Tēnā Koutou Katoa
To all conference delegates from Ngā Hau e Whā o Aotearoa.

We welcome you to Ōtautahi Christchurch and trust you will have an enjoyable and worthwhile time attending our conference and our environs. St Andrews College will be the venue for the 9th Biennial NZ Social Sciences Conference on the 4th - 6th October 2021. It is fitting that our location for the conference is Ōtautahi Christchurch, a city that has had to ‘Embrace Change' like no other in recent years. 

We chose the theme of ‘Embracing Change’ as that has certainly been an essential value in teaching in this challenging Covid-19 world. The theme provides a wonderful opportunity to come together and explore new ways of doing things. The sun will rise at the end of these troubled times and energise our efforts. As we learn and challenge each other, and work together as a team of teachers, we will reinforce that the social sciences, more than ever, is a fundamental pillar of the NZ curriculum.  

As social science educators we are about to be engaged in some major curriculum and assessment changes, Aotearoa New Zealand Histories; New Zealand Social Sciences Curriculum Refresh and NCEA Changes will require sound pedagogy and creative assessment practices as schools design, adapt and think of new ways to approach teaching the Social Sciences. NZ SocCon 2021 aims to be a conduit for the important conversation between primary and secondary educators to ensure that teaching and learning in these new social science initiatives follows a clear, smooth, and logical pathway.

Come and celebrate, as a Social Science community, the breadth and diversity of our subject area. The conference will include inspiring keynote speakers and headliners, as well as a wide range of practical workshops that will prepare educators for the CHANGES to the Social Science curriculum.

We look forward to welcoming you to SOCCON 2021
in Ōtautahi Christchurch.

Hei konā mai
Callum Green
NZ SocCon 2021 Conference Chairperson