Kia Ora!
In this video I will provide a brief overview of the NZ School System
We will look at:
The types of schools in NZ
The year level systems and how schools are divided up
Assessment
The NZ Curriculum
NCEA
What a NZ Classroom looks like and feels like
Discipline
And Homework
Firstly, there are three different types of schools in NZ
There are public or state schools
state-integrated schools
which could include special character faith based schools
and private schools
In NZ the school year begins in late January and finishes in December
It is divided into four terms of about ten weeks each
with two weeks of holidays between each term
and six weeks of summer holidays in December and January.
A child begins school when they are five years old
and finish when they are about 18 years old.
This process is divided by year levels from Year 0 to Year 13.
Primary school is from Years 0-6
Intermediate school is from Years 7-8.
However, some schools are what we call a 'full primary' from Years 0-8.
and High School is from Years 9-13.
Some schools are just primary schools or high schools
but other schools follow through all the way from Year 0 to Year 13.
Schools in NZ usually have between 100 students and 2000 students.
Assessment in NZ is based on the NZ Curriculum
and from Years 0-10
this is low stakes assessment.
assessment data is used to inform teaching and learning and can be reported on
however, it does not have a big impact on a child's future pathways.
During Years 11-13
students complete NCEA Levels 1, 2 and 3.
This assessment is more high stakes
and results from this can be used by universities or employers to inform decision making.
The NZ Curriculum is divided into 8 essential learning areas
which all schools must offer.
These are:
English
The arts
including visual art, drama, dance and music
Health and Physical Education
Learning Languages
this one; however, is not essential for schools to offer at all year levels
Mathematics and Statistics
Science
Social Science
and Technology
Each learning area is divided into eight levels
that contain a number of different
achievement objectives.
The NZ Curriculum is not prescriptive
but rather provides a framework
that allows schools and teachers to be flexible
with learning content and contexts
provided they cover the achievement objectives.
NCEA is our National Certificate of Educational Achievement
It is divided into levels 1, 2 and 3
and usually completed
during years 11-13 of high school.
It is a standards based system
where subjects offer a number of different standards
that cover a range of skills.
Student receive a number of credits for each standard passed
and students need to gain
a certain number of credits
overall to achieve each NCEA Level.
Students can be assessed
through Internal assessment
which is prepared and marked by the school.
and some work from each assessment
can be moderated each year
by the New Zealand Qualifications Authority
to ensure assessment is meeting the standard.
There is also External assessment
which is taken in the form of national exams
at the end of the school year.
These are marked and moderated
by the New Zealand Qualifications Authority.
So, what does a New Zealand Classroom look like?
Many schools and classrooms in New Zealand
have adopted a 'modern learning environment'.
This is generally categorised
by open and flexible spaces,
break out rooms and various types of furniture.
This is designed to allow for collaboration and group work
which is a big part of the NZ classroom.
Most schools in NZ
have a compulsory uniform
that students wear every day.
Use of digital devices for learning
are becoming more and more important in NZ schools.
Some schools
have school owned devices for students to use
and other schools have Bring Your Own Device policies
where students are required to buy
and bring their own device to school.
The use of digital technologies for learning
is becoming an increasingly important
part of the NZ classroom.
If you looked into a NZ classroom
almost anywhere in the country
you would notice that it is very multi-cultural.
This fact allows the NZ classroom
to be a place of rich learning
as students from all cultures
are encouraged to share and explore their personal values
cultures and heritages.
Let's take a look now
at what a NZ classroom feels like.
Firstly, it should feel like a safe space
for students to be in.
This means that students should feel safe
to take risks and make mistakes without fear of the teacher
or other students putting them down.
It also means that teachers are active encouragers of students
and work to create a space
where students can work together in groups to collaborate in their learning.
Where ideas are shared and respected.
Most importantly
positive relationships should be the back bone of a NZ classroom.
Whanaungatanga.
Teachers actively get to know their students
their interests and passions as well as their strengths and weaknesses.
This helps the teacher to adapt content
to their students specific needs and interests
Which in turn helps the student
to relate to their learning and enjoy a good relationship with their teacher
because they know that the teacher really cares for them
and wants the best for them.
So what about discipline in a NZ classroom?
Every classroom is different
and kids will always be kids
however, the process of dealing with misbehavior
is pretty similar across all schools.
In the first place
teachers are taught to focus on the positives.
To constantly be praising good behaviour
rather than always focusing on negative behaviour.
This provides encouragement for the students
to continue in good behaviour patterns.
If students behaviour is particularly unacceptable in the classroom
schools may have a referral system
where students are removed from the class.
However, these students are always followed up
with a restorative justice meeting
or the like
with a Dean or the classroom teacher
or if there has been an incident involving a number of students
all parties will be present to discuss the situation
talk about how they felt
ask questions
and work together to resolve the conflict.
Next, let's talk about homework.
The amount of homework and type of homework
varies between schools.
Some schools have a no homework policy
where teachers cannot assign homework.
And some schools
do allow homework to be set by the classroom teacher.
If students do have homework
this would usually take between fifteen minutes and three hours
to complete for all subjects combined
depending on the year level.
NZ students are often very busy after school
as they are involved in playing sports or music
or taking part in cultural clubs or youth groups
so they don't always have a lot of time at home to complete homework
which a lot of teachers and schools acknowledge.
I'd like to leave with a whakatauki
a maori proverb.
Nāu te rourou, nāku te rourou
ka ora ai te iwi.
With your food basket and my food basket
everyone will have enough.
NZ has a unique partnership between the people of the land
the Māori and the crown
which is laid out in the Treaty of Waitangi.
Everyone has the responsibility
to work together for the good of all.
And this is particularly evident in the NZ school system.
I hope that this video has been a helpful overview of the NZ school system.
I have also attached a number of links in the description
to websites for further reading.
If you have any questions or comments
feel free to put them in the comments section below.