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
Ben Craven interviews Dr Michael Johnston about his recent presentation at The New Zealand Initiative Members’ Retreat. The pair discuss the disturbing trends of cancel culture and the erosion of academic freedom. Read more
There was once a place called the University. I knew it well – in fact I grew up there. Read more
New Zealand has a major problem with educational inequality in its school system. The reasons are complex and not all of them are in the control of the education system. Read more
“Because there is no time for thinking and no rest in thinking, we no longer weigh divergent views; we’re content to hate them.” Friedrich Nietzsche wrote that back in 1878, but he could easily have been describing the early 2020s. Perhaps it was ever thus, but I can’t help feeling the problem Nietzsche was describing has recently got a lot worse. Read more
Do you fear and loathe mathematics? If so, you are far from alone. Read more
The Department for Education in England recently issued guidance to teachers to remind them of legal requirements to be politically impartial when they teach sensitive topics such as the legacy of the British Empire. Commenting on the guidance, Education Secretary Nadhim Zahawi said “contested theories and opinions must not be presented to young people as facts”. Read more
I am excited to have commenced work at the New Zealand Initiative in early March. I come from ten years as an academic in the Faculty of Education at Victoria University of Wellington. Read more
We recently announced the appointment of new Senior Fellow, Dr Michael Johnston to lead our education programme. Michael joins us from Victoria University of Wellington, where he was most recently Associate Dean (Academic) in the School of Education. Read more