Locating curriculum integration within the historical context: Innovations in Aotearoa New Zealand state schools, 1920s‐1940s

Abstract

Purpose

This study seeks to trace the development of curriculum integration and related curricula designs in state schools in Aotearoa/New Zealand (NZ) during the “New Education” era (1920s‐1940s).

Design/methodology/approach

The mixed historical/theoretical analysis draws on primary and secondary data.

Findings

The paper concludes that largely forgotten designs for curriculum integration developed in the 1920s‐1940s in NZ are similar in intent to the student‐centred “integrative” model of curriculum integration and may usefully inform the contemporary discourse in NZ concerning best practice on middle schooling for young adolescents (approximately ten to 14 years old).

Research limitations/implications

The study provides an additional point of entry towards theorising and re‐evaluating the history of progressive education in NZ.

Originality/value

This study provides historical/theoretical context for recent interest in curriculum integration in NZ, particularly in relation to middle schooling and to student‐centred pedagogies.

Citation

Dowden, T. (2011), "Locating curriculum integration within the historical context: Innovations in Aotearoa New Zealand state schools, 1920s‐1940s", History of Education Review, Vol. 40 No. 1, pp. 47-61. https://doi.org/10.1108/08198691111140802