Educator Association Updates | August
- Lian Soh
- Jul 31
- 4 min read
Updated: Aug 27
This article contains updates from educator association representatives; where a regional representative is not available, news has been curated from a national-level newsletter or announcement.
This is a live article so please continue to check-in as our key contacts may provide new information as the month progresses.
✅ = There is an update for this month ❌ = No Updates this month |
✅ Earth and Space Science Educators New Zealand
Membership to ESSENZ is currently free and gives kaiako access to all ESSENZ resources on their Google shared area, as well as access to all the exams that the association has produced. You can join here.
Guest speakers for the Earth and Space Science Educators Conference 2025 have also been announced. More information here.
ESSENZ is also supportive of the kaupapa of EarthFest which is happening on September 22 in Auckland - this is Aotearoa New Zealand's largest STEM festival dedicated to the Earth sciences.
The aim of EarthFest is to ignite interest in Earth science concepts and careers through a range of interactive exhibits, eye-catching displays and exciting demonstrations. We want to showcase the many wonderful ways Earth science contributes to our understanding of the world around us, and influences our everyday lives.
With a particular focus on activities for tamariki (children), rangatahi (young people), and their whānau (families), our goal is to help people engage with STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math), build connections, and experience the wonder and excitement of Earth systems and processes and the tools we use to study them.
Ngā mihi nui
Jim Critchley and Erin Nolan
ESSENZ Regional Representatives
✅ New Zealand Association of Science Educators
The following key points from the latest NZASE AGM from July 15 are as follows:
There are no more extensions to NEX funding; NZASE will need to reapply.
A motion was passed to return secondary school fees to full price in 2026, set Individual and Area School fees at $50 and keep Primary/Intermediate, Student Teachers, PCT1+2 free - if new funding is secured, a 50% fee reduction could be applied retroactively. Tertiary and library fees remain unchanged. There was a proposal to allow remote/small schools to apply for a fee-waiver.
There was a suggestion to make the NZASE newsletter members-only.
The Junior Vice President role has been filled by Jayatheeswaran (Jay) Vijayakumar. Side Note: Jay is also a founding member of Empower KEA.
The Health and Safety rep role may be disestablished.
Concerns were raised about a recent curriculum survey that required respondents to provide an email address, despite being described as confidential. Some teachers were uncomfortable participating due to concerns around anonymity, especially given the political nature of science education discussions.
It was clarified that emails were used only to verify association membership, as only members' responses could be formally submitted to the Ministry. However, the process created trust issues for some.
Suggestions to address this included:
- Using a neutral third party to verify membership and anonymise responses before sharing data.
- Adding a clear privacy statement at the start of surveys to explain how data will be used.
- Exploring login-based verification or other methods that avoid collecting personal details.
There was general agreement that NZASE should consider developing a data ethics policy to guide future surveys and protect member trust.
He Pānui Nui: Bay Science is an independent community group and not a member association of NZASE. The considerations above do not have implications on your ability to interact with Bay Science.
Ngā manaakitanga
Lian Soh
NZASE Regional Representative
✅ Tauranga Moana Māori Teacher's Association
Bay Science are currently working together with Whaea Tania on Cluster 3, 2025.
Ngā manaakitanga
Whaea Tania Jackson
Tauranga Moana Māori Teacher's Association
✅ New Zealand Association of Environmental Educators
NZAEE's Term 3 newsletter was released earlier in July. You can see the full NZAEE newsletter here.
There is also a newly formed NZAEE Bay of Plenty group with educators from the Rotorua and wider area collaborating in 2025. You can find their updates here: https://www.nzaee.org.nz/local-groups/rotorua
Ngā mihi nui,
Thea DePetris
NZAEE Regional Representative
✅ Biology Educators of Aotearoa New Zealand
Level 3 and Scholarship Mock exams are now available on the BEANZ website.
We are currently waiting for more information about the Maurice Wilkins Centre Teacher PLD day on November 4th.
MWC Teacher PLD days are now open for registration.
Ngā mihi nui,
Vicki Wallace
BEANZ Regional Representative
✅ Secondary Chemistry Educators New Zealand
Derived grade exams for Level 1-3 are now available through your SCENZ membership.
Ngā manaakitanga
Lian Soh
SCENZ Regional Representative
✅ New Zealand Institute of Physics (Education)
Mock exams for Level 1-3 are now available.
Ngā manaakitanga
Mat Synge
NZIP Regional Representative
❌ Empower Kaiako for Equity Aotearoa
No updates yet - please check back later.
Ngā mihi nui
Keri Tan Garlick
President of Empower KEA
❌ New Zealand Association of Primary Science Educators
No updates yet - please check back later.
Ngā manaakitanga
John Marsh
NZAPSE
In last month’s spotlight, we encouraged kaiako to pause and reflect before participating in a curriculum survey that was being circulated by a small number of national-level science educator associations. We have since learned that concerns about the survey were raised by some NZASE members at a recent AGM, and that the Ministry of Education has clarified that some of the wording used by participating associations may have given members the impression that the survey was Ministry-led — which it is not. |
