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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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Category Archives: Education
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
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
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
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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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
From free school meals to university
The proportion of key stage 5 (KS5) advanced students eligible for free school meals (FSM) progressing to university is seen as a measure of social mobility. It’s clearly a statistic of interest, even if the data raise more questions than … Continue reading
Posted in Education, NewVIc
Tagged Colleges, Education, London, Newham, Newham Sixth Form College, NewVIc, Social mobility, university progression
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Social Mobility measure ignores 62% of students
There seems to be a major flaw in the Sutton Trust Social Mobility measure which means that the university progression of 62% of disadvantaged advanced sixth formers studying in colleges has been excluded. The data is therefore only based on … Continue reading
Posted in Education, NewVIc
Tagged Colleges, Newham, NewVIc, Social mobility, university progression
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Many colleges in one
A science college, an engineering technical college, a media technical college, a music industry college and several super-selective A-level providers offering a narrow range of subjects to high-achieving students. These are just some of the new sixth forms which have … Continue reading
Roberto Unger on school as the ‘voice of the future’
In his excellent book ‘The Left Alternative’ the Brazilian philosopher and politician Roberto Unger proposes a new way for progressives to think about the future and start creating the good society. Unger suggests we should not give up on the central promise … Continue reading
Which public service?
All 3 major parties are trying to outbid each other in pledging to increase spending on a key public service. They clearly recognise the vital importance of investing in this service for our future economic and social well-being. They also know … Continue reading
Learning is dialectical
An attempt to start from first principles… There is now, there is before and there is after. Whatever time is, our awareness of it helps us distinguish between past and future. Within our own lived experience we understand the difference … Continue reading
Posted in Culture, Education, Philosophy
Tagged Cultural heritage, culture, curriculum, Dialectic, Education, language, learning, memory
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Democratic emotions in the face of barbarism – Philippe Meirieu
In the aftermath of the massacre of 147 people at Garissa University College in Kenya on 2 April it is difficult to find any positive emotions to draw on. The slaughter of young people in their place of learning shocks … Continue reading
Posted in Education
Tagged Democracy, Education, Equality, Garissa, hope, Martha Nussbaum, Philippe Meirieu, Solidarity, violent extremism
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The selection debate
The launch of ‘The Ins and Outs of Selective Secondary Schools’ a collection of essays on selection published by Civitas was an opportunity for advocates and opponents of selection to revisit familiar arguments. The debate was mostly good natured but … Continue reading
Eddie Playfair 