Sociocultural perspectives on curriculum, pedagogy and assessment: Implications for participation, belonging and building inclusive schools and classrooms in Aotearoa/New Zealand

• In Event: Conceptualizations and possibilities of inclusion and diversity in education

Proposal

The Aotearoa/New Zealand government has a long-standing goal of a fully inclusive education system, with all schools welcoming all students. The New Zealand Curriculum states that it is a curriculum for all students. These lofty aims have been somewhat undermined by contemporaneous development of schools in competition with one another for the ‘best’ students and international full fee-paying students. In this neoliberal climate of competing schools, not all students are welcome when their presence is regarded as detrimental to a school’s potential market appeal. A key driver has been the national systems of assessment at both primary (elementary) and secondary (high) schools. This paper briefly traces recent developments in sociocultural perspectives on curriculum, pedagogy and assessment in Aotearoa/New Zealand. A significant outcome has been the development and implementation of Narrative Assessment, an assessment approach that ensures all children’s learning is clearly linked to the national New Zealand Curriculum.

The paper includes a detailed case study illustrating Narrative Assessment in practice and the ways this approach supports the learning of both teachers and students. The rationale for this case study grew from a problem in practice. Some disabled children are excluded from some assessment processes at school as the assessment task may be thought of as irrelevant, too difficult, inaccessible or at times not even considered. The interconnectedness of teaching and assessment means invisibility within assessment increases the likelihood of children’s invisibility within teaching and learning programmes in the classroom Most current assessment practices in Aotearoa/New Zealand primary schools do not enable many disabled children to reveal their capabilities, meaning these children experience discrimination within teaching and learning programmes. In the case study we describe what happens when a student’s learning, progress and achievement are recognized as socially mediated and co-constructed. This more expansive understanding challenges traditional views of learning as an individual activity within a curriculum and teachers focused on coverage of topics and facts instead of co-constructed understandings.

Keywords: inclusive education, sociocultural assessment, New Zealand

Author

• Missy Morton, The University of Auckland