Date
03 December 2024

Have high expectations

High expectations a key principle in the New Zealand Curriculum. The curriculum recognises the strengths, interests, and open-ended potential of every ākonga. Quality teaching involves believing in each student's capacity for learning and having high expectations for all.

Support students to have high expectations

Support students to have high expectations

Teacher Wayne Robinson shares how he sets up and develops student ownership and high expectations for learning.

Develop high expectations with whānau

Develop high expectations with whānau

Sue Ngarimu-Goldsmith, principal at Te Kura o Hiruharama, explains how a whakataukī was used to inspire the thinking behind the school's mission "Striving for personal excellence".

Promote high expectations in teacher practice

Promote high expectations in teacher practice

Provide quality teaching for all students to reach high but realistic expectations.
  • Build high but realistic goals for students.
  • Foster ākonga confidence and self-belief.
  • Support ākonga aspirations.
  • Build pedagogies and teacher capability to set and support high expectations.
  • Monitor the impact of teaching practice and take action when needed.
  • Work with whānau to identify a student’s full potential.
  • Communicate high expectations across the school.
  • Communicate and collaborate with Māori and Pacific whānau and ākonga.

Source: For more information: Communicate high expectations and a vision of Pacific students as successful learners (opens in a new tab/window)

Support student aspirations

Support student aspirations

Katrina, a student at Onslow College, talks about reaslising ambition to become a kindergarten teacher.

Use strategies that help every student to achieve

Use strategies that help every student to achieve

The John Paul College team talk about strategies that help every student to achieve their potential.

Reflection questions

Reflection questions

Consider these questions in your context.

  • In what ways do you demonstrate the high expectations principle from The New Zealand Curriculum?
  • What do we focus our high expectations on?
  • How do our high expectations reflect what is important to the school community?
  • How highly do we value our learners’ linguistic and cultural capital?
  • How can we identify and cater for students’ talents and abilities in ways that are culturally responsive?
  • How do the teaching practices and assessment processes in your school enable students to meet those expectations?

Source: Adapted from: Education for disabled learners in schools – ERO (opens in a new tab/window)

Next steps

More suggestions for implementing the strategy “Leading with moral purpose”:

Return to the guide “Leading schools that include all learners ”

Top