To nationalise the curriculum – to change what a nation knows – is a significant undertaking. It is little wonder that Te Mātaiaho: The Refreshed New Zealand Curriculum is generating debate, and it is perhaps unsurprising that the terms of that debate are polarised between knowledge-rich and learner-centred approaches, and between ‘Western’ knowledge and Matauranga Māori.

Professors David Lambert (UCL) and John Morgan (The University of Auckland and UCL) draw upon their work in curriculum-thinking to explore how the New Zealand debate dovetails with wider discussions in the field. They set out changes in the knowledge landscape, and how these have given rise to different ideas about curriculum. They provide ‘case studies’ of national curriculum making in England, Wales and New Zealand before discussing ways ahead for curriculum-making in schools.

The aim is not tell teachers what to teach, but to set out what is at stake when teachers take control of the curriculum.