Maxim Institute's regular email publication Real Issues provides thought- provoking analysis of developments in policy and culture in New Zealand and around the world.
Education
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31 July 2009
We are used to thinking of private education in terms of green playing fields and elites. But in the slums of Hyderabad, Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya and China, private education confounds our stereotypes. A book by educationalist James Tooley tells the story of private education among the world's poor.
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3 July 2009
The Government is looking into the details of the National Standards for Reading, Writing and Mathematics, which will be introduced to schools in 2010. Maxim Institute has made a submission on the draft Standards, supporting their introduction and suggesting that some more work needs to be done on how the Standards are assessed, to make sure they really provide the quality information they are intended to.
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24 March 2009
Maxim Institute has made a submission on an Issues Paper produced by the Law Commission, "Private Schools and the Law," which describes possible changes to the law affecting private schools. Maxim Institute agrees with the Commission that there are overall no serious problems with the way independent schools are currently run. However, we oppose some of their proposals which might impinge on independent schools' freedom to offer an education different to what is offered at state schools. These include restricting schools' freedom to manage their own operations and to teach a curriculum different to the national curriculum. |
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National standards for excellent teachers, reporting of student progress and the NCEA 1 July 2008
Currently, in New Zealand's education system, there are significant problems with student underachievement, with 20 percent of students falling behind expectations for achievement. Another major issue confronting our education system is the difficulty in attracting and retaining excellent teachers.
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National standards for excellent teachers, reporting of student progress and the NCEA 1 July 2008
Currently, in New Zealand's education system, there are significant problems with student underachievement, with 20 percent of students falling behind expectations for achievement. Another major issue confronting our education system is the difficulty in attracting and retaining excellent teachers.
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Archived Documents
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Roll Play: How creating better access to schools in Christchurch could affect school rolls 6 December 2007
This report takes a fresh look at the impact of policies which could provide better access to schools for New Zealand children. The research presented in Roll Play explores the practicalities of allowing parents more equitable access to schools. It analyses data from a telephone survey of 424 parents whose children currently attend a secondary school in Christchurch, and looks at whether they think this is the most suitable school for their child or whether they would like to change their child's school.
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Integrated schools are a unique feature of New Zealand's schooling landscape and make a vital contribution to parental choice and the diversity of schooling options available in this country.
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The Parent Factor 5 - Summary and policy recommendations 22 May 2006
The final report in the award winning Parent Factor series, the report highlights the need for schools and principals to be trusted with the freedom to innovate and respond to the needs of families in their local community and to empower parents to make decisions that affect their child's schooling.
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The Parent Factor 4 - Access to education 7 February 2006
The Parent Factor: Access to Education reveals that most New Zealand parents want to choose their child's school, but under the current system, the ability of parents to select their child's school (particularly in urban areas), is largely determined by their income.
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The Parent Factor 4 - Access to education 7 February 2006
The Parent Factor: Access to Education reveals that most New Zealand parents want to choose their child's school, but under the current system, the ability of parents to select their child's school (particularly in urban areas), is largely determined by their income.
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Archived Documents
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Roll Play: How creating better access to schools in Christchurch could affect school rolls 6 December 2007
This report takes a fresh look at the impact of policies which could provide better access to schools for New Zealand children. The research presented in Roll Play explores the practicalities of allowing parents more equitable access to schools. It analyses data from a telephone survey of 424 parents whose children currently attend a secondary school in Christchurch, and looks at whether they think this is the most suitable school for their child or whether they would like to change their child's school.
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Integrated schools are a unique feature of New Zealand's schooling landscape and make a vital contribution to parental choice and the diversity of schooling options available in this country.
|
|
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The Parent Factor 5 - Summary and policy recommendations 22 May 2006
The final report in the award winning Parent Factor series, the report highlights the need for schools and principals to be trusted with the freedom to innovate and respond to the needs of families in their local community and to empower parents to make decisions that affect their child's schooling.
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The Parent Factor 4 - Access to education 7 February 2006
The Parent Factor: Access to Education reveals that most New Zealand parents want to choose their child's school, but under the current system, the ability of parents to select their child's school (particularly in urban areas), is largely determined by their income.
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The Parent Factor 4 - Access to education 7 February 2006
The Parent Factor: Access to Education reveals that most New Zealand parents want to choose their child's school, but under the current system, the ability of parents to select their child's school (particularly in urban areas), is largely determined by their income.
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Archived Documents
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Roll Play: How creating better access to schools in Christchurch could affect school rolls 6 December 2007
This report takes a fresh look at the impact of policies which could provide better access to schools for New Zealand children. The research presented in Roll Play explores the practicalities of allowing parents more equitable access to schools. It analyses data from a telephone survey of 424 parents whose children currently attend a secondary school in Christchurch, and looks at whether they think this is the most suitable school for their child or whether they would like to change their child's school.
|
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Integrated schools are a unique feature of New Zealand's schooling landscape and make a vital contribution to parental choice and the diversity of schooling options available in this country.
|
|
|
The Parent Factor 5 - Summary and policy recommendations 22 May 2006
The final report in the award winning Parent Factor series, the report highlights the need for schools and principals to be trusted with the freedom to innovate and respond to the needs of families in their local community and to empower parents to make decisions that affect their child's schooling.
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The Parent Factor 4 - Access to education 7 February 2006
The Parent Factor: Access to Education reveals that most New Zealand parents want to choose their child's school, but under the current system, the ability of parents to select their child's school (particularly in urban areas), is largely determined by their income.
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The Parent Factor 4 - Access to education 7 February 2006
The Parent Factor: Access to Education reveals that most New Zealand parents want to choose their child's school, but under the current system, the ability of parents to select their child's school (particularly in urban areas), is largely determined by their income.
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Archived Documents
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Fixing the NCEA: Ongoing problems, current reforms and proposed changes 22 June 2007
This Policy Paper backgrounds some of the flaws of the NCEA, putting the developments that led to the announcement of the most recent changes in context.
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The latest NCEA overhaul does not go far enough 3 June 2007
If the NCEA was a car would you drive your kids anywhere in it? Based on its performance over the past five years, probably not, since you could not be confident your kids would reach their destination intact—that is, having a qualification that is meaningful and precise.
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Submission on the Draft New Zealand Curriculum 30 November 2006
Maxim Institute's submission on the Draft New Zealand Curriculum
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The Parent Factor 1 - Freedom for schools 29 May 2005
The Parent Factor - Freedom for schools finds that parents would like to select the school their children go to, that parents want schools to teach their individual communities' positive values, and that only a minority of parents have confidence in the NCEA.
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Claims for early childhood education questionable
A recent report commissioned by the Ministry of Education claims that early childhood education is associated with a wide range of benefits to families and society. Yet the way the research was conducted leaves these claims wide open for debate.
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Archived Documents
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Fixing the NCEA: Ongoing problems, current reforms and proposed changes 22 June 2007
This Policy Paper backgrounds some of the flaws of the NCEA, putting the developments that led to the announcement of the most recent changes in context.
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The latest NCEA overhaul does not go far enough 3 June 2007
If the NCEA was a car would you drive your kids anywhere in it? Based on its performance over the past five years, probably not, since you could not be confident your kids would reach their destination intact—that is, having a qualification that is meaningful and precise.
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Submission on the Draft New Zealand Curriculum 30 November 2006
Maxim Institute's submission on the Draft New Zealand Curriculum
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The Parent Factor 1 - Freedom for schools 29 May 2005
The Parent Factor - Freedom for schools finds that parents would like to select the school their children go to, that parents want schools to teach their individual communities' positive values, and that only a minority of parents have confidence in the NCEA.
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Claims for early childhood education questionable
A recent report commissioned by the Ministry of Education claims that early childhood education is associated with a wide range of benefits to families and society. Yet the way the research was conducted leaves these claims wide open for debate.
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Archived Documents
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31 July 2009
We are used to thinking of private education in terms of green playing fields and elites. But in the slums of Hyderabad, Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya and China, private education confounds our stereotypes. A book by educationalist James Tooley tells the story of private education among the world's poor.
|
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24 March 2009
Maxim Institute has made a submission on an Issues Paper produced by the Law Commission, "Private Schools and the Law," which describes possible changes to the law affecting private schools. Maxim Institute agrees with the Commission that there are overall no serious problems with the way independent schools are currently run. However, we oppose some of their proposals which might impinge on independent schools' freedom to offer an education different to what is offered at state schools. These include restricting schools' freedom to manage their own operations and to teach a curriculum different to the national curriculum. |
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30 May 2008
Maxim Institute has made a submission to the Ministry of Education on Schools Plus, an initiative designed to keep young people in education or training until the age of 18. While we support many of the features of Schools Plus, we are strongly opposed to the compulsory nature of the policy.
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The Parent Factor 5 - Summary and policy recommendations 22 May 2006
The final report in the award winning Parent Factor series, the report highlights the need for schools and principals to be trusted with the freedom to innovate and respond to the needs of families in their local community and to empower parents to make decisions that affect their child's schooling.
|
|
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The Parent Factor 1 - Freedom for schools 29 May 2005
The Parent Factor - Freedom for schools finds that parents would like to select the school their children go to, that parents want schools to teach their individual communities' positive values, and that only a minority of parents have confidence in the NCEA.
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Archived Documents
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Education (National Standards of Literacy and Numeracy) Amendment Bill 23 November 2006
The Education (National Standards of Literacy and Numeracy) Amendment Bill intends to equip the parents of students to make more informed decisions about their child's education, specifically, about whether their child meets national standards.
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The Parent Factor 3 - Information for parents 5 September 2005
The Parent Factor: Information for Parents paints a clear picture of the kind of schooling system parents want in this country.
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Ratemyteachers.com exposes unresponsiveness of the
The launch of the new ratemyteachers.com website has caused controversy across the education sector recently. The website is an offshoot of the American ...
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The Ministry of Education has announced the introduction of a new electronic enrolment database which will keep track of students online, issuing them ...
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Making information available to parents
This week Avondale College announced plans to launch a new website that will enable parents to access information on how their child is doing at school. ...
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Archived Documents
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3 July 2009
The Government is looking into the details of the National Standards for Reading, Writing and Mathematics, which will be introduced to schools in 2010. Maxim Institute has made a submission on the draft Standards, supporting their introduction and suggesting that some more work needs to be done on how the Standards are assessed, to make sure they really provide the quality information they are intended to.
|
|
|
National standards for excellent teachers, reporting of student progress and the NCEA 1 July 2008
Currently, in New Zealand's education system, there are significant problems with student underachievement, with 20 percent of students falling behind expectations for achievement. Another major issue confronting our education system is the difficulty in attracting and retaining excellent teachers.
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Current issues in Maori schooling 21 December 2006
Maori are currently over-represented amongst those who are under-achieving at school. This policy paper examines issues currently being faced in Maori schooling, and considers practical steps towards an education system that will give Maori greater opportunity to succeed.
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The British Government intends to make it mandatory for all secondary schools to accept an equal share of pupils with difficult behaviour.
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We are the only country in the world where our bottom 20 percent of students is getting worse. Maxim writer Paul Henderson argues that the solution does not lie in a patronising 'compassion' which helps no one, but rather impartiality and a passion for winning.
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Archived Documents
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National standards for excellent teachers, reporting of student progress and the NCEA 1 July 2008
Currently, in New Zealand's education system, there are significant problems with student underachievement, with 20 percent of students falling behind expectations for achievement. Another major issue confronting our education system is the difficulty in attracting and retaining excellent teachers.
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The Parent Factor 2 - Valuing teachers 28 June 2005
New Zealand parents want to see teachers valued and respected for the work they do and treated as professionals.
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Around the world, there is a looming teacher crisis. For example, it has been estimated that by 2010, the United States will need to find an extra 2 million teachers.
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Teachers can have a huge influence on the lives and futures of their pupils, for good or ill. Think for a moment...
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Ratemyteachers.com exposes unresponsiveness of the
The launch of the new ratemyteachers.com website has caused controversy across the education sector recently. The website is an offshoot of the American ...
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Archived Documents
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The economies of the loan scheme are well understood, both at a personal and a macro level. But what about the social impact?
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Giving everyone value for money?
Tertiary students are people who want to be sure that when they are paying for something they are getting value for money. Likewise, the Tertiary Education ...
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Archived Documents
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Tolerance - testing the limits
Government policy documents from the Ministry of Education stress that tolerance is one of a number of values that must be taught in schools. This extract makes the simple observation that tolerance by nature is not all-inclusive, that whether we like it or not, it assumes a moral right and wrong.
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The Snow Goose - the value of good stories
Bruce Logan says the current search for values in New Zealand's schools is doomed to fail because it is based on the foundation of those values about which we least disagree. The lowest common denominator will not inspire our children.
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The continuing popularity of parenting books and courses points to an ever-deepening need among today's parents as they struggle against negative social trends to bring up their children well. But amid the welter of advice and strategies, is there a big picture - a master template for the most important job in the world?
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David Hill (Herald, 30 March 2005) is correct when he says state-schools teach values to their pupils...
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Schools: a religion-free zone?
The place of religion in schools was questioned recently when the Ministry of Education announced plans to release guidelines on religion in schools...
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Archived Documents
