It is not clear whether the increased visibility of vocational education and training in New Zealand is due to worsening skill shortages and/or to a change in government, but either way it is a discussion worth having. The focus has been on what’s in it for students, and fairly so, given years of praising university education while belittling vocational education. Read more

In The Paradox of Choice: Why More is Less, Psychologist Barry Schwartz argues that too much choice can hinder rather than support our decision making. That the validity of this theory has been challenged is beside the point. Read more

When my colleague Oliver Hartwich first tried explaining the German school system to me, he might as well have been speaking German. It seemed entirely foreign. Read more

Many of you must remember that ‘oh, shoot, now what?’ feeling you had with your graduation cap in one hand, and a hefty bill in the other. I do. Read more

We all want a New Zealand where citizens can enjoy a healthy and prosperous life. But, there is still a long way to go. Read more

New Zealand school principals should add to their skills repertoire: ‘Magician’. In the week leading to the first day of school, leaders were reaching into their hats of creative tricks to fill vacancies. Read more

With a new government comes opportunities to shake up a long-entrenched status quo. Nowhere is this more warranted than in our schooling sector where fundamental aspects need urgent reform. Read more

Our newly sworn-in Government has about 1000 days to deliver on its campaign promises. Fixing the education system will take more time. Read more

New Zealanders are lazy patriots and even worse politicians. In last week’s election, a bit more than a fifth of us held onto our vote and hoped for the best. Read more

On Wednesday evening, Oliver summed up our event à la Casablanca. Thanking our guest speakers, he rightly said ‘I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship’. Read more