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Korero �on the new Year 11-13 �Draft RS Curriculum

Association Zoom Meeting

Hosted by Colin MacLeod

(RSTAANZ Chair)

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Background

  • Pre 2024 – RS NCEA review was near completion.

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Curriculum and Assessment Change Programme (CACP)

  • 2025 – Year 1-10 some inclusion of RS in NZC rewrite.
  • Dec. ‘25 – Call for RS subject advisors.
  • Jan. ‘26 – Appointment of 3 RS subject advisors (2 from RSTAANZ exec.)
  • 20th Feb. – First RS on-line meeting, several follow.
  • 16th Mar. – Face to face week-long writing hui in Wellington.
  • Interim – MoE + RS Expert + subject advisors review.
  • 14th May – Draft 11-13 RS curriculum released.
  • 15th Jun. – Feedback closes. (MoE completes re-write.)

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Background

  • Religious Studies has never had a full presence �in the NZC – it is getting that now!
  • The drafting process has been far too quick.
    • NDAs still in place, but a public draft out for discussion.
  • NZ RS educational landscape is fairly unique:
    • 90+% taken by state-integrated colleges.
    • Low presence of RS training in Colleges of Ed.
    • Strong presence of local curriculum. (Linked to integration agreements.)
  • Assessment is still an unknown. (“At least five”. 3-pass; 5-endorsement.)
  • As is the final form after MoE finishes editing.

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Background

  • Standard thinking is gone. Now ‘whole subject’:
    • ‘Knowledge’ is the driver
    • Distinct content across subjects
    • Not possible to include ‘outside components’
    • Distinct content across strands (but potential for context connections – i.e. covering same ‘two’ religions)
    • All strands must be taught
    • All knowledge and practices are compulsory

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The Draft – Structure

  • Capabilities (p. 5) – Core in the draft NZC.
  • Disciplinary Writing (p. 6) – New. (incl. RS Literacy)
  • Strands (p. 8+):

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Religious Beliefs and Practices

Religious

Narratives

Religious �History

Religious �Ethics

Rituals

  • Embodiment
  • Symbolism
  • Time/space
  • Identity

Traditions

  • Doctrine
  • Cosmology
  • Anthropology

Source

  • Authority
  • Composition
  • Historical Context

Interpretation

  • Genre/Form
  • Themes/Purpose
  • Exegetical perspectives

Events/Movements/People

  • Continuity
  • Change
  • Leadership
  • Transmission

Context

  • Cultural/Social
  • Political environ.
  • Worldview

Teachings

  • Virtues/Values
  • Rights/Responsibilities
  • Moral Reasoning
  • Justice and Law

Praxis

  • Making Choices
  • Applying models
  • Social Justice

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Teaching Sequence - Contexts

  • Year 11 (pp. 9-10)

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Religious Beliefs and Practices

Religious

Narratives

Religious �History

Religious �Ethics

Choose any branch from at least two religious and/or spiritual traditions from the list below:

  • Buddhism
  • Christianity
  • Hinduism
  • Islam
  • Judaism
  • Māori Spirituality

Choose one of the religious or spiritual narratives below:

  • A Gospel (Matthew, Mark, Luke, or John)
  • The second Surah of the Qur’an
  • The book of Exodus
  • The Bhagavad Gita

Students will study the context of Religion in Aotearoa New Zealand in the 19th century.

Choose any branch from at least two religious and/or spiritual traditions for religious ethics:

  • Buddhism
  • Christianity
  • Hinduism
  • Islam
  • Judaism
  • Māori Spirituality

Embodiment: Beliefs, actions, words & gestures

Symbolism: R/S meaning within symbols

Sacred time/space: Holy days/festivals & places

Communal identity: identity and belonging

Doctrines: Key beliefs/teachings

Anthropology: Beliefs about nature of humanity

Provenance: Origins and transmission

Authority: Why is it important

Composition: How did it come to be in it’s final form

Context: Historical, cultural and social contexts

Genre/Form: Reasons and effects of styles

Continuity: R/S Understandings brought to NZ

Change: Responses to challenge’ impact of R/S.

Leadership: Who was leading

Transmission: identity and belonging

Cultural/Social: History, conditions, impacts

Political: Responses of R. communities to Te Tiriti

Virtues/Values: Named within tradition

Making Choices: R/S understandings/Expectations

Applying models: R/S approaches

Social Justice: Demonstration/Application

Context

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Teaching Sequence - Contexts

  • Year 12 (pp. 9-10)

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Religious Beliefs and Practices

Religious

Narratives

Religious �History

Religious �Ethics

Choose any branch from at least two religious and/or spiritual traditions from the following list:

  • Buddhism
  • Christianity
  • Hinduism
  • Islam
  • Judaism
  • Māori Spirituality

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Consider two ultimate questions (who am I? why am I here?) from the chosen religious and/or spiritual tradition’s perspective.

Choose one significant collection of narratives from the following, and study at least three prophets or avatars within the religious tradition:

  • Qur’an (Ibrāhīm, Mūsā, Īsā, and Muḥammad)
  • Old Testament (Amos, Hosea, Jeremiah and Ezekiel)
  • Ramayana (Rama, Sita, Ravana and Hanuman)
  • Guru Granth Sahib (four of the human Gurus)
  • Māori oral or written traditions (Rua Kēnana Hepetipa, Te Ua Haumene, Te Whiti-o-Rongomai, T. W. Ratana)

Choose from the following, one significant period of time for a religious tradition:

  • 1500–2000 (Reformation/�Enlightenment)
  • 700–1200 �(Growth of Islam)
  • 1500–500 BCE �(Vedic Period)
  • 500 BCE–100 CE (Second Temple Period)

Choose any branch from one religious and/or spiritual tradition from the following list:

  • Buddhism
  • Christianity
  • Hinduism
  • Islam
  • Judaism
  • Māori Spirituality

Embodiment: Celebration, food, music, dance

Symbolism: Birth, Life & Death rituals and symbols

Communal identity: Social org., roles, identities

Doctrines: Of meaning & purpose of life

Cosmology: What happens after death

Anthropology: Answers to ultimate questions

Authority: Place of prophets or avatars

Composition: The story of the text to final form

Context: Influence of historical context

Conceptual Knowledge/Purpose: Recurring themes

Continuity: R/S endurance in face of challenge

Change: Renewal, adaptation, reform, schism

Leadership: Influence of leaders

Transmission: to new believers in difficult time

Cultural/Social: Responses to movements

Political: Influence of political contexts

World Views: Are present, develop and interact

Virtues/Values: R/S have/develop bodies of teaching

Rights/Responsibilities: Of the human person

Making Choices: Personal choices influenced by R/S

Applying models: Approaches to justice issues

Context

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Teaching Sequence - Contexts

  • Year 13 (pp. 9-10)

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Religious Beliefs and Practices

Religious

Narratives

Religious �History

Religious �Ethics

Choose religious and/or spiritual understandings derived from or associated with at least one key religious foundational figure from the following:

  • Adi Shankaracharya
  • Gautama Buddha
  • Jesus
  • Krishna
  • Mohammad
  • Moses

Choose one of the following collections of narratives below (with commentary):

  • Acts and the Epistles
  • Wisdom Literature
  • Qur’an
  • Puranas

�Interpretation methods – choose two from:

historical-critical; feminist; contextual; allegorical; literary/poetic;reader-response; �etymological (Nirukta); historical/mythological (Aitihasika); analytical (tahlili); thematic (maudhu’i)

Choose one contemporary secular worldview (within the past 100 years) such as, but not limited to:

  • Secular Humanism
  • Marxism
  • Atheism

�AND choose one religious or spiritual worldview, such as, but not limited to:

  • Islam
  • Ringatū
  • Rātana
  • or another branch of Christianity

Choose one secular worldview from the following list:

Secular humanism

Scientific materialism

Utilitarianism

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AND one branch within a religious and/or spiritual tradition from the following list:

  • Buddhism
  • Christianity
  • Hinduism
  • Islam
  • Judaism
  • Māori spirituality

Embodiment: Collective practice, devotions

Symbolism: Metaphors, analogies: many meanings

Time/Space: Significance of holy places

Communal identity: Rituals give hope, strength

Doctrines: Essential teachings bound to founder

Cosmology: Shaping understandings of life

Anthropology: Living in right relationships

Authority: Evaluated through interpretation methods

Composition: Explanations of formation

Context: Narratives impact historical understanding

Exegetical perspective: Interpretation methods impact similar or different meanings

Continuity: R/S maintain beliefs in face of secular

Change: R/S interact and respond to secular

Transmission: using contemporary means

Cultural/Social: Engage, critique, respond

Political: R/S conflict with political ideologies

World Views: Differences and commonalities

Virtues/Values: R/S and secular have ethical principles

Rights/Responsibilities: to ethical issues

Moral Reasoning: R/S and secular foundations differ

Justice and Law: Influencing legal frameworks

Making Choices: Multiple stances & interpretations

Applying models: Ranges of models to contemporary…

Context

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Positives – It’s good

  • RSTAANZ was included and listened to.
  • It is a surprisingly strong, coherent RS curriculum.
  • Progressions - 11>12>13 - seem accessible/doable.
  • Content is varied, interesting, appropriate and meaningful.
  • There is some ‘comparative religions’ study.
  • There is diverse opportunity to study single religious contexts. (Important for state-integrated schools in NZ.)
  • There is positive synergy with the national Catholic �RE curriculum (used by 90% of NCEA students).

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Concerns

  • The process was/is too rushed.
  • How much might change in the MoE finalisation?
  • A few components seem cluttered and/or unclear.
  • Concessions for state-integrated schools to use ‘parallel’ curricula with the state curriculum are ‘uncertain’.
  • Unsure about resource development.
  • Unsure what assessment will look like.
    • How will the many facets be accommodated?
  • Unsure what will happen if the government changes.

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What next?

  • Share your voice – by 13th June.
  • RSTAANZ will make a formal submission�We’re seeking your input, please:� https://tinyurl.com/RSTAANZ-26-1

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  • We ask you to feedback to the MoE as a school:

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Questions