NCEA Level 2 History case studies
NCEA Level 2 History · Put your knowledge to work in context.
NCEA Level 2 History is the second-year History offering within New Zealand's National Certificate of Educational Achievement, a qualification administered by the New Zealand Qualifications Authority (NZQA). It sits under the Social Sciences learning area and, as NZQA describes it, is about "engaging with the historical narratives of people, places and events from the past." It is designed for secondary students who have completed Level 1 History and want to build the research, source-analysis and argumentation skills that lead into Level 3 and NZ Scholarship History. The NCEA Level 2 History case studies are 5 cases and about 3,740 words.
1Corroborating the 1918 influenza in a Northland community
A Level 2 student is examining sources about the 1918 influenza pandemic in a Northland community. The folder contains four items: (1) a typed extract from the 1919 Annual Report of the Department of Public Health stating that the Māori death rate in the Northland health district was “exceptionally high” but giving no local breakdown; (2) a letter published in a December 1918 newspaper from a Pākehā storekeeper saying “the natives were well cared for by the district nurse”; (3) a 1998 oral history interview with a kaumātua recalling that her grandmother died after the family was refused help at a local store; and (4) a photocopied page from a Māori Land Court minute book listing deaths in the community in late 1918, but handwritten names are unclear and one column is cut off.
808 words, about 4 min2Three voices on the 1981 Springbok tour
A school is designing a display on the 1981 Springbok tour. Students have three edited oral history extracts.
770 words, about 4 min3Causes and consequences of the Waikato War
A student is evaluating the statement: “The Waikato War of 1863–64 was caused mainly by Māori landlessness, and its main consequence was the growth of Auckland.” The folder contains: a 1863 proclamation by Governor Grey; a petition from Waikato rangatira to the Queen; a map of land confiscated under the New Zealand Settlements Act 1863; a 1995 Waikato-Tainui settlement summary; and a modern historian’s chapter arguing the war was about sovereignty. The assessment requires the student to distinguish causes from triggers and to judge consequences using three criteria: scale, duration, and significance to affected people.
706 words, about 4 min4The Dawn Raids and a local Pacific community
A city museum is preparing an exhibit on the 1970s Dawn Raids. The curator has 14 oral history recordings from Pacific families, a 1976 newspaper editorial defending the raids as “firm but fair immigration control”, and police operational notes showing 12 early-morning operations in one suburb between 1974 and 1976.
758 words, about 4 min5Planning an inquiry into the 1951 waterfront dispute
A Level 2 student has six weeks and 2,000 words to carry out an inquiry into the 1951 waterfront dispute. Their first question is: “Was the 1951 waterfront dispute a victory for the government or a disaster for workers?” The teacher says this is too binary and too broad.
698 words, about 3 min