Tag Archives: Equality

The narrative of the ‘poor bright child’.

Posted on December 30, 2017 by Eddie Playfair

The good we secure for ourselves is precarious and uncertain until it is secured for all of us and incorporated into our common life. Jane Addams. Earlier this month the government announced a £23m ‘future talent fund’ targeted at ‘bright’ … Continue reading →

Posted in Education, Education policy | Tagged , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

10 things which could improve education

Posted on July 28, 2017 by Eddie Playfair

I’d like to offer the following tentative 10 point charter to improve education at all levels as an initial contribution to the debate about the future of education in England. 1. Build a comprehensive system rooted in equality: We should … Continue reading →

Posted in Education, Education policy | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Equality at the heart of our values

Posted on June 17, 2017 by Eddie Playfair

The more we discuss and explore ‘British Values’ with our students, the clearer it becomes: equality needs to be at the heart of our value system. We cannot teach these values without placing the idea of equality at their core … Continue reading →

Posted in Education | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

University Gold.

Posted on October 1, 2016 by Eddie Playfair

With some help from the Jackson 5: The proposal to classify English universities as Gold, Silver or Bronze is a stroke of genius. The perfect expression of the English obsession with ranking. So obvious, one wonders why we’re not already … Continue reading →

Posted in Education, Education policy | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Arguments against selection

Posted on August 7, 2016 by Eddie Playfair

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 →

Posted in Education policy, Politics | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

The global economy of care.

Posted on May 30, 2016 by Eddie Playfair

The economy of ideas #3. Is there a limit to how much we can care about others? Is it natural that we should care more about those who are closest to us? Is it in our nature to ‘look after … Continue reading →

Posted in Philosophy, Politics | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Market autonomy or democratic autonomy?

Posted on May 29, 2016 by Eddie Playfair

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 →

Posted in Education, Education policy | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Educational inequality in Europe

Posted on May 28, 2016 by Eddie Playfair

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 →

Posted in Education | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Life in the qualification market

Posted on May 22, 2016 by Eddie Playfair

‘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 →

Posted in Education | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Boswell in Corsica.

Posted on March 28, 2016 by Eddie Playfair

The Scottish lawyer and writer James Boswell (1740-1795), famous for his Life of Samuel Johnson, was also a great supporter of Pasquale Paoli and Corsican independence. Boswell met enlightenment thinkers such as Voltaire and Rousseau and was encouraged by Rousseau to … Continue reading →

Posted in History | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The college of the future.

Posted on March 26, 2016 by Eddie Playfair

Launch of NewVIc 2020 at The ArcelorMittal Orbit, Stratford. 16th March 2016. This is both a celebration and a launch. A celebration of what NewVIc has achieved since it opened 24 years ago and also the launch of our vision … Continue reading →

Posted in Education, Education Futures, NewVIc | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The limits of social mobility

Posted on March 25, 2016 by Eddie Playfair

In his Observer article a couple of weeks ago, the sociologist John Goldthorpe shatters two cherished illusions: first, that social mobility in Britain is in decline and second, that education is a powerful agent for promoting social mobility. 1. Social … Continue reading →

Posted in Education | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

W.E.B. DuBois, black liberation and liberal education for all.

Posted on February 7, 2016 by Eddie Playfair

The great African American academic, socialist, peace and civil rights activist William Edward Burghardt DuBois (1868-1963) wrote about philosophy, sociology, history, race equality and education as well as writing fiction. He is best remembered for his The Souls of Black … Continue reading →

Posted in Education, History | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Challenging Neurosexism

Posted on January 24, 2016 by Eddie Playfair

In her brilliant Royal Institution lecture last week, Professor Gina Rippon from Aston University comprehensively trashed ‘neurotrash’ and the harmful gender stereotypes which it perpetuates. The term ‘neurotrash’ refers to the inappropriate application of neuroscientific findings to everyday life. Gina … Continue reading →

Posted in Education, Science | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Private affluence and public envy.

Posted on October 30, 2015 by Eddie Playfair

People who campaign for greater social equality sometimes get accused of ‘the politics of envy’. The idea being that anyone who keeps tediously pointing out the gap between rich and poor in our society is simply jealous, choosing to go … Continue reading →

Posted in Education, Education policy, NewVIc | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment