Discussion Paper | The Case for Character Skills

By Kieran Madden

“Intelligence plus character—that is the goal of true education.” – Martin Luther King Success early on in life is about…

Creating opportunities to contribute

By Danielle van Dalen

Last week New Zealander Robert Martin took up his position in Geneva as Spokesperson for Disabled People on the United…

Is education the great equaliser?

By Kieran Madden

Last week, New Zealand got a glowing report card from the OECD for our economic performance and the policies set…

Back to school

By Jane Silloway Smith

Uniforms are washed and ready to wear; iPads are fully charged; and backpacks are laden with fresh stationary supplies –…

Think again

I caught myself last week saying, “you learn something new every day.”  I try to avoid using clichés that can…

Review: The Beautiful Tree

By Keiran Madden

The Beautiful Tree: A personal journey into how the world’s poorest people are educating themselves By James Tooley (Washington: Cato…

Submission: Standards for Schools

By Steve Thomas

In 2009 the Government looked into the details of the National Standards for Reading, Writing and Mathematics. Maxim Institute made…

Submission: National standards consultation

By Steve Thomas

Currently, in New Zealand’s education system, there are significant problems with student underachievement, with 20 percent of students falling behind…

Submission: Draft New Zealand Curriculum

While the Draft New Zealand Curriculum allowed much greater freedom for schools and communities to set the direction of teaching…

The Parent Factor 5: Summary and Policy Recommendations

The final report in the award winning Parent Factor series, highlights the need for schools and principals to be trusted…

Boy’s education a challenge

By Keiran Madden

Everyone now admits that there is a gender gap between boys and girls achievement, and that it is growing. This…

The Parent Factor 4: Access to education

Most New Zealand parents want to choose their child’s school, but under the current system, their ability to do so…

The Parent Factor 3: Information for parents

The Parent Factor: Information for Parents paints a clear picture of the kind of schooling system parents want in this…

The Parent Factor 2: Valuing teachers

This report finds that New Zealand parents want to see teachers valued and respected for the work they do and…

The Parent Factor 1: Freedom for schools

This report finds that parents would like to select the school their children go to, and that only a minority…