Teacher Development Aotearoa Announcement
In 1944 Clarence Beeby (the then Director of Education and possibly New Zealand’s most distinguished educational thinker) established an organisation called Teacher’s Refresher Course Committee (TRCC) to provide professional learning for teachers in New Zealand. This was a partnership between the teachers’ unions (today’s NZEI, PPTA and TEU) and the then Department of Education. It was a Groundbreaking initiative.
In 1945 T.R.C.C. held its inaugural course for Social Studies teachers. Topics included a new approach to teaching history, geography, civics and economics. Fielding Agricultural High School and St Andrews College in Christchurch simultaneously hosted these courses in the January holidays.
As such, TRCC was the first professional development provider for teachers in New Zealand. It enabled teachers to have a voice in their own learning through collaboration and sharing of their expertise with colleagues.
Over the past 80 years tens of thousands of teachers have benefited from TRCC organised courses and latterly from Teacher Development Aotearoa’s (TDA) role as the Network Hub for the Networks of Expertise programme. These two initiatives have been a great example of collaboration across the sector.
Unfortunately, the 2025 budget has signalled an end to 80 years of partnership between the MoE and TDA. The role of the NEX Network Hub has been taken in-house by the MoE and left TDA without funding.
Reluctantly, TDA’s Board has chosen to place the organisation into hibernation as they assess the future whilst retaining the flexibility to return when an opportunity presents itself. Unfortunately, this will mean the loss of three full-time permanent and four part-time contracted positions. We will be closing our doors at the end of 2025.
In 2025 TDA partnered with the newly formed Te Reo Māori Subject Association of Aotearoa (TRMSAA), NZEI ECE leadership initiative and the AI Community of Practice (AiEDCoP) by providing these groups with funding to support professional learning for teachers across the country. TDA is delighted to have set these groups up to work independently in 2026 and beyond providing much needed professional support.
TRCC and latterly TDA has a long history and played a significant role in the education landscape of New Zealand. It has proudly and steadfastly advocated that the best professional learning teachers can receive is from working with their colleagues in collaboration and exploration. Our motto “For teachers by teachers” has stood the test of time and has perfectly captured Beeby’s vision of partnership across the sector.
We look forward to seeing TDA again in the future as a dynamic organisation that continues to value teacher’s expertise and collaboration across all sectors. In the interim we would like to acknowledge and thank everyone’s support and contribution to TRCC’s and TDA’s success over the decades. In particular the PPTA and NZEI have been wonderful stewards of our organisation which has enabled the excellence of our work. We thank them for their work.
Finally, we want to acknowledge the many staff and volunteers that over the years have contributed to our success. Whether you were a course director, employee, committee member, course participant or facilitator your time, effort and expertise has been gratefully appreciated.
“E noho e, kia raungāwari”
“Sit down and bide your time”