Educators, your time starts now
At first glance, the timing of the release of research by The New Zealand Initiative, into the general knowledge of adult New Zealanders, could hardly be more serendipitous. One of the globe’s general knowledge giants, barrister Shaun Wallace, a former Mastermind champion in Britain and ‘‘The Dark Destroyer’’ on popular TV series The Chase, is in New Zealand on a trip that includes appearances at both the New Zealand Quiz Championship final, this past Saturday in Upper Hutt, and the New Zealand pub quiz championships in Auckland on Saturday. We might even borrow his catchphrase, and say that, while answering the questions put to survey subjects as part of the research would be
‘‘just another day at the office’’ for Wallace, it was no picnic for most of them.
That might be unfair. TV and pub quizzes are about prizes and bragging rights. Descriptors like ‘‘a mine of useless information’’ are often applied to the best.
The 13-question quiz put to 1000 Kiwis aged 18 and over by the Initiative was anything but useless. It sought to assess the state of the country’s general knowledge. Its report, by research fellow Briar Lipson, points out that in countries like Australia and the US, longitudinal studies have ‘‘provided insights into changes in knowledge over time’’, but we have no equivalent, ‘‘so the Initiative created a snapshot’’, basing it, where possible, on similar questions asked elsewhere.
She notes there is likely to be disagreement about the relevance of some questions, but the paltry percentages of subjects who gave correct answers to some of them certainly suggest an alarming gap in fairly basic knowledge.
Asked what year the Treaty of Waitangi was first signed, just 32 per cent said 1840. That’s a history question, and a sure endorsement of the Government’s decision to make the teaching of New Zealand history compulsory. But in basic maths, fewer than half the respondents answered this question correctly: ‘‘If a car travels at a constant speed of 40 kilometres per hour, how far would it travel in 45 minutes?’’
Easy enough, surely? (It’s 30km.) How will someone who can’t answer that do other basic calculations, or budget effectively? How will those who think antibiotics kill viruses as well as bacteria cut through the hysteria and misinformation around vaccines?
‘‘Unfortunately, facts are out of fashion in New Zealand education,’’ Lipson’s research note says. ‘‘Instead, the emphasis is on skills – especially 21st-century skills like problem-solving, critical thinking, and creativity.’’ So what’s the problem? Those are important skills. But as she points out, they can’t be applied without factual knowledge. They don’t exist in the abstract. Factual knowledge of a subject is required for their application.
The poll, Lipson emphasises, ‘‘is not scientific proof of shortcomings in our national curriculum’’, but does raise important questions about ‘‘whether some basic standards of knowledge are needed for New Zealanders to participate fully in society. These are important questions – especially for anyone interested in social justice.’’
The Initiative plans to examine the fitness for purpose of the national curriculum in a future research report, to be released next year. In the meantime, our educational authorities would do well to examine this research in detail.
This isn’t about prizes or bragging rights. It’s about the ability of future school-leavers to make their way effectively in a changing and increasingly confusing world.
[Skills] can’t be applied without factual knowledge. They don’t exist in the abstract.