Policy Analyst Joel joined The New Zealand Initiative after completing his Master’s in Economics at Victoria University where his work focused on productivity, labour economics and game theory. Before this, he completed a Bachelor of Science from the University of Otago, majoring in Microbiology.
Currently, Joel is working on education research using data from Statistic’s New Zealand’s Integrated Data Infrastructure (IDI).
Links to latest reports:
Research note: To graduation and beyond (2021)
Research Note: Educational Performance and Funding in New Zealand: Are our children getting the education they deserve? (2021)
Research Note: The State of Schooling (2020)
Insights and Excellence: School success in New Zealand (2020)
In Fairness to our Schools: Better measures for better outcomes (2019)
Research Note: Tomorrow’s Schools: Data and evidence (2019)
Scroll down to read the rest of Joel's work.
Phone: +64 4 499 0790
Secondary schools should provide every student with the skills and knowledge they need to succeed after graduation. However, in our latest report, To Graduation and Beyond, we show that this is not always the case. Read more
Joel Hernandez explains his three-year journey of crunching New Zealand’s education data. If you would like to listen to our latest podcasts, please subscribe to The New Zealand Initiative podcast on iTunes, Spotify or The Podcast App. Read more
The purpose of secondary schooling varies depending on who you ask. For many parents, educators, and education professionals, schooling is meant to transmit the most ‘powerful’ knowledge that exists. Read more
Wellington (Thursday 10 June 2021): Every secondary school should provide every student with the skills and knowledge they need to succeed in their endeavours after graduation. However, new research from the New Zealand Initiative shows that this might not be the case. Read more
Policy Analyst Joel Hernandez spoke to The Project about his research on the state of schooling in New Zealand, which looked at the effectiveness across state, state-integrated, and private schools. In his report, Joel said in order to improve our education system, the Ministry of Education must learn which schools are bucking the trend and overcoming socioeconomic barriers. Read more
Since 2013, the Ministry of Education has spent $747.7 million on building, upgrading, and maintaining modern learning environments (MLEs). And yet, with nearly three-quarters of a billion dollars spent, the Ministry is only now starting to evaluate MLEs, eight years after their implementation. Read more
In the last twelve months, there have been a growing number of stories about New Zealand’s educational decline. Stories of falling mathematics performance and illiterate teenagers in the media make for grim reading. Read more
A well-functioning education system that delivers good outcomes for all is essential to New Zealand's future prosperity and the wellbeing of its people. However, there have been a number of recent reports highlighting our declining educational performance. Read more
This week, the New Zealand Herald reported that parents have swamped after-school tuition firms. One tutoring company said their phones “have been ringing non-stop”. This follows the formation of a Royal Society expert panel by the Ministry of Education. Read more
New Zealand is now below average for all but one international education TIMSS measure. Released this week, the 2019 Trends in Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) reveals Kiwi 10-year-olds are now the only group of students performing above the international average in science. Read more
Kiwi students are not learning the literacy skills they need and now some schools are paying from their own pocket in a desperate attempt to reverse the dismal trend. Both domestic and international data show a major problem in New Zealand literacy levels. Read more
All around the country Kiwi students are in the thick of their long-awaited NCEA exams. Many of which will now have a new appreciation for the immense value of schooling – particularly after being locked out for several weeks this year. School is more than cheap day-care. Read more
When you think of Sweden, does Abba come to mind? What about meatballs or furniture stores? Read more
Some countries have clear advantages during a pandemic. For instance, New Zealand is surrounded by a thousand-kilometre moat. Read more
In this week’s New Zealand Initiative podcast, the world’s media is closely watching how Sweden’s tackling of the Covid-19 virus plays out. It appears the Nordic country has opted for a herd immunity strategy, as opposed to elimination or containment. Read more