NZ+Educational+Culture



**Educational culture in the NZ tertiary education sector**

At primary and secondary school level, there is a considerable understanding that social constructivism and collaboration make up an important part of teaching and learning. The New Zealand Curriculum (Ministry of Education, 2007) includes key competencies of ‘relating with others’ and ‘participating and contributing’. These, along with learning as inquiry and critical thinking skills, place a great emphasis of the learner being a key part of the teaching and learning process with questioning, discussion and collaboration. This use of group-work and collaboration then is part of the educational culture of students as they enter tertiary education out of secondary school. There is an expectation that teaching and learning would occur in a similar manner. This expectation has become part of the 2010-2013 Ako strategic plan which clearly indicates that the student is an active participant in their learning and not a recipient of information that has been transmitted from an expert (Ako Aotearoa National Centre for Tertiary Teaching Excellence, 2010). The predominant educational culture of New Zealand students reflects the values of the society. The students are more likely to express their emotions using specific or direct communication. Authority is challenged and knowledge is often tested through critical thinking. New Zealanders are seen to be less restricted by status or hierarchical relationships and as such students are more likely to have close and in some cases informal relationships with their teachers. Status is gained through the actions of the individual and as such students can strive to higher levels through their own achievements. Although New Zealanders are individualistic in their tendencies, they are also happy to work on collaborative tasks. Classrooms are usually noisy and the students are comfortable working in less structured ways with student centred teaching. The students are willing to take risks and as such they have low uncertainty avoidance.

We invite you to join in our discussion on constructivism in New Zealand tertiary settings and to have you share your personal experiences so together we can learn.

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