Perspectives on the Knowledge Problem in New Zealand Education: Towards Equity (SpringerBriefs in Education)

This book offers new ideas for thinking about how more equitable outcomes might be achieved in New Zealand so that all students are well-equipped to live and work in contemporary society. It addresses a social justice concern about access to the unique affordances of subject knowledge which comprises two forms of knowledge - propositional (knowledge-that) and applied knowledge (know-how-to).

The book provides perspectives on curriculum design by grounding arguments in a theory of knowledge. It describes the different knowledge forms of the theory, and argues that understanding these differences is significant for curriculum design and enactment. It explains why the current imbalance between knowledge forms is a problem, and offers suggestions for change. Understanding about knowledge itself enables more just and equitable outcomes for all students. This book illustrates how different knowledge types and forms can be used together productively to help students develop adaptive expertise for the 21st century, making it a valuable contribution to the field of education. 

Dr Graham McPhail is a senior lecturer in the School of Curriculum and Pedagogy, in the Faculty of Education and Social Work, at the University of Auckland, New Zealand. He took up this position in 2015 after twenty years of work in the secondary education sector. His research is centred on the role of knowledge in the curriculum, in particular within C21 schooling and music education contexts. Graham currently has over 30 papers published in a wide range of journals both in New Zealand and internationally. He has recently presented on curriculum change at Universities in the UK and the USA.

Dr Megan Lourie is a senior lecturer in the School of Education at Auckland University of Technology, New Zealand. Prior to that she was a Languages teacher in secondary schools. Megan researches in the area of education policy and has a particular interest in how ideas about education travel on a global scale. Recently, she has been tracing the emergence of differentideas about knowledge in the New Zealand curriculum, and the extent to which this reflects global trends.