Until now, the New Zealand Curriculum has focused almost exclusively on the development of technical reading skills. Simply reading for pleasure hasn’t been a priority, which makes its inclusion in the draft version of a refreshed curriculum particularly welcome.
There is no question that basic reading skills are a necessary component of education. But too narrow a focus on skills alone has not served the children and young people of New Zealand well. The broader intent of Te Mātaiaho: the refreshed New Zealand Curriculum, released late in 2022 with the inclusion of reading for pleasure, is an important step towards remedying this.
