Dr Michael Johnston: The liberal roots of New Zealand education

Imagining 19th-century schooling might bring to mind characters like Thomas Gradgrind from Charles Dickens' novel Hard Times. Gradgrind was a disciplinarian, obsessed with drilling facts into pupils' resistant brains. He had little time for art or poetry.

Like any caricature, Dickens' portrayal of Victorian English schools no doubt contains truth. But a close look at New Zealand's early school system reveals a rather different picture.

Alwyn Poole: I Know the post is long but PISA is a big deal.

Hello KBers … if it is too long don’t read it … but the outcomes of our education system are important.

What NZ’s 2025 PISA Results Tell Us

Alwyn Poole — with analytical/formatting support from AI

General Analysis

My take on implications

Judy Gill: A Sacred Lie - The Rise Of Spiritual Politics In NZ Education

I am not a political figure. I have never stood for office, never joined a party, never published in any mainstream outlet until recently. I am simply a parent living on Waiheke Island, trying to raise my son in peace, in reason, and in freedom. I do not want my son to attend a Christian school, nor do I want to homeschool him. I want what used to be normal in NZ: a secular, neutral education free from religious or spiritual instruction.

And yet, today, that is no longer available to my child.

John Robertson: Te Whāriki, Māori Spirituality, and the Blurring of State and Religion in NZ Education

New Zealand’s national early childhood curriculum, Te Whāriki, has undergone significant changes — especially since its 2017 update. While intended to reflect a bicultural framework, this curriculum now includes regular and embedded references to Māori spiritual concepts, including: