In a statement published overnight the NZ History Teachers Association said the draft social sciences curriculum was overcrowded, lacked focus and ignored the input of its representative in the curriculum-writing process.
The draft included history content that would replace the Aotearoa New Zealand Histories Curriculum.
That curriculum was centred on Māori history as the continuous and central factor in New Zealand history, and was targeted for "rebalancing" by the National-ACT coalition agreement.
The association said the draft contained more content in history and other social sciences subjects such as geography than could be taught each year.
"Asking Year 7 students to study Te Tiriti o Waitangi and the 1852 Constitution Act, the French Revolution and the Industrial Revolution in one academic year is unrealistic and developmentally inappropriate. The sheer amount of content included in the Social Sciences curriculum draft will lead to cognitive overload for students and teachers alike," it said.
The association's statement said the document included facts without context or conceptual depth.
"The [Education] Ministry has interpreted knowledge rich in the social sciences to mean knowing lots of facts. A knowledge-rich curriculum in the social sciences should build conceptual understanding through rich case studies and content. The draft released today lacks this focus, offering factual content without the necessary conceptual, or contextual, depth," the association said.
"The volume of prescribed material at each year level is unmanageable within the time allocated to the social sciences in schools [from 2027, 1 hour per week for Years 0-8 and 3 hours per week for Year 9-10 as recommended by the newly released Te Mataiaho]. The history domain alone would require unprecedented resourcing. It is unclear how the ministry intends to resource such explicit prescribed content."
The association's statement followed criticism of the draft curriculums by associations representing dance, drama, and music teachers, physical education teachers and technology teachers.
The Education Ministry said there were a range of views on the proposed changes.
"The ministry will be working with subject associations, sector groups, principals, and teachers, listening to their voices and drawing on their experience to help shape the final version," it said.
"We encourage anyone with feedback to contribute through the formal consultation process which is open from now until 24 April 2026. This is the best way to make sure all perspectives are considered in a constructive and informed way."
