The curriculum MAG’s evidence base falls short

<h2 dir&equals;"ltr">Aotearoa Educators Collective has released &OpenCurlyQuote;<a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;aecnz&period;substack&period;com&sol;p&sol;review-of-the-ministerial-advisory" rel&equals;"noopener noreferrer" data-auth&equals;"NotApplicable" data-linkindex&equals;"0" target&equals;"&lowbar;blank">Review of the Ministerial Advisory Group Report March 2024<&sol;a>’&comma; raising big questions about the lack of evidence behind a number of the claims made in the MAG Curriculum Report released by the government last week&period;<&sol;h2>&NewLine;<p dir&equals;"ltr">While AEC acknowledges that the intent of the report is to improve outcomes for learners&comma; the MAG report uses limited &OpenCurlyQuote;evidence’ selectively to set up an argument that change is needed and to justify its recommendations for change&period;  <&sol;p>&NewLine;<p dir&equals;"ltr"><strong><a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;www&period;schoolnews&period;co&period;nz&sol;latest-print-issue&sol;" target&equals;"&lowbar;blank" rel&equals;"noopener">Read the latest print edition of <em>School News<&sol;em> HERE<&sol;a><&sol;strong><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p dir&equals;"ltr">For example&comma; the MAG makes causal claims about the outcomes of whole language instruction based on an observation that &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;the decline in reading performance … coincides with the adoption of the whole language approach to literacy teaching during the 1980s”&period; The 1980s was also followed by  a sharp increase in inequality&period; Observations of coinciding phenomena are not grounds for claiming causality&period; The MAG makes claims about initial teacher education programmes based on a cursory survey of web information published in a NZ Institute report that was not quality assured&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<figure id&equals;"attachment&lowbar;27892" aria-describedby&equals;"caption-attachment-27892" style&equals;"width&colon; 300px" class&equals;"wp-caption alignnone"><img class&equals;"size-medium wp-image-27892" src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;www&period;schoolnews&period;co&period;nz&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2023&sol;10&sol;AdobeStock&lowbar;197508581-300x200&period;jpeg" alt&equals;"" width&equals;"300" height&equals;"200" &sol;><figcaption id&equals;"caption-attachment-27892" class&equals;"wp-caption-text">Curriculum advice contained in the MAG report is not based on substantive evidence&comma; says AEC&period; AdobeStock by terovesalainen<&sol;figcaption><&sol;figure>&NewLine;<p dir&equals;"ltr">This report points to a significant shift in curriculum for <a class&equals;"wpil&lowbar;keyword&lowbar;link" title&equals;"teachers" href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;www&period;schoolnews&period;co&period;nz&sol;2014&sol;07&sol;teachers-to-make-youth-employment-their-business&sol;" target&equals;"&lowbar;blank" rel&equals;"noopener" data-wpil-keyword-link&equals;"linked" data-wpil-monitor-id&equals;"4">teachers<&sol;a> and principals and in Aotearoa&period; The size of this change needs to be underpinned by a strong and robust research base&period; This report is not that&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p dir&equals;"ltr">While the  report authors draw on &OpenCurlyQuote;evidence’ selectively&comma;  they set out very narrow criteria for acceptable evidence in education&period; AEC spokesperson Sarah Aiono says &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;There is a focus on mainly quantitative evidence which ignores insights afforded by qualitative research into the relational and cultural aspects of learning”&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p dir&equals;"ltr">AEC spokesperson Jodie Hunter says&comma; &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;Recent reviews of mathematics education in New Zealand have drawn on a comprehensive body of research and provide well-documented recommendations and these seem to be completely ignored by the MAG&period;”<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p dir&equals;"ltr">The recommendations in the MAG report are not representative of the wider research and professional knowledge base in the education sector&period; It is disappointing that it did not take into account the excellent research and practice that can be found here in Aotearoa&comma; especially the work taking place in M&amacr;ori Medium education where we find the strongest outcomes for learners&period; <&sol;p>&NewLine;<p dir&equals;"ltr">Wider issues discussed in the review also include the Eurocentric focus and assumptions related to teaching practices and curriculum delivery&comma; lack of engagement and consultation with the sector&comma; and the over emphasis on cognitive science and narrow interpretation of the science of learning&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<h5 dir&equals;"ltr">About Aotearoa Educators Collective<&sol;h5>&NewLine;<p dir&equals;"ltr"><em><a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;www&period;aec&period;org&period;nz&sol;" target&equals;"&lowbar;blank" rel&equals;"noopener">Aotearoa Educators Collective<&sol;a> is an umbrella collective created to support education thought leaders who share a common interest in promoting progressive ideals in schooling&period; The group includes academics&comma; principals and teachers and is not aligned to any political party&period;<&sol;em><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p dir&equals;"ltr"><em>These leaders choose to contribute to mainstream public debate through mainstream media based on their research&comma; their lived professional experience and their standing within the sector&period;<&sol;em><&sol;p>&NewLine;