Tag: politics

Secondary education is too exam-focused. There is also too much specialisation too early (after GCSE), too little variety between schools and within curricula, too many reforms with every change of government, too little practical preparation for life after education, and too great a jump between school and university. If I were secretary of state, I […]

Differences between children’s performance at school are not just due to differences in parenting and home life or differences in teachers and school life — to an even greater extent, they are due to DNA differences between children. These differences account for more than half of the differences in performance from reception through to GCSE. […]

“Get politics out of education” is a heartfelt cry heard in many forms. But can it work? A general election makes the removal of politics from education policy all the more attractive. It is easy to sympathise with the idea given the toxic mix that results when we combine the two. The ideal political education […]

I would first recognise the excellence in state schools throughout the country. I would do this by indicating what I meant by “high-impact” schools that develop the whole child, and identifying at least six high-impact teachers/principals and installing them in my office as “first reactors” to all initiatives. I would then: 1. Fund an independent group […]

The first thing I would do is drastically limit my own powers, and those of my successors, by irreversibly vesting a major chunk of them in a non-political National Institute of Education (NIE). Politicians are condemned by the nature of the political process and by their own lack of experience to — or at least […]

I would face the facts. Since the advent of high-stakes testing, many schools have become depressing places for students and teachers alike. How exciting can it be to spend the year preparing for a test? In my country, the United States, boys are falling further and further behind in school and I believe the high-stakes […]

I would publish more data and set fewer targets. I would make it easier for research organisations to access the treasure trove of information on the national pupil database. And I would fund education statisticians to run workshops around the country for interested teachers and parents who want to understand how they can use this […]

Forget 24-hour news, the internet and Twitter: parliamentary candidates will still go canvassing before May 7. Be prepared and seize the chance to grill them on education policy The General Election campaign proper doesn’t begin until the end of this month. But that hasn’t stopped the parties vying with each other to offer tasty titbits […]