My mentor is a banker http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2009/jun/03/bob-network-bangladeshi-mentoring Coaching 'at risk' undergraduates http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2009/may/26/youth-at-risk-charity A scheme for budding judges http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2009/jun/02/legal-mentoring-scheme Football coaching as the way to improve social skills http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2009/may/27/public-inquiry-dennis-bailey Public school weirdness http://www.independent.co.uk/news/education/higher/diary-of-a-fresher-at-my-university-marriage-is-just-part-of-taking-care-of-students-1701729.html
Sunday, 14 June 2009
The Female Millennium?
The majority of students training to be medics are women http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2009/jun/03/women-doctors-nhs-medicine-review however, it's not just medicine, by 2025 70% of students in HE may be female http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/universityeducation/5459854/Girls-will-take-up-70-per-cent-of-university-places-says-new-study.html higher female achievement is across areas of study http://www.independent.co.uk/news/education/education-news/its-academic-university-women-are-beating-men-at-almost-everything-1693493.html Its not just the academic world, another recent report found that most volunteers are women http://www.thirdsector.co.uk/News/DailyBulletin/910970/Women-likely-volunteer/40B5E500CDC9CDB8A952DA4593E8866E/?DCMP=EMC-DailyBulletin and this year, there were two women finalists in Alan Sugar's TV game show, The Apprentice. So, what's the young male in the street's reaction to this crisis? Dumbing down seems to be in fashion; don't knock it, it's a start and some do it very well http://www.independent.co.uk/news/education/schools/bullied-boys-why-bright-lads-are-being-picked-on-1684266.html However, some researchers are suggesting that this male failure to thrive is rooted in their experience of modern schooling and is illustrated by GCSE studies http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2009/jun/07/gender-gap-university-boys with further discussion at http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/jun/07/boys-academic-gap-education-gender or maybe its time to restart the drones club, day care for young men
Stop, in the Name of the Law
Legislation is being brought forward by this government to make it a legal duty for all future governments, local authorities and other named organisations to work to end child poverty across the UK http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/8095775.stm I think this qualifies as the most absurd anti-poverty initiative of the last 50 years, if not of all time. Only a bunch of lawyers could come up with such a pompous irrelevance. The reality of Welsh poverty http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2009/jun/03/gains-wales-wiped-out-recession and Scottish child poverty http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2009/may/29/child-poverty-figures-joseph-rowntree-foundation
The latest Sutton Trust Research
This time, they find that 1 in 5 state school pupils have private tutors http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/educationnews/5502356/Rising-numbers-of-families-hiring-private-tutors-says-Sutton-Trust.html and that in London, 43% of pupils had had a home tutor http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2009/jun/11/private-tutor-boom-for-state-pupils
University Admissions
Different institutions use different systems to assess potential students http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2009/may/26/university-admissions
This has caused friction when disadvantage is openly part of the calculation http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/education/article6350374.ece
While university entry exams are found to be a barrier to working class entrants
However, what works for the applicants?
http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2009/may/26/university-access
Job Prospects for this Year’s University Leavers Look Tough
40,000 graduates face unemployment http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2009/jun/10/students-higher-education
A discussion of this http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2009/jun/10/university-students-jobs-recession A graduate premium can still be identified according to a new report http://www.independent.co.uk/news/education/education-news/why-a-degree-is-still-worth-the-loan-1693841.html However, the statement made here, that "The research shows the average man with two A-level passes or more who does not go on to university earns £13.50 per hour. With a degree the figure is lifted to £16 – around £34,000 extra a year" is mathematically wrong. I calculate from these numbers that such a premium is worth about an extra £5,000 a year. Yes, it is a premium and is worth having but getting reliable analysis of this subject seems to be proving hard to achieve.
The Future of Student Finance in Higher Education
OFFA speaks http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2009/may/22/university-top-up-fees-offa-martin-harris or should there be a graduate tax, as suggested by the president of the NUS http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2009/jun/10/nus-tuition-fees-graduate-tax
Science Stories
Experiments are said to be the key to making science 'cool at school' http://www.independent.co.uk/news/education/education-news/experiments-key-to-making-science-cool-at-school-1693511.html Not just experiments, "Teachers are turning to ICT to make science more practical and exciting, with tools such as data-logging, blogs and wikis, podcasting, simulation software, YouTube video clips and digital microscopes." http://www.guardian.co.uk/resource/ict-practice-science
There is still a problem offering students the opportunity to study individual sciences at GCSE http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/8080139.stm
Is science squeezing the humanities at universities? http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2009/may/21/language-departments-face-cuts
Unemployment as Career Move
A volunteer brokerage scheme has been established to place jobseekers as third sector volunteers and boost their employment prospects http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2009/may/13/jobseekers-third-sector Do we have a need for such volunteers? Should we be known to the scheme?
Blimey
Sex is history http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2009/may/31/sexual-health-oxforduniversity - too much time on their hands
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