In a democracy, the people hold the power. Citizens vote to elect leaders to represent them. If people don't like the decisions, they can vote for new leaders in the next election. Example: New Zealand.
A king or queen holds the power, which is passed down through their family. In a constitutional monarchy, an elected government makes most decisions. Example: United Kingdom.
One person (a dictator) has absolute power. They often take power by force and do not hold fair elections. Citizens have very few rights. Example: North Korea.
The government owns and controls everything. The goal is a society where everyone is equal and wealth is shared. In practice, a single political party holds all the power. Example: China.
Traditionally, Māori society was organised into iwi and hapū. Decisions were made collectively by the community, led by rangatira (chiefs) and kaumātua (elders). Example: Local iwi in Aotearoa.
Students will engage with this resource to apply systems thinking to real-world civic and community challenges — analysing feedback loops, leverage points, and emergent properties within social, environmental, and governance systems in Aotearoa New Zealand.
Scaffold support: Provide systems mapping templates and sentence starters for entry-level access. Offer extension tasks asking students to identify a second-order effect or design an intervention at a leverage point within their chosen system.
ELL / ESOL: Pre-teach systems thinking vocabulary (feedback loop, leverage point, emergence, interdependence) using visual diagrams. Allow students to annotate systems maps in their home language first.
Inclusion: Use visual, spatial, and collaborative formats wherever possible — systems maps are inherently accessible for diverse learners. Neurodiverse learners benefit from structured inquiry steps and chunked analysis tasks. Ensure group roles are clearly defined.
Mātauranga Māori lens: Systems thinking has deep resonance with Te Ao Māori. Whakapapa is a relational map of systems — tracing connections between people, place, and time. Kaitiakitanga frames our responsibility within systems. Mauri provides a measure of system health. These indigenous concepts enrich Western systems thinking frameworks.
Prior knowledge: Students should have completed foundational systems thinking lessons (phases 1–2) before engaging with phase 3 inquiry tasks. No specialist prior knowledge required for standalone resources.