Wellington (Monday, 20 November 2023) – There have been calls to ban streaming in New Zealand schools. Streaming is the practice of separating students into different classes based on their prior learning. Read more
Newstalk ZB mentions Dr Michael Johnston regarding his inquiries to the Ministry of Education about basic information about modern learning environments. Listen below. Read more
When it comes to the annual NCEA exam round, no news is good news. News about exams almost always signals that something has gone wrong. Read more
The election has come and gone. While Wellington sits in stasis awaiting Winston’s next press scrum, New Zealanders might be forgiven for feeling that we’ve only recently been here before. Read more
We reserved this space in today’s newsletter to congratulate the new Government on taking office. If we have to wait another week or two, then so be it. Read more
The incoming Government needs to make improving education a major priority. Achieving that will take decisive action, and many years of effort. Read more
Last week, I spoke on a panel at Microsoft’s GovTech Futures conference in Wellington. The event brought together IT professionals and public servants. Read more
Dr Eric Crampton talks to Paul Brennan on Reality Check Radio about the soaring council debts around the country and what this will for ratepayer and community assets. Listen here. Read more
Dr Michael Johnston talks to Glenn Fahey, who is the Director of the Education program at The Centre for Independent Studies based in Australia. They discuss the problems of Teacher Education in both NZ and Australia and the differing solutions they both came up with, which highlights the differences in both countries' systems. To listen to our latest podcasts, please subscribe to The New Zealand Initiative podcast on iTunes, Spotify or The Podcast App. Read more
Turkish Presidential visits to Germany to Germany are seldom easy affairs. This has been especially so during the tenure of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Read more
Every NCEA Level 1 assessment unit – the achievement standards – will be replaced from next year. The new standards were published last month. Read more
Medsafe targets a 100-day initial evaluation for drugs already approved elsewhere. It took longer than 176 days for half of the drugs assessed over the past year. Read more
Over a month has passed since the conflict between Hamas and Israel escalated dramatically. The death toll of the 7 October massacre exceeds 1,400, marking this as the most severe episode of violence affecting Jewish people since the Holocaust. Read more
Last week it was reported that Queensland public servants have been offered up to five days of paid leave to tend to their ‘social and emotional wellbeing’ in the wake of the results of the Voice referendum. This is an obvious step in the right direction. Read more
Dr Michael Johnson talks to Dr Christine Braid, of Massey University, and Linda Kimpton, a literacy advocate. They discuss what structured literacy is and how an incoming Minister might approach getting structured literacy embedded. Read more