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Recent Posts
- Zola : a political reading. August 13, 2023
- Hotter than July? August 5, 2023
- Rethinking work July 30, 2023
- Educating for political literacy in an age of crisis. July 21, 2023
- Savoirs et valeurs : pratiquer et conjuguer July 21, 2023
- ‘Transformative Teaching and Learning in Further Education – Pedagogies of Hope and Social Justice’ July 18, 2023
- Dilemmas of Growth June 14, 2023
- A broader view of skills? June 7, 2023
- In praise of ‘low value’ subjects. February 27, 2023
- Frigga Haug and the mystery of learning December 6, 2022
- Debating Growth. November 29, 2022
- Code red for human survival November 8, 2022
- The politics of silence. September 4, 2022
- Posts on Corsican themes. August 10, 2022
- When Corsica welcomed thousands of Serb refugees (1916) August 9, 2022
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Author Archives: Eddie Playfair
Educational inequality in France
With a far more cohesive national education system than ours, it is tempting to assume that France is more successful in challenging social inequalities through schooling. In fact, French educators share many of our concerns about the limits of their … Continue reading
Education or training?
The Conservative manifesto includes a commitment to ‘continue to replace lower-level, classroom based Further Education courses with high-quality apprenticeships that combine training with experience of work and a wage.’ Given that we now have a Conservative-only government, we need to understand … Continue reading
A better future for London?
The political parties are currently in the process of choosing their candidates for the 2016 London mayoral and Greater London Assembly elections. For Labour, this means that members in London are pondering who is best placed to help win back the … Continue reading
Posted in Politics
Tagged Changing London, Christian Wolmar, David Lammy, David Robinson, Democracy, Diane Abbott, elections, Equality, inequality, Labour party, London, London mayor, politics
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Education: the universal human right
We should understand our common humanity in order to put our differences in perspective. Values and rights need to apply to all to be effective. Education should be a global human right, provided on the same basis to all.1 Universalism … Continue reading
Listening to our post-16 conscience.
Frank Coffield is the conscience of the post-16 sector. When faddishness or instrumentalism threaten, he is there to remind us of our values and our purpose. A decade ago, Coffield was one of the first to question ‘learning styles’ and … Continue reading
Defending liberal education
I had the pleasure of attending a talk at the London School of Economics given by the U.S. commentator Fareed Zakaria (18th May 2015). The lecture coincided with the launch of his new book ‘In Defense of a Liberal Education’ … Continue reading
Posted in Education
Tagged Critical thinking, Cultural heritage, curriculum, economy, Education, Fareed Zakaria, innovation, liberal education, technology
3 Comments
Aspiration – what’s that all about?
Are you suffering from aspiration fatigue? In a week when Labour leadership contenders were falling over themselves to urge the party to do more to appeal to ‘aspirational’ voters it’s not surprising we’re already tiring of it, especially when it’s … Continue reading
Posted in Politics
Tagged aspiration, Brian May, Education, elections, Labour party, Solidarity
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Why Labour lost: the definitive analysis.
Your personal guide to why Labour lost. Hoping to explain the election outcome? Insert your own explanations to construct a reassuring account. Satisfaction guaranteed. 1. Why Labour lost. Labour lost because it failed to appeal to [insert demographic of choice] who shop in … Continue reading
Science in Society: what you need to know.
AS Science in Society (AQA) A very condensed list of the key science concepts you need to understand well. Infectious disease, medicines and the germ theory of disease: All living things (organisms) are composed of … Continue reading
Welcome back, minister
Dear secretary of state, Congratulations on your reappointment. You have the advantage of being more familiar with your ministerial in-tray than most. This is only a very short addition to it. Among the urgent issues for your consideration are some … Continue reading
Posted in Education policy
Tagged Education, England, Nicky Morgan, Post-16 funding, Sixth form, young people
3 Comments
Gulliver’s levels
Jonathan Swift’s ‘Gulliver’s Travels’, first published in 1726, mocks the travel journals of its day with their increasingly fantastical adventures. It is also brilliant social satire, mercilessly tearing through contemporary conventions and pretentions. It can also be read as a thought … Continue reading
Posted in Culture, Fiction, Philosophy, Reviews
Tagged Dialectic, emergence, Gulliver's travels, Jonathan Swift, learning, philosophy, reductionism
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Tribalism or pluralism?
With no single party likely to win an overall majority in next week’s general election, they are all finding ways of answering, or not answering, the questions about what they will do in hypothetical post-election scenarios. So we are learning … Continue reading
Posted in Politics
Tagged coalition, Democracy, diversity, elections, pluralism, political parties, politics, tribalism
2 Comments
The Big Hairy Bacc
Those political metaphors are great aren’t they? When he was an opposition spokesperson on education, Boris Johnson used to speak about the importance of ‘crunchy’ subjects, by which he meant Science and Maths, presumably in contrast to the soggy gruel … Continue reading
Posted in Education policy
Tagged curriculum, Education, elections, England, Labour party, National baccalaureate, Tech Bacc, Tristram Hunt
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Young people and the election
Are young people turned off politics? Will they vote? Do they care who wins the election? Are all parties the same? Are the candidates just hacks mindlessly parroting their parties’ approved slogans? This week’s general election hustings at Newham sixth … Continue reading
Posted in NewVIc, Politics
Tagged Democracy, elections, Newham, Newham Sixth Form College, NewVIc, political parties, politics, young people
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Is social mobility enough?
Analysing the data in the recently published Sutton Trust Social Mobility Index* has made me reflect a bit on ‘social mobility’ as a goal of public policy. My conclusion: it’s a worthy but inadequate response to the many injustices and … Continue reading
Posted in Education, Education policy, NewVIc, Politics
Tagged Equality, Newham Sixth Form College, NewVIc, Social mobility
2 Comments
Eddie Playfair 