National’s Standards
It’s great to see Chris Hipkins abolishing ‘National Standards’ as a matter of priority. This policy was nothing but an unfortunate bit of populism […]
education
Free Education – how to pay for it
I am a New Zealander living in Norway lecturing at NTNU, Norway’s largest University. For the last few months I have been thinking about the challenges of providing free post-secondary education. Norway offers free education for all students including international students.
The mess that the new government inherits
This post is too long to read. Its purpose is to serve as reference material, a “one stop” snapshot of where we are as a country. The mess that the new government inherits. The consequences of the nine long wasted years of National. The magnitude of the challenge ahead of us.
The education mess
The complete mess that National has made of our health system got plenty of airtime during the election campaign. While it received less coverage, the education system is a mess too.
Labour announce affordable tertiary education
As the Nats stand exposed in another apparent dirty politics hit, Labour gets on with the job of winning the election. Jacinda Ardern today announced new policy: Making tertiary education and training affordable for all.
Nats double down on failed national standards policy
The centerpiece of National’s campaign launch was an education package that doubles down on the demonstrably failed national standards policy. Out of ideas.
Labour’s School Leavers’ Toolkit
“Labour’s School Leavers’ Toolkit will help students learn to drive, understand practical budgeting, be equipped with workplace skills, and learn how our political system operates through civics education at school. Every secondary school will be resourced to provide these courses.”
National reckon public health and education are a waste of money?
According to Morning Report the Nats are calling Labour’s budget for more spending on health and education “a plan to waste more money”. Tell it to the people who can’t afford private alternatives and depend on the public systems.
Labour oppose visa scams – Nats would rather have the quick bucks
Labour is right to stress the many advantages that immigration brings to NZ, and right to address the major way in which it is being abused – student visa scams. Bill English has made National’s position clear, they would rather have the quick bucks.
Parata fleeing education mess
Parata can believe whatever brings her comfort of course, but the fact is that this National government has made, as usual, a mess of education.
“Dumbing down a generation”
An excellent piece by Simon Collins in the weekend Herald. NZ’s educational scores in international comparisons are locked in a downward spiral. National’s ideology has failed, while we ignore successful models.
Two big policy fails
This is what you get with a hasty, reactive, “top down” policy process.
The cost of education
National needs to do something to address spiraling education costs in both the secondary and tertiary sectors.
This pattern of Kiwi’s exploiting migrants is shameful
A depressing feature in The Herald this morning explores the exploitation of migrant workers. The same pattern as the private sector’s treatment of foreign students. This paints a shameful picture of New Zealand. Greed has made us forget who we were.
Massive education fail
Thanks National: “NZ kids worst at maths in English-speaking world”.
What skills do we need in the age of fake news?
Revelations surrounding the role of fake news in the American election have been stunning. And the critical thinking skills that democracy needs to survive this trend are under attack in our education system.
God Botherer
God’s been a bit of a let down recently. Is it time for Him to retire?
All aboard the charter schools gravy train
Charter schools are pretty nice work if you can get it, no wonder groups are lining up. But there’s no evidence that they are good for education.
National standards – a failed crusade
National told us “New Zealand elected a Government that promised to introduce national standards so that every single child could read, write, and do maths when they left school.”
A Design for Living; Guest Post
Young Labour member and regular TS reader TheSocialDemocrat has drawn up a manifesto for change. As neo-liberalism enters its twilight phase, now is the time to redefine the debate about what makes a society great.
The TPPA could blight public education
The TPPA could bring us charter schools on steroids, and threaten policies like free tertiary education. In general its a way of locking in a permanent, international right-wing governance which can limit and constrain the kind of social policies that any future NZ left-wing government might want to enact.
Praise for Labour’s tertiary bombshell
Although there have been predictable howls of outrage from the usual suspects, the media reaction to Labour’s bold tertiary education policy has been generally great.
So, how would you spend $1.2B per year?
A Kiwi Kids allowance for all under fives, with totally fee free public primary and secondary schools.
Skill shortages and reaping what you sow
Data released to the Sunday Star-Times shows a huge decline in numbers of tertiary students, including declines in many key skills and fields. Various explanations are offered, only one of them makes sense…
Education mess
Details of a mess in tertiary education published yesterday. On top of the mess in charter schools. National aren’t very good at this.
Use of Teach First (NZ) illegal
To date, TeachFirst(NZ) has received more than $6.4 million dollars of public money and, as a result, has infested 18 schools with dozens of so-called “teachers”.
NZ Herald: Damning report rewritten after ‘war-room’ meeting
The Herald seems to have accidentally deleted the online version of yesterday’s big story from Kirsty Johnson on how the government manipulates media perceptions. However could that have happened?
The education review
National is initiating a review of education. They will of course be excluding consideration of resourcing and their sacred cows (national standards, charter schools). One possible outcome appears to be shifting resources from poorer schools to richer ones.
Deconstructing the government’s report card
The government has awarded itself a nice report card. Let’s take a closer look.
Anti-union rant in The Herald
An anonymous editorial in The Herald this morning really is atrocious. Apparently the limited uptake one of the Nats’ pet education policies is all the fault of the unions.
The education horse race
On the one hand the government are pushing for more and more NCEA passes to feed the league tables, and on the other they are acknowledging that those passes are no longer enough to suggest success at Tertiary level and tightening criteria to exclude students. Mixed messages, perverse incentives, a giant shambles.
Lowly science
I’m sure it’s true, but…
Socioecomonic status and educational outcomes (and the ignorance of DPF)
It would suit the right-wing of politics to ignore the profound impact of poverty on education. Nat blogger DPF ran the line just yesterday. His bombastic and ignorant conclusion is based on a trivially superficial reading of Hattie’s work.
Lining up for charter schools
The PPTA has published a list of organisations that have expressed an interest in setting up charter schools, almost half of them religious groups, some of them with rather fringe beliefs. Do we really want scarce state education funding being used to teach creationism?
A lesson for the Secretary of Education
Buried in Audrey Young’s puff piece on Secretary of Education Lesley Longstone is an interesting insight into Longstone’s thinking on poverty and education. Longstone tries to downplay the link. Ignorance, or overt right-wing agenda?
World class education
The Secretary for Education has drawn the wrong conclusions from data on educational performance, and a bunch of commentators (including a particularly egregious anonymous editorial in The Herald) have been quick to follow. We certainly have a world class education system. The fact that not every child can take advantage of it is our real failing and our shame.