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For the past six years, I have had the privilege of writing this Newsroom column on any Europe-related topic. While some may appear obscure at first, I always choose topics that I think New Zealanders can benefit from knowing more about. Read more
Social media use is ubiquitous. Young people, especially, are relying on it for social interaction, sometimes to the near exclusion of offline friendships. Read more
Dr Michael Johnston talks to Michael Laws on The Platform about recent declining NCEA results in New Zealand and a University of Auckland report showing single-sex schools outperform co-ed schools. Dr Johnston argues the Ministry of Education ignores empirical research due to ideological commitments and fails to address the growing gender gap in academic achievement, with girls significantly outperforming boys. Read more
The Education and Training Act enshrines academic freedom in law. It distinguishes aspects of academic freedom over which the university itself has jurisdiction, from aspects that protect its students and academic staff from institutional interference. Read more
In this episode, Oliver Hartwich interviews Dr Michael Johnston about the free speech event at Victoria University that was postponed due to backlash within the university. They discuss the importance of free speech in liberal democracies, the changing perception of free speech as a partisan issue, and the concerning trend of young people trying to shut down events featuring disagreeable viewpoints. Read more
In New Zealand, one of the most exciting education reforms in the world is quietly getting underway. Erica Stanford, the country’s new Education Minister, is on a mission to overhaul the education system from top to bottom – and she is leaving no stone unturned. Read more
Oliver and Michael talk about Germany's dual education system with Rachel Simpson, Manager for Education, Skills and Immigration at Business NZ. Recently, Michael and Rachel were on a business delegation to Germany to find out about their dual education system first-hand. Read more
In this episode, Michael talks to Holly Gooch and Izzy Bremner, from The Hyphen Project, about what it might be like for people who are perhaps not considered the "norm" in our large school system. They talk about The Hyphen Project, which is a talent incubator for 16-19 year olds who are talented, neurodivergent and have not gotten on well with the mainstream education system. Read more
Last year, the Initiative released a report on administrative bloat at New Zealand universities. It showed that the majority of staff at New Zealand universities are non-academics, and that this has been the case for quite some time. Read more
This new research note, When the Bloat Began: Non-Academic Staffing at New Zealand Universities over the Long Run, 1961-1997, reveals the year in which non-academic employees started to outnumber academics at our universities. Building on the findings of our earlier research report, Blessing or Bloat? Read more