A future-focused conception of the New Zealand curriculum: culturally responsive approaches to technology education

Abstract

New Zealand has had a technology curriculum since the mid 1990s. The curriculum has recently been revised, with a view to foster students’ digital fluency and ability to function in a technologically mediated world. The nature of schools is also changing in New Zealand. Advocated approaches encourage students’ engagement in creative and practical tasks, problem-solving and critical thinking, in relation to a range of global and local issues. This paper reports on qualitative research, to explore how two teachers fostered “future-focused” learning, within an innovative learning environment, at a junior secondary school level. Data were collected through observational and self-report methods. The findings suggest that future-focused approaches to an integrated curriculum are affected by teachers’ collaborative skills and knowledge of culturally responsive, digital, and learner-centred pedagogies.