Dr Michael Johnston has held academic positions at Victoria University of Wellington for the past ten years. This includes being the Associate Dean (Academic) of the University’s School of Education for the last 3 years.
Prior to his time at Victoria, Dr Johnston was the Senior Statistician at the New Zealand Qualifications Authority, a position he held for 6 years. Before that, he held positions at Melbourne and Latrobe universities.
Dr Johnston holds a PhD in Cognitive Psychology from the University of Melbourne.
He lives in Roseneath, Wellington, with his wife and two young children.
Phone: 044990790
Our young adults are having a rough time of it at the moment. They have, perhaps more than any other age demographic, been impacted by COVID lockdowns. Read more
Elizabeth Rata is a professor in the School of Education and Social Work at the University of Auckland. We talked to her about the nature of science; her theory of 'neo-tribal capitalism'; and why 'partial loyalty' might be crucial to liberal democracy. Read more
There are many pressing problems facing New Zealand, but none more urgent than the decay of our once great education system. Every time a young person leaves school without basic literacy and numeracy, it is a travesty. Read more
The chickens of negligence have come home to roost – but they’re not welcome in the Henhouse of Education. As we wrote in Insights last week, in a pilot of new literacy and numeracy assessments for NCEA, only two thirds of assessed students met a basic standard of adult numeracy and reading ability. Read more
The New Zealand Initiative recently commented on a pilot of new reading, writing and numeracy assessments for NCEA. Just a third of students participating in the pilot met the standard for writing. Read more
Just one third of the students participating in a pilot of new literacy and numeracy assessments for NCEA passed the writing assessment, and only two thirds passed each of the reading and numeracy assessments. Michael Johnston talks to Michael Laws, The Platform about the alarming results. Read more
Alarming results have come from a pilot of new literacy and numeracy assessments for NCEA. The new assessments are scheduled to be introduced as part of the Ministry of Education’s review of the NCEA system. Read more
Just one third of the students participating in a pilot of new literacy and numeracy assessments for NCEA passed the writing assessment, and only two thirds passed each of the reading and numeracy assessments. Michael Johnston talks to Andrew Dickens, Newstalk ZB about the these alarming results and what needs to be done about it. Read more
Declining literacy is a contributor to low productivity and New Zealand's students have been let down by the education system. In this podcast Dr Michael Johnston and Amanda Boyd discuss the Ministry of Education's plan to introduce new NCEA requirements and what this means for students, schools and businesses. Read more
It's no secret that low productivity is a major issue for the New Zealand economy. There are many factors contributing to that. Read more
Question: How many electricians does it take to change a lightbulb? Answer: Just one, as long as they’ve completed a Job Safety, Environmental Analysis and Risk Assessment, a COVID-19 Workplace Safety SmartForm and an Electrical Safety Certificate. Read more
In an article in the June 11-17 edition of the New Zealand Listener, speech-language therapist Karena Shannon argued that our education system over-values literacy and under-values oral language. Shannon correctly noted that oral language is “innate” in human beings, whereas literacy is “constructed”. Read more
On 31 July 2022, New Zealand's borders will fully reopen. This will be a welcome development for education providers, especially those in the tertiary sector. Read more
Our education system is becoming a bit like a gym in which people use robots to pump iron for them. The trend began in the 1980s when hand-held calculators became cheap. Read more
In July last year a furore erupted when seven eminent professors from the University of Auckland published a letter in the New Zealand Listener. They wrote to criticise Ministry of Education plans to include mātauranga Māori (traditional Māori knowledge) in the science curriculum for schools. Read more