New Zealand Principal Magazine

Official magazine of the New Zealand Principals' Federation

Section

Opinion

Commentary, critique, and advocacy from voices across the New Zealand education sector.

About this section

This section publishes opinion pieces on curriculum reform, education policy, equity, standardisation, political change, and the lived realities of school leadership. Contributors include principals, academics, sector commentators, and federation leadership writing in their own voice — not necessarily reflecting NZPF policy. Topics range from the Education and Training (System Reform) Amendment Bill to school culture, staff wellbeing, and the place of equity in curriculum design. Use this section to engage with the debates shaping education in Aotearoa, sharpen your own thinking on contested issues, and hear how colleagues are responding to the political and curricular pressures on schools.

Positivism and Negativism – Tools of mind for leading educators

Lester Flockton

2015 Term 1 March Issue

feedback, feedforward, Feedup, feeddown  lester.flockton@otago.ac.nz It is simplistic nonsense to think or suggest that within an education leadership context, positivism equates with “good”, “progressive”, “productive” or “forward thinking”, while negativism equates with “bad”, “backward looking”, or “unproductive”. Sure, in personality psychology, some so-called positive people do tend to have a shiny, optimistic and uncritical disposition, […]