Subject emphasis in schools reviewed

Press, 21 January 1984, Page 7

Subject emphasis in schools reviewed

PA Auckland A big study of the compulsory content of primary and secondary school curricula is expected to be released by April. The Minister of Education, Mr Wellington, is studying the report now, and said in Auckland yesterday that he would distribute it to principals in a crosssection of schools for their comments and possible modification before releasing it publicly.

This was the first time the core curricula of prim-

ary and secondary schools had been reviewed since 1928 and 1945 respectively, Mr Wellington said.

Subject content had been updated, but the balance and relationship between compulsory subjects, such as English, mathematics, social studies, and physical education, had not. The two groups which have been reviewing the curricula since the end of 1982 met last August to combine their work into a single report. This was presented to the Minister before Christmas.

The groups were composed of representatives from the Education Department, the Educational Institute, education boards, independent schools, the PostPrimary Teachers’ Association, the University Entrance Board and the Secondary School Boards’ Association.

“We are looking less at what is taught and more at the amount of time that should be devoted to (compulsory subjects),” Mr Wellington said.

The result of the report would be a “fine-tuning” of the curricula rather than a radical change, he said. The main emphasis would be on the amount of school time being spent on particular subjects and the consequences that any change might have on school accommodation and teacher training. He suggested that English and maths were two subjects which might gain more attention.

The possibility of a fourterm year was dismissed as having “not much chance at the moment.”

The difficulty with localised four-term year experiments called for by communities in Northland and Tokoroa was the mobility of the New Zealand population, said Mr Wellington.

“It would cause problems for families, especially those with school-age children, that moved from, say, Southland and found themselves in a different time frame.”