought provoking for our students.” - Kelly Andrew, Lead Teacher of ANZH at Pukekohe Intermediate

Resources for further exploration

"Aotearoa New Zealand’s histories in action"
Watch part two of these histories videos to learn how teachers have designed rich learning experiences that weave the elements of the ANZH curriculum together and support ākonga to work towards progress outcomes.

Once leaders and teachers have explored the Understand, Know, Do elements of the Aotearoa New Zealand’s histories curriculum, they can use their knowledge of the new curriculum content to review and refine existing social sciences programmes and look for opportunities for histories learning.

As you work with staff to review your social sciences programme, seek input from students, parents, whānau, hapū, iwi, and community groups so that your local curriculum reflects what is important to people in your community.

Consider how you and your teachers can work with the community to:

• unpack the detail of Aotearoa New Zealand’s histories curriculum content and understand its position in social sciences
• identify local and rohe contexts that are important and of interest
• create a safe space for local people to share local stories
• ensure that everyone can see themselves in teaching and learning that reflects the diversity of Aotearoa New Zealand’s histories
• find supporting resources – people, cultural heritage organisations, and local places.

“Part of what we can do as teachers is look at what we’ve already got, what’s really good and what’s working in our classrooms in the social sciences … and to look for places where we can really draw out the history in a bit more detail, but also keep it in a contemporary setting.” - Bronwyn Houliston, Head of Social Sciences at St Mary's College and ANZH writing team member

Planning for, and implementing, Aotearoa New Zealand’s histories in social sciences requires schools to build productive and enduring partnerships with Māori whānau, hapū, and iwi. Mana whenua have authority and agency over their mātauranga, tikanga, and taonga – they are the decision-makers about what histories will be shared and how.

Building Closer Partnerships with Māori, developed by Te Arawhiti The Office for Māori Crown Relations, can also be used by schools to guide the development of effective partnerships with whānau, hapū, and iwi.

This activity is for school leaders and kaiako to review their current approaches to teaching social sciences and look for opportunities to include Aotearoa New Zealand’s histories.

Watch part one of the Aotearoa New Zealand’s histories in action videos, where teachers talk about their approaches to ANZH planning and explain how they chose topics and themes for classroom trialling.

List topics and themes that you already explore in your social sciences programme and that ākonga enjoy learning about. For each topic/theme, talk about how (and if) it can be related to the ANZH big ideas and how (and if) it provides opportunities to develop the critical thinking practices that are needed to explore histories.

Work through the traffic light questions below to identify things you need to STOP, CHECK, and START to strengthen your social sciences programme with Aotearoa New Zealand’s histories. As you explore and answer these questions, seek out and listen to the ideas of students, parents, whānau, hapū, iwi, and community groups.

If you work within a Kāhui Ako, compare your ideas for implementing Aotearoa New Zealand’s histories with teachers across your schooling network to ensure that there is a progression in complexity and depth of learning. You may want to explore some of the traffic light questions as Communities of Learning.

Stop, Check, Start

Use these questions to help you make a list of things to STOP:

• Which topics and themes have little or no relevance to Aotearoa New Zealand’s histories or other social sciences curriculum content?
• Which topics and themes do not suit the needs and interests of our ākonga and community?
• What content and resources reflect outdated or negative stereotypes of different groups of people?

Use these questions to help you make a list of things to CHECK:

• What aspects of Aotearoa New Zealand’s histories do we think we already explore well through social sciences? How do we know?
• What histories are engaging for ākonga and important to parents, whānau, hapū, iwi, and community groups?
• What resources and contexts do we already use to support histories learning? Do they offer diverse perspectives and include mātauranga Māori sources and approaches?
• What existing units of work can be enhanced with a focus on histories?

Use these questions to help you make a list of things to START:

• What do the progress outcomes tell us about what we should be teaching?
• What topics and themes could we enrich with histories learning?
• What new topics and themes could we introduce? At what levels?
• What histories content and stories do kaiako need to know themselves to be able to successfully design and teach rich learning programmes for Aotearoa New Zealand’s histories?

School examples

St Mary’s College, Ponsonby

Teachers at St Mary’s College in Ponsonby carried out a stocktake of their current social sciences units for years 7 to 10. Guided by the progress outcomes in the draft curriculum, they identified units that already aligned with Aotearoa New Zealand’s histories and units that could be easily adapted to include histories content.

Teachers found that a year 10 unit that investigates Pacific migration to Aotearoa New Zealand and focuses on the dawn raids and Polynesian Panthers is closely related to the national contexts of ANZH and an aspect of the years 9–10 progress outcome. A year 7 unit that explores local history through a place-based approach had clear links to the ANZH big ideas, especially Māori history as continuous and foundational, and the impacts of colonisation.

“So this is something that we are already doing in our classes and something that will really easily align with this new curriculum that’s coming in. It just might mean that we change the emphasis a little bit on what we’re focusing on in class but all the base work is there.” - Bronwyn Houliston, Head of Social Sciences at St Mary's College and ANZH writing team member

School and iwi collaboration in Tauranga Moana

Schools and iwi in Te Moana-a-Toi Bay of Plenty are working together to create a localised curriculum resource that can be used by teachers across Tauranga Moana to support the implementation of Aotearoa New Zealand’s histories in social sciences. Three local iwi are collaborating with the region’s five Kāhui Ako to create a resource that encompasses te reo Māori, tikanga Māori, stories, and local history. The resource provides a rich range of rohe contexts that can be used to bring authenticity and diverse perspectives to histories learning. Te Tai Whanake ki Tauranga Moana Kaitiaki is an initiative that has been developed over several years, as the region’s Kāhui Ako have worked to strengthen relationships with each other and local iwi and hapū.

Read more about this curriculum partnership in the Education Gazette.

Resources for further exploration

Guidance on Relationships for Learning
The Relationships for Learning Tool has a series of collaborative tasks to help you make strategic decisions about the relationships that can support the learning of all ākonga in your setting.

ANZH Planning Tools
Find helpful prompts in the planning log and planning and implementation guide to support the design of your Aotearoa New Zealand’s histories programme.