Social Class: Te Mātaiaho | the New Zealand Curriculum Refresh’s ‘Inconvenient Truth’?

Abstract

In this paper, we connect with Martin Thrupp’s calls for class-based analysis in education policy by problematising the absence of social class in the refreshed New Zealand curriculum, Te Mātaiaho (2023). To contextualise this absence, we locate this curriculum policy in a historical perspective and interpret its ‘identity turn’ as an expression of what philosopher Nancy Fraser calls ‘progressive neoliberalism’. We conclude our contribution with a reflection on the reactionary neoliberal response of the current National-led government and a call for educational researchers in Aotearoa New Zealand to more seriously consider social class in their analyses.