About us
Vision statement
Our vision is to provide a resource that is free, fun and available to any New Zealand adult who wants to improve their reading, writing or maths skills, for work and for life.
What we offer
Pathways Awarua is developed by the Tertiary Education Commission to support adult and young adult learners to strengthen their literacy and numeracy skills in contexts that are relevant to New Zealanders.
There are six learner pathways that focus on literacy and numeracy:
- Numeracy
- Reading
- Writing
- Listening
- NumberFacts
- WordFit (vocabulary)
The numeracy and reading pathways have general, trade and service versions so that learners can choose contexts that suit their purpose.
There are five applied learner pathways that deliver content for driver licences; safety requirements for the workplace; and personal money management, while at the same time strengthening literacy and numeracy competencies.
- Road code
- Health and safety
- Heavy vehicle and forklift
- My Money
- My Community
There are four educator pathways that detail how to use Pathways Awarua, how to embed literacy and numeracy in teaching practice and two cultural competency pathways.
Who we work with
Pathways Awarua is developed by the Tertiary Education Commission to support adult learners to strengthen their literacy and numeracy competencies in contexts that are relevant to New Zealanders.
From 2016 the Ministry of Education has supported the use of Pathways Awarua in state and integrated schools with year 9 to 13 students.
The New Zealand Transport agency (NZTA) supported the development of pathways that help learners understand the content for learner, restricted and heavy vehicle licenses, and forklift certification.
The Industry Training Federation and WorkSafe New Zealand contributed to the development of the Health & Safety pathway that provides an opportunity to educate workers on the principles of the Health and Safety at Work Act, and their roles in workplace safety.
The My Community pathway is being developed in conjunction with Auckland Council Libraries to grow understanding of the role council plays and the services it provides to the community.
The Commission for Financial Capability consulted on the My Money pathway to help adults develop their confidence and competence in money management.
The Cultural Capability pathways have been developed by Ako Aotearoa to enable educators to deliver high quality teaching and learning that is more culturally-appropriate for our Māori and Pacific learners.
Our name
Awarua is the name of a pattern which is used in rāranga (Māori weaving). In the learning context Awarua reflects the connections that often occur between literacy and numeracy as they ‘weave’ through programmes and courses to increase the quality of learning engagement and skill level.
