SocCon 2025 in Wellington
- nzapt5
- May 5
- 2 min read
In today's educational landscape, understanding the link between psychology and teaching is more important than ever.
At the recent SocCon 2025, held on April 16 in Wellington, Duncan, Bailley, and Gaye, shared their insights with 21 enthusiastic teachers.
This year’s SocCon conference was a special opportunity for NZAPT to connect to the wider Social Science curriculum. We had the privilege of presenting a session focused on the rapidly growing interest in Psychology across Aotearoa’s secondary schools and it was heartening to see how many kaiako from all corners of the Social Sciences turned up, We had a range of kaiako who were already NZAPT members, some who were teaching a few psychology standards and others who were just warming to the idea. We were also lucky enough to have a few tertiary provider reps present too.
We structured our session around the whakatauki ‘Ka mua, ka muri - Walking backwards into the future’. We unpacked the growth of psychology and then focused on the future trends of Psychology.
The Growth of Psychology
The growth of Psychology was a significant aspect that engaged our attendees from the get-go, Psychology is one of the fastest-expanding NCEA subjects in the country. More and more kura are recognising the subject’s relevance, not only for student wellbeing and engagement but also for building the kinds of critical, thoughtful citizens our communities need.
Multiple factors showcase the popularity of psychology across schools, studies and industries:
In secondary schools:
Numbers grew by 100% 2017-2020 with new standards, UE approval and NEX support.
Now, more than half of all secondary schools in NZ offer part/full courses
Scholarship should continue to fuel numbers from 2025 onwards
2400 entries into level 3 external in 2025
Luckily we have a rise of student teachers to help meet the needs.
In further study:
Most popular minor in 5 out of 7 Universities in NZ
Bachelor of Psychology on the rise
Compulsory papers in many degrees (BMed, B Eng, BMS, LLB, BTchg)
Associate Psychologist qualification 2026 (pending).
In industries:
Graduates were deemed “highly employable” and rated highly in "transferable skills" like communication, problem-solving, and critical thinking (GLSNZ)
2019 Wellbeing Budget - Billions invested into cross industry upskilling
Green List qualification
Looking Ahead
The heart of the presentation came when we got to share with the attendees our own ideas of the direction Psychology is growing towards. The main consensus of the room was a more culturally responsive practice that looked at Kaupapa Māori approach to Psychology as the future. We shared ways in which we are using aspects in our classroom while acknowledging how much room for improvement we all have in our practice. Other areas of the future uncluded Scholarship exam launching in 2025, reflecting societal shifts like AI use and how the future is in the hands of the individuals teaching it.
To everyone who came, asked questions, shared ideas, or just gave it a go—ngā mihi nui. Your openness and enthusiasm are exactly what will keep the momentum of Psychology’s growth in Aotearoa.
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