Briar specialises in education. Before joining the Initiative she was a Maths teacher and Assistant Principal in London. Briar has worked for International Education consultancy CfBT, and the Westminster think tank Policy Exchange. She holds a Masters Degree in Economics from the University of Edinburgh.
As recently as in the 1920s, cyclists in the Tour de France would take ‘smoking breaks’, assisting team-mates to light-up while still cycling. Since then, scientific research and evidence has well and truly debunked the myth that smoking is good for athletic performance. Read more
Perhaps it is a product of New Zealand’s geographic isolation, which creates concern not to be left behind. But since moving here from England my education hogwash-o-meter has been reading unusually high. Read more
Kathryn Ryan speaks with Briar Lipson about her new education report, Spoiled by Choice. The report is calling for a reform of NCEA because it is failing too many students, especially those from disadvantaged backgrounds. Read more
Research Fellow Briar Lipson discusses on TVNZ's Breakfast our new education report, Spoiled by Choice: How NCEA hampers education, and what it needs to succeed. The report analyses the history and evolution of NCEA; and its impact on students, teachers and end-users. Read more
“NCEA might be good for students’ self-esteem, but it is failing too many - particularly disadvantaged - students and needs to be reformed,” says our new report Spoiled by Choice. The report is one of the headlines of the news bulletins on Newstalk ZB. Read more
Education is about learning. However, as assessment expert Alison Wolf explains: …formal education is also, and intrinsically, about selection and certification… ~ Wolf, A. Read more
Imagine buying a house, or choosing a spouse without knowing anything about them. You wouldn’t do it. Read more
In the 1940s, a different Lipson (that one an English political scientist) famously remarked that if Wellington or Auckland harbours were ever to have a statue akin to that in New York, it would assuredly be a statue of Equality. The ideal of a fair-go runs deep in the New Zealand psyche, and rightly so. Read more
The 2016 PIRLS results announced this week are bad. PIRLS (the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study) compares the reading ability of Year 5 students. Read more
So far in this Parliament, our fresh-faced new ministers have succumbed to a bit of over-exuberance on GST reform, some misguided Vietnamese-whispers, and some contorting parliamentary questions. But if political amateur dramatics is what you are after there has been little to see here, despite our government’s relative inexperience. Read more
My dad just refitted his small cottage kitchen. He is over 6ft tall, so wanted the worktops raised 6 inches, precluding his need to bend. Read more
According to the Economist Intelligence Unit, New Zealand leads the world in ‘educating for the future’. Their latest index, compiled in London, evaluates the extent to which the inputs to education systems prioritise ‘future skills’. Read more
Imagine a political party deeply committed to social justice. A party that places fairness and caring for the most disadvantaged above everything else. Read more
Last time you booked a hotel or restaurant, you may well have checked it out on TripAdvisor first. Whatever your price bracket, if a place was rated below about a three out of five, then the chances are you’ll have discounted it. Read more
Despite little evidence of impact, Inquiry Learning is at the heart of New Zealand’s curriculum. One of seven values it encourages in students, inquiry also crops up in the titles of 6 of the 25 ‘Effective Pedagogy’ videos on the New Zealand Curriculum website. Read more