Maths curriculum changes defended by minister amid teacher outcry

Maths Curriculum Changes Defended by Education Minister

The Education Minister supports recent revisions to the school maths curriculum, despite concerns from educators who feel overwhelmed by the extent of the updates.

Teacher Concerns Over Curriculum Update

Many teachers and academics are urging a delay in implementing the new curriculum, citing the need for more preparation time due to significant changes in content for students in years 0 to 10.

“This is a new new curriculum. I wrote many pages of feedback on the original draft maths curriculum with my thoughts about that and I went back to them and had a read, and it’s almost entirely different from what I originally gave feedback on.”

— Jennifer Crisp, Head of Mathematics, Porirua College

Crisp expressed surprise at how much the final curriculum differed from the draft she and others had reviewed. She also noted that some topics have been moved to earlier year levels, raising concerns about students’ ability to keep up.

“They’ve taken a piece of algebra that we would normally teach at Year 12 and moved it down to Year 10. So in order to get students ready for that in Year 10, a lot has had to be moved much earlier.”

— Jennifer Crisp

Academic Perspective on Curriculum Changes

Lisa Darragh, a mathematics education lecturer at the University of Auckland, highlighted that several important topics have been removed from the new curriculum, adding to concerns about its impact.

Summary

The new maths curriculum introduces extensive changes that many educators feel unprepared for, prompting calls for a delay despite government support.

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1News 1News — 2025-11-02

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