Open Government Partnership New Zealand National Action Plan 2018-2020
Progress report for: February 2019 – May 2019
Commitment 3 progress report: February to May 2019
Commitment 3:
Lead agency: Ministry of Education
Objective: To develop a Schools Leavers’ Toolkit (Toolkit), comprising a suite of tools, resources and curriculum supports making it much simpler for schools to:
- Understand and respond to learners’ levels of civic and financial literacy, and work readiness
- Integrate civics, financial literacy and workplace competencies into their local curriculum across years 7 - 11
- Effectively teach civics, financial literacy and workplace competencies.
Civics education, and an understanding of how government and the democratic process works, is an important element in developing young people who are confident, connected, actively involved, lifelong learners.
The Toolkit will also provide a vehicle for increasing young people’s access to other Plan commitments, such as the information products being developed by the Office of the Clerk, and the Youth Parliament programme, delivered by the Ministry of Youth Development and the Office of the Speaker of the New Zealand House of Representatives.
Ambition: Every young person can access the civic and financial literacy, and workplace skills, they need to succeed, before they leave schooling.
OGP values: Public Participation
Milestones
Milestone 1
Stocktake of existing Toolkit resources complete.
Start/End dates: June 2018 – September 2018
Progress: Completed
Milestone 2
Ministers consider Ministry of Education analysis of opportunities to support expanded access to Toolkit opportunities.
Start/End dates: September 2018 – December 2018
Progress: Completed
Milestone 3
Exploratory co-design phase concludes and is used to inform resource development and a detailed implementation support plan.
Start/End dates: June 2018 – February 2019
Progress: Completed
Milestone 4
Pilot implementation reporting and evaluation complete.
Start/End dates: February 2019- November 2019
Progress: Underway
What we have been doing
- The School Leavers’ Toolkit schools-facing website, accessed through the Ministry of Education’s resource portal Te Kete Ipurangi (the Toolkit on TKI), went live in March. The website has a sorting tool that helps schools find resources to support Toolkit teaching and learning, including links to 124 resources on civics and citizenship. We will continue to add tools, resources and guidance to this site as they are developed over the remainder of 2019.
- We rounded off Phase I of our engagement with a Capstone Hui in Auckland with employers, parents, tertiary education organisations and students aged 16-24. At the Hui we reflected on the engagement insights and defined what a successful Toolkit will look like for each user group. We have produced a report summarising the findings of the Hui (attached).
- We have begun work on development of guidance to support the delivery of civics education in schools from years 7 – 13. This work will draw on the expertise of government and non-government subject matter experts and civil society. These resources will be available for schools to use by the end of 2019.
- We are undertaking a review of the international literature on civics implementation in schools in a range of jurisdictions. The literature review will explore examples of successful civics education implementation in countries with similar education systems to New Zealand and examine the outcomes and evaluation measures they use.
- Development is also underway for the Toolkit’s student-facing website, which will be available in English and te reo Māori. The student website will be available from mid-2019. The student website will provide key information on a range or topics of relevance to young people, including the civics focused topic ‘I want to have my say’. The website content is being developed in partnership with civics education subject matter experts and will provide links to existing sources of trusted information. The wider Civics Education Working Group will also have an opportunity to provide feedback on the website content.
How we are including diverse voices
- Since February, we have been engaging with ākonga Māori, kaiako and whānau in a range of education settings. The outputs from this engagement (due for completion in August) will include a stocktake of existing resources, resource gap analysis and co-design of Māori medium framework and implementation models. This work will also inform the development of tools and resources for Māori Medium educators and ākonga Māori that situate the Toolkit in the context of te ao Māori.
How we are keeping diverse communities informed
- We will be using the new Toolkit on TKI website to provide updates on Toolkit product development. The site includes a feedback portal for any questions or ideas users may have. The Toolkit on TKI website is publically available.
What's next?
- Our Civics Education Working Group will meet again in the middle of the year to review our progress.
Links – Evidence of progress and milestones achieved
- School Leavers Toolkit: https://school-leavers-toolkit.tki.org.nz/
- School Leavers’ Toolkit Capstone Hui Report (attached)