Upper Secondary School Physical Science Curricula in New Zealand After the National Qualifications Framework Reforms

Abstract

The recent structural reforms in New Zealand education have given schools and teachers unprecedented freedom in curricular design and delivery. Using official educational award statistics for 2004 and data arising from a study of 23 schools' upper secondary science curricula in the same year, this study represents an early monitoring of the impact of the reforms on upper secondary enrolments and course compilations in the physical sciences using biology as a reference point. Enrolments in physics and chemistry courses relative to biology did not appear to have changed, but there had been an expansion of physical science education through combined science programmes in years 12 and 13, although the profile of physical science in these tended to be low. Teachers exhibited a strong liking for highly focussed laboratory-based internally assessed modules, and it is recommended that curriculum designers provide a greater variety of internally-assessed modules specifically targeting unconventional physical science programmes.