Michael is a Senior Fellow at The New Zealand Initiative. He leads the Initiative’s work on education. He is a cognitive psychologist with a background in literacy research, educational assessment and psychometrics.
Prior to his time at the Initiative, he was the Associate Dean (Academic) of the Faculty of Education at Victoria University of Wellington. Between 2005 and 2011, he worked at the New Zealand Qualifications Authority (NZQA), where he developed a new, more reliable, marking system for NCEA examinations. In 2024, Michael chaired a Ministerial Advisory Group (MAG) for Education Minister Erica Stanford. The MAG advised on the development of a knowledge-rich curriculum for English and mathematics. Following that work, Michael is currently a member of the Curriculum Coherence group, which advises on the development of knowledge-rich curricula across all school subjects. Michael is also a member of a technical advisory group to NZQA on assessment for NCEA and New Zealand Scholarship.
In his time at The New Zealand Initiative, Michael has published reports on Modern Learning Environments, systems reform in education, teacher education, the use of AI in education, and pathways for industry training and apprenticeships.
Phone: 044990790
New Zealand’s universities are in crisis. Their most immediate problem is financial. Read more
State education has been in a void in New Zealand for a number of years. After spending some time as a world leader, the education field has been ploughed with incompetence. Read more
Welcome to the New Zealand Initiative podcast! This week's episode presents a dialogue between Dr Michael Johnston and the renowned Professor Gary Hawke. Read more
It is two decades since NCEA became New Zealand’s qualification system for secondary school students. It replaced a very traditional, exam-based system – School Certificate and University Entrance-Bursary. Read more
Welcome to the New Zealand Initiative podcast! In this episode, Michael Johnston has a fascinating conversation with Bali Haque, an experienced educator who has held various roles in the education sector. Read more
New Zealand’s much-publicised truancy problem is not easy to get a handle on. Should we go for the carrot or the stick? Read more
The parlous state of new Zealand’s school education system is common knowledge, in part thanks to the Herald’s recent Making the Grade series. Our poor results in literacy featured prominently. Read more
Learning is a central pursuit of the education system. It is essential that educators understand key elements of the science of human learning and how to apply them in the classroom. Read more
Hate speech and misinformation are both real and undesirable. But trying to curb them through criminal law risks undermining democracy. Read more
Yesterday, the New Zealand Initiative launched a new report. Save Our Schools makes wide-ranging recommendations to rescue our failing school system. Read more
This manifesto draws on the body of research compiled at The New Zealand Initiative over the past decade to bring together a coherent plan to improve our education system, and to restore it to a place of international pre-eminence. New Zealand’s once world-leading school education system is in a state of deep malaise. Read more
Wellington (Thursday, 27 April 2023) – A comprehensive report authored by Dr Michael Johnston offers a detailed analysis of the current challenges facing New Zealand’s educational infrastructure. Save our Schools: Solutions for New Zealand’s education crisis outlines a series of innovative proposals for reforming and revitalising New Zealand's education system, including curriculum, assessment and qualification systems, initial teacher education, teacher career structure, teacher supply, systems monitoring, and information provision to parents. Read more
Webinar: A Turning Point for New Zealand’s Education System Join us for a webinar as we launch “Save Our Schools: Solutions for New Zealand's Education Crisis.” Our webinar, and our publication, come at a critical moment. New Zealand faces the choice between reform and decline in our education system. Read more
In this podcast episode, we explore the state of education in New Zealand, both at the school and university levels. Drawing from our own experiences, we discuss the strengths and weaknesses of the current education system and the challenges that students face in their pursuit of higher education. Read more
