Section
Commentary, critique, and advocacy from voices across the New Zealand education sector.
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.
School Lines Like it or lump it? Lester Flockton Feedback, feedforward, feedup, feeddown lester.flockton@otago.ac.nz When Mr Key announced his political party’s education policy a matter of a days before voters went to the ballot box, with the then Minister of Education standing behind him and clearly on the way out in favour of a party […]
Rural Ramblings Size does matter! Baabaara Ramsbottom It was only very recently – during an excellent Incredible three sets of scrabble, all with pieces missing.) Despite four years Years Teacher session when we were asked to recount what led of weekly lectures on the sociology of education, nobody had us to become teachers – that […]
subject specialists. For them to provide effective programmes across the curriculum they need and deserve access to ongoing professional support and guidance of a kind more powerful than TKI and the like can hope to offer despite good intentions. The MOE’s much-vaunted Best (Available) Evidence Syntheses proclaim that high-quality teachers make the most difference for […]
Just as winter was starting to feel relentless, nature England – my own being particularly vociferous on the subject. delivered up a glorious blue sky day. The drive to work featured As she ranted she delivered some very hard stares in my father’s a stunning view of Mt Ruapehu’s peak, we opened the staffroom direction. […]
School Lines Where are you Jean-Jacques Rousseau? (Who is he?) Lester Flockton feedback, feedforward, Feedup, feeddown lester.flockton@otago.ac.nz Two or three years ago when working on a significant ‘job’ with a prominent measurement expert, I suggested that we take time to consider what a good education for children should be all about before proceeding to things […]
Homophobic bullying, suicide and the primary school Gerard Farrelly Principal of Goresbridge NS, Co. Kilkenny Part I John was a gentle, introverted young man who was twelve years old when he went home from school one Wednesday afternoon and, knowing that his mother and father would be at work until late afternoon, he hung himself by […]
I have been teaching my 10 year old son for the last 2 years. It has had its moments – both good and not so good but mostly we have achieved equilibrium. At home he calls me Mum and at some point on our journey to school he switches to my teacher name and, provided […]
School Lines The GERM that is spawning BUGS Lester Flockton feedback, feedforward, Feedup, feeddown lester.flockton@otago.ac.nz At the time of writing this column, Pasi Sahlberg, Finland’s child left behind’ or ‘five out of five’ succeeding, performance pay former Head of Education, has been receiving some media to “incentivise” improved learning outcomes (i.e. test scores), attention during […]
Learning from the UK Experience of Charter Schools Sue Street Executive Officer, National Association of Head Teachers, UK In the last few years I have seen first-hand how private business is shaping the future of the UK education system by establishing Free Schools and Sponsored Academies (Charter Schools). It paints a very worrying picture and […]
WHAT’S ON TOP? CHOICES . . . Helen Kinsey-Whiteman It is a fact of 21st century living that we expect to be given choice. But does more choice in government funded education mean higher quality education? Do we have enough information to make good choices? Do countries with greater choice in education do better for […]
School Lines Pact with PaCT, or PaCT a PACT? Lester Flockton feedback, feedforward, Feedup, feeddown lester.flockton@otago.ac.nz National Standards were foisted (forced, if you prefer) to the matter by earmarking over $5 million for developing a upon New Zealand’s schools, teachers and children by a framework to ensure consistency of teachers’ judgments against Government that naively, […]
Rural Ramblings All change please . . . Baabaara Ramsbottom My father was a trainspotter in his youth. This hobby involved standing at train stations with a notebook and writing down the names and numbers of every train that passed. Shockingly, my mother was in full possession of this information when they began dating – […]
