Through the social sciences, students develop the knowledge and skills to enable them to: better understand, participate in, and contribute to the local, national, and global communities in which they live and work; engage critically with societal issues; and evaluate the sustainability of alternative social, economic, political, and environmental practices.

Students explore the unique bicultural nature of New Zealand society, which derives from the Treaty of Waitangi. Learning about people, places, cultures, histories, and the economic world within and beyond New Zealand, they develop an understanding of how societies are organised and function, and the ways in which people and communities respond are shaped by different perspectives, values, and viewpoints. As they explore how others see themselves, students clarify their own identities in relation to their particular heritages and contexts.

Achievement objectives for social studies at levels 1–5 integrate concepts from one or more of four conceptual strands:

Identity, culture, and organisation

Students learn about society and communities and how they function. They also learn about the diverse cultures and identities of people within those communities and about the effects of these on the participation of groups and individuals.

Place and environment

Students learn about how people perceive, represent, interpret, and interact with places and environments. They come to understand the relationships that exist between people and the environment.

Continuity and change

Students learn about past events, experiences, and actions and the changing ways in which these have been interpreted over time. This helps them to understand the past and the present and to imagine possible futures.

The economic world

Students learn about the ways in which people participate in economic activities and about the consumption, production, and distribution of goods and services. They develop an understanding of their role in the economy and of how economic decisions affect individuals and communities.

Understandings in relation to the achievement objectives can be developed through a range of approaches. Using a social inquiry approach, students:

• ask questions, gather information and background ideas, and examine relevant current issues
• explore and analyse people’s values and perspectives
• consider the ways in which people make decisions and participate in social action
• reflect on and evaluate the understandings they have developed and the responses that may be required.

Inquiry in the social sciences is also informed by approaches originating from such contributing disciplines as history, geography, and economics.

Learning based on the level 1–5 social studies achievement objectives establishes a foundation for the separate social science disciplines offered in the senior secondary school. At levels 6–8, students are able to specialise in one or more of these, depending on the choices offered by their schools. Achievement objectives are provided for social studies, economics, geography, and history, but the range of possible social science disciplines that schools can offer is much broader, including, for example, classical studies, media studies, sociology, psychology, and legal studies.

Aotearoa New Zealand is on a journey to ensure that all ākonga in our schools and kura learn how our histories have shaped our present day lives.

See the diagram below that illustrates how "learning that matters" is made up of three interwoven strands:

• Understand: The big ideas of Aotearoa New Zealand's histories.
• Know: National, rohe, and local contexts.
• Do: Thinking critically about the past and interpreting stories about it.

Aotearoa New Zealand's histories purpose overview

Social sciences create curiosity about and respect for places, people, cultures, and systems. Students learn to contribute, participate, and take positive action as informed, ethical, and empathetic citizens with a concern for the wellbeing of communities and a commitment to a fair society for all. 

Learning in the social sciences aims to help students thrive in the diverse communities and environments of Aotearoa New Zealand and beyond. This includes understanding the mutual responsibilities to Te Tiriti o Waitangi | The Treaty of Waitangi of tangata whenua and tauiwi as they live together in relationships that promote respect for one another, tikanga, and the natural environment. 

Aotearoa New Zealand’s Histories supports this aim through its focus on stories of interactions across time that connect people to each other and to place. Students will build understandings about how Māori, and all people for whom New Zealand has been and is their home, have shaped Aotearoa New Zealand’s past. 

This will help them make sense of the present and inform future decisions and actions. 

There are three elements in the Aotearoa New Zealand’s Histories curriculum content: Understand, Know, and Do (UKD). Teachers design learning experiences that weave these elements together so that student learning is deep and meaningful. 

In years 11–13, students deepen their understandings, knowledge, and practices through subjects that draw from Aotearoa New Zealand’s Histories. 

Selecting meaningful topics 

Selecting meaningful topics is critical if students are to deepen their understanding of the curriculum’s big ideas and be able to apply them to both familiar and new contexts. Teachers will choose topics that have personal and social significance for society and that engage students at local, national, and global levels. 

When selecting a topic, teachers can ask the following questions: 

• How will the topic help students explore the big ideas: the foundational and continuous history of Māori, the impact of colonisation and settlement, the power people and groups hold, and the relationships that shaped our history? 
• How will the topic draw on stories, examples, and perspectives so that students learn about the history of their local area and of Aotearoa New Zealand? 
• How will the topic draw on stories from iwi and hapū about their history in the rohe? 
• How will the topic support student-led inquiries into the history of Aotearoa New Zealand, the rohe, and the local area? 
• In what ways is the topic important to the rohe or local area now? 
• How will this topic support students in applying their learning to new and more complex contexts? 

Teachers can then support students in using inquiry practices within the local curriculum so that they are thinking critically about the past and the different ways in which it is interpreted.

See Materials that come with this resource to download Aotearoa New Zealand's histories in the New Zealand Curriculum (.pdf).

Reading, writing, and maths teaching time requirements

The teaching and learning of reading, writing, and maths¹ is a priority for all schools. So that all students are getting sufficient teaching and learning time for reading, writing, and maths, each school board with students in years 0 to 8 must, through its principal and staff, structure their teaching and learning programmes and/or timetables for delivering the National Curriculum Statements, including this one, to provide:

• 10 hours per week of teaching and learning focussed on supporting their progress and achievement in reading and writing in a typical school week, recognising the important contribution oral language development makes, particularly in the early phases of learning.
• 5 hours per week of teaching and learning focussed on supporting their progress and achievement in maths in a typical school week.

Where reading, writing, and/or maths teaching and learning time is occurring within the context of National Curriculum Statements other than English or mathematics and statistics, progression of students’ reading, writing, and/or maths dispositions, knowledge and skills at the appropriate level must be explicitly and intentionally planned for and attended to.

While the terms reading and writing are used, these expectations are inclusive of alternative methods of communication, including New Zealand Sign Language, augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) and Braille.

¹ For simplicity, ‘maths’ is used as an all-encompassing term to refer to the grouping of subject matter, dispositions, skills, competencies, and understandings that encompass all aspects of numeracy, mathematics, and statistics.

These teaching time requirements came in for most schools and kura with students in years 0 to 8 at the start of Term 1, 2024. Specialist schools with students in years 0 - 8 must ensure this from the start of 2025. Kura with a specified kura board must ensure this from Term 3, 2024.