Tag Archives: Education

Going beyond.

Going beyond what is expected. What do we expect from the education of 16-19 year olds in England? Judging from the funding available, the qualifications on offer and the accountability measures which inevitably steer our work, our national aspirations for … Continue reading

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Crick reloaded: citizenship education and British values.

“We aim at no less than a change in the political culture of this country both nationally and locally: for people to think of themselves as active citizens, willing, able and equipped to have an influence in public life and … Continue reading

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‘Pick your own’ performance measure.

England’s school and college performance tables are full of fascinating information. This information gives a profile of different providers and the idea is that this can help us make judgements and comparisons. Any tables based on data, assuming they are … Continue reading

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Your dogma, my principles.

Simplex and Sapiens are discussing the government’s plan to open more selective schools. Simplex: Our mission is to build a country that works for everyone. Sapiens: Sounds like a good starting point. Sim: Yes, it’s a vision of a truly … Continue reading

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University for all

This August I was asked to contribute a short piece for our local newspaper, the Newham Recorder, as part of a debate about the benefits of a university education. I did my best to summarise the case in 220 words … Continue reading

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Theodore Zeldin on ‘what is worth knowing?’

What is worth knowing? It’s a good question, given how much there is to know and the impossibility of knowing more than a tiny fraction of the total. Theodore Zeldin’s latest collection of essays, ‘The hidden pleasures of life’ (Quercus, 2015) … Continue reading

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Arguments against selection

It looks like the ‘grammar school debate’ is about to be revived within government, so it seems a good time to dust down the case against selection. Here are links to 4 of my posts on this from last year, … Continue reading

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Jane Addams and John Dewey

The Toynbee papers #2 An imagined conversation. Toynbee Hall, Commercial street, Whitechapel, 1921. Jane Addams of Chicago is greeting her old friend John Dewey who has just arrived. John, my dear friend – welcome to Toynbee Hall. I trust you … Continue reading

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What is Social Capital?

The Economy of Ideas #5 What is social capital? “Connections among individuals; social networks and the norms of reciprocity and trustworthiness that arise from them.” Robert Putnam (b. 1941) Bowling Alone: the Collapse and Revival of American Community (2001) The American … Continue reading

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Capital as metaphor

The economy of ideas #4 We talk about social capital, cultural capital, creative capital, even ‘emotional capital’. It seems that capital can stand in for almost every human capacity. Why is this? Given its role as a real currency, it’s … Continue reading

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London’s sixth forms.

There are around 165,000 students studying in London’s publicly funded sixth forms. These students are enrolled across 380 different institutions of many types and sizes which can be grouped into 4 broad categories: School sixth forms (as part of a … Continue reading

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Market autonomy or democratic autonomy?

With French presidential and parliamentary elections due in April , May and June next year, politicians on all sides agree that education should be a high priority and they are trying out a range of policies for education reform. These … Continue reading

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Educational inequality in Europe

What are the patterns of educational inequality in Europe? To help answer this question, The Social Atlas of Europe (Policy Press, 2014) by Danny Dorling, Dimitris Ballas and Benjamin Hennig provides a fascinating visual overview of inequalities across our continent … Continue reading

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Life in the qualification market

‘The truth is in the whole’ and if we want to understand the impact of recent post-16 qualification reform on sixth formers’ experience of education we need to start with an overview of the whole educational landscape before analysing specific … Continue reading

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Primo Levi on work and education

In his wonderful La chiave a stella (The Wrench) published in 1978, Primo Levi shares with us an exchange of stories told by Faussone, the itinerant Piedmontese rigger, and a narrator who, like Levi himself, is an industrial chemist at the point … Continue reading

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