Hon Hekia Parata
Minister of Education

5 July 2013

Leading educational expert Andreas Schleicher to visit New Zealand

Leading world expert on educational achievement and best practice, Andreas Schleicher, will visit New Zealand next week.

Mr Schleicher will be in New Zealand from 8-11 July as a guest of Education Minister, Hekia Parata.

Mr Schleicher is the Deputy Director for Education and Skills and Special Advisor on Education Policy to the OECD's Secretary-General.

He is the coordinator of the OECD Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), which ranks student education achievement for 15 year-olds in reading, mathematics and science, across the OECD, and the Indicators of Education Systems Programme, which gauges the performance of national education systems.

Ms Parata says she is delighted Mr Schleicher agreed to visit New Zealand.

“It is very helpful to have an outside informed view. He brings a broad international perspective to our education issues. He believes that all children and young people can succeed regardless of their background and that high quality teaching is critical to enabling this. I’m sure his ideas will be of real interest to parents and those involved in education here.

“Mr Schleicher can comment with authority on how New Zealand student achievement compares with that of the OECD, and on the best strategies to raise student achievement. He has authored many reports on the importance of high performance teaching, effective school leadership, and early learning, to educational achievement.’’

As OECD Deputy Director of Education and Skills, Mr Schleicher has considerable expertise in the design of effective training and skills strategies to increase young people’s labour market participation, and to better link the worlds of learning and work.

In New Zealand, he will give a key note address, entitled ‘Are Universities Fit for Purpose’ at the Association of Commonwealth Universities conference at the University of Auckland on 11 July.

He will meet with principals, education agencies, iwi and Pasifika representatives, as well as business and union leaders, Ministers, and senior government officials, to discuss a range of topical education issues.

He will address two breakfast meetings, in Auckland and Wellington, on ‘Education and Equity’ and meet with members of the Minister of Education’s Cross Sector Forum on Raising Achievement. He will also address a meeting in Wellington at The Treasury on Tuesday, 9 July.

ENDS

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