"Britain under Gordon Brown is a more unequal country than at any time since modern records began in the early 1960s" http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2009/may/08/poverty-equality-britain-incomes-poor and in the telegraph http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/economics/5291482/Gap-between-rich-and-poor-grows-to-record-levels-official-figures-show.html as yet, this finding has not triggered any real debate in parliament or elsewhere, it seems to be an issue that both labour and the conservatives would rather duck. If you were wondering how a Labour government could possibly spin this as an achievement – here's the press release http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/pns/DisplayPN.cgi?pn_id=2009_0086
Tuesday, 12 May 2009
Piss Poor
The changing educational environment
The Rose review, a major government inquiry into the future of primary schooling has published its findings. Its recommendations include proposals to facilitate and ease student transfer from primary to secondary schooling http://www.independent.co.uk/news/education/education-news/school-to-start-at-four-with-new-timetable-to-restore-creativity-1677109.html Although long awaited, I felt that there was a generally muted response to this report from both commentators and from teaching professionals. I sensed a weary exhaustion: a feeling of here we go again, another report, more recommendations, more changes, another trip on the educational roundabout. For myself, I liked the discussion about the significance and place of new technology in primary schooling http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/8025157.stm It seems that technological literacy is now fundamental to educational success from the very earliest of learning programs. It is certainly no longer an optional or specialist skill as technology now shapes the whole learning process.
The centrality of the new technology shaping the learning environment can also be seen in debates about the future of secondary schooling, such as here http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/5166111/Revealed-new-teaching-methods-that-are-producing-dramatic-results.html It is of course valid to note that the school catchment area, Monkseaton, is a stable middle class area.
And onto higher education, with this case study about the development of e-learning environments at a university http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2009/apr/21/elearning-university-of-london and discussing the variation of existing provision http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2009/may/12/computer-science-it
Children in care – a turn for the worse?
The latest government statistics suggest that the relative educational performance of cared for children is in decline http://www.communitycare.co.uk/Articles/2009/05/05/111473/education-children-in-care-fall-further-behind-peers.html
There has also been an increase in the numbers of children taken into care http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2009/may/08/child-protection-figures-baby-p and again at http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2009/may/09/baby-p-children-care-councils – unlike some, I do not welcome this trend, to be blunt, in my opinion and experience, I think a rough and ready upbringing within an existing supported family and neighbourhood is preferable to being taken into care. I certainly think that those worst served by the system are those older children who often become 'revolving door' users of care, flipping from family into care and back again on a routine and usually traumatised basis.
A recent parliamentary review of children in care, concluded that the state needed to be a more pushy parent http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/8004735.stm , the guardian saw the report as a litany of failure http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2009/apr/20/state-failing-children as part of a history of failure http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2009/apr/20/care-system-failures
Many are now seeing the northern European system as being more successful model for care http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2009/apr/21/child-care-europe but the starting point for any such approach is a highly resourced and respected social work profession. The reality of the UK was highlighted by a survey in the magazine Community care which found 1 in 9 social work posts vacant and a pervasive fear of burnout http://www.communitycare.co.uk/Articles/2009/04/21/111339/exclusive-survey-reveals-social-work-burnout-fears.html in this context, it is worrying that Ed Balls decided to evade a simple budgetary commitment http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2009/may/07/baby-p-child-protection-funding At this rate, I'm afraid we'll see more reports like this one http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2009/apr/22/social-work-child-protection all together now "some day over the rainbow…"
Investigating the role of emotion in on-line communication
http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2009/may/07/luv-is-all-around-myspace
Are there lessons here for us? Or are the mentor/mentee relationships emotion free zones?
Sutton Trust Research
The Sutton Trust has commissioned and published some attention-grabbing educational research. Summaries were published by the Daily Mail http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1177283/Struggling-schools-fail-bright-pupils-High-fliers-11-miss-GCSE-grades.html and by the Guardian http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2009/may/04/gsces-school-education The full report can be seen at http://www.suttontrust.com/reports/Attainment_deprived_schools_summary.pdf
I cannot say the results are that much of a surprise to me, indeed thinking back to a couple of schools where I worked, albeit a long time ago, brighter students would have been pleased to have suffered from these relatively minor disadvantages.
However, I thought it interesting that the Sutton Trust draw the conclusion that all schools should have a balanced socially mixed intake "we argue that the best results for all children – low and high ability – is if there is a spread of abilities in each school. All pupils benefit from that, and it is the only way to start reducing the educational inequalities in this country" but would that include private schools?
Another survey of youth wellbeing, another poor result for the UK
The UK has been ranked 24th out of 29 in a league table of youth wellbeing comparing countries across western Europe http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/8008926.stm The full report can be viewed at http://www.cpag.org.uk/info/ChildWellbeingandChildPoverty.pdf
Visit the NEETS, before they visit you
Even before the current economic downturn there was evidence that the numbers of young people not in education, employment or training (NEETS) was on the increase http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/financetopics/recession/5188075/Number-of-young-people-not-in-work-or-education-hits-record-high.html this represents a significant section of society and it must be worrying that they have stood apart from mainstream society during one of the most prolonged periods of economic prosperity and opportunity of the last 50 years. They seem to represent a long tail of failure and rejection, in this context, I thought it might be appropriate to mention the late Jade Goody who seemed to have gained so little from her educational career and yet apparently valued education so highly http://www.tes.co.uk/article.aspx?storycode=6011978 this article refers to a table which is unavailable here which shows the percentage of 19 year-olds who have no educational qualifications in the UK. Its absence is no great loss, as it's a very simple table; it reads 8 percent for every year of the last 12 years. We seem to have a sizable section of the population who have apparently gained little or nothing from the existing social offer. Yet, if the publicity is to be believed, education was at the end of her life Jade Goody's highest priority. Maybe there's hope in that, might it yet be possible to engage the apparently totally disengaged, the ill-educated, the NEETS, the marginal: its at least 1 in 12 of the population.
Student Income and Expenditure Survey 2007/08
This is an extensive government publication based on a survey of full-time and part-time students at higher education institutions and further education colleges pursuing undergraduate courses during the 2007/08 academic year http://www.dius.gov.uk/research_and_analysis/~/media/publications/D/DIUS-RR-09-05
At the least, I think it is worth looking at chapter 8, student choices and attitudes, pages 243 to 252, which builds on the finding that when "Students were asked whether the student funding and financial support available to them affected their decisions about HE study in any way. Just over 30 per cent of both full- and part-time students responded that it did."
School for entrepreneurs
Friday, 17 April 2009
Shocked of Darlington
I don't know how many of you are fans of the film Casablanca, but when I hear new labour ministers saying that they are shocked by reports of declining social equality in the UK, I'm reminded of Captain Renault who was shocked, shocked, to discover that gambling was rife in Rick's café as he collected his winnings. This time, it was Captain Milburn's turn to be shocked http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2009/apr/14/social-mobility-internships , when he was given a research report which had found that the professions have become more, not less, socially exclusive in recent years; full report can be found at http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/media/200480/fair_access_panel_report.pdf The Sutton Trust has stepped forward with some suggestions as to how this trend could be reversed http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/education/article6078322.ece. Over the years, the Sutton Trust have produced some very useful reports, incisive research and bold policy proposals. Unfortunately, this is not one of those occasions. These proposals simply do not relate to the reality of schooling as lived by modern students. For example, a recent study found that it's not cool, especially for boys, to be seen as academically successful and that "the threshold for what is constituted "boffin behaviour" tended to be lower at poorer-performing schools." http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2009/mar/29/education-schools-bullying or that given a choice, some headteachers are now hiring "Bouncers, ex-soldiers and former police officers …. to provide "crowd control" and cover absent teachers' lessons" rather than appoint a qualified teacher http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2009/apr/12/school-behaviour-bouncers-discipline I would in jest ask why we don't just bring back grammar schools, and then the bright and compliant children of the lower orders could openly pretend that they were at public schools? However, as I fear that there might still be time for this to be done before the next election, I won't. How about an alternative approach to this problem, one that is based on supporting students in the lives that they actually lead, for example, why not build on existing rapping competitions as a way into public speaking rather than trying to become little Etonians.
The consequences of recession
Businesses are giving less to charity http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2009/mar/23/business-charity-donations this includes medical charities http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/slump-forces-medical-charities-to-cut-back-lifesaving-research-1651719.html
Despite the talk of zero inflation, food prices are rising rapidly, especially it would seem ,if you live on pork sausages and rice http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7982056.stm more detail about food prices http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/food-and-drink/weak-pound-heaps-food-price-inflation-on-poorest-households-1666124.html
For people on low incomes these are hard times. The charity, Save the Children, have started handing out grants to families in serious financial need http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2009/apr/07/save-the-children-handouts Oxfam have been conducting surveys of public opinion and are calling upon the government to do more to alleviate poverty http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2009/apr/08/oxfam-poverty-welfare-state they argue that "the UK is in recession, and things stand to get much worse for the fifth of the population already living in poverty, and for the millions more whose livelihoods will become more vulnerable as a result." They have developed a new acronym FRED, F Forgotten by those in power, R
Ripped-off by taxes and the benefits system, E Excluded from opportunities, D Debt-ridden because they can't afford to get by
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7987601.stm the full report at http://www.oxfam.org.uk/resources/policy/economic_crisis/downloads/close_to_home_uk_poverty_economic_crisis.pdf
In this article http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/apr/05/schools-financial-crisis Nick Cohen raises a number of issues about recession and unemployment, including that "The educated young hurt the most… a 40-year-old who spends a year out of work and then finds a new job shows no long-term ill-effects at 50. A 20-year-old is scarred for life." If this is so, why is early unemployment so damaging? Are education and training the sensible and productive alternatives? Some are already arguing this and that the unemployed should be given more encouragement to pursue education and training http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2009/mar/24/enrol-for-free Unfortunately, this extra demand is kicking in when "Up to 50,000 sixth-formers will be denied places at university this autumn because of a surge in applications combined with a freeze in undergraduate places"
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/education/article6062841.ece and provision also seems inadequate for the anticipated demand at sixth form and colleges http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2009/apr/10/nut-blower-students-universities-colleges-sixth-forms Albeit that there is some extra money for some universities to provide education and training for identified businesses and workforces http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/7991816.stm This is difficult to manage but I hope the government errs on the side of increasing educational and training opportunities or we risk testing Nick Cohen's thesis that we are in danger of creating another 'lost generation'.
Will the recession place greater burdens on family life? Esther Rantzen fears it will http://www.4children.org.uk/information/show/ref/1584 the burden will fall on the "sandwich generation", those adults old enough to have parents or even grandparents who need looking after but still young enough to have dependent children http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2009/mar/29/social-care-family
Is there no good news? Well, sort of http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2009/apr/16/recession-butlins-holiday-camps
Social trends
The government has published its annual exposition of the changing face of UK society through the medium of social statistics: social trends. For example, did you know that almost a third of men aged between 20 and 34, now live at home with their parents http://www.statistics.gov.uk/socialtrends39 Other interesting facts are discussed at the BBC http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7999579.stm with a more worried view being expressed by the Telegraph http://www.telegraph.co.uk/family/5160857/Death-of-the-traditional-family.html
It’s good news, or is it bad news?
"Overall figures show the country has a higher proportion of qualified 19 year-olds that ever before" http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/pns/DisplayPN.cgi?pn_id=2009_0062 or it can also be seen as a quarter have no decent qualifications http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/educationnews/5043917/Half-of-teenagers-missing-out-on-A-level-equivalents.html
A similar choice at primary school: where it can be said that we have seen the best results ever http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/pns/DisplayPN.cgi?pn_id=2009_0067 or that a quarter fail to make the grade http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/education/article6018146.ece
How about diplomas? Is it that the new diplomas have reached a tipping point http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/pns/DisplayPN.cgi?pn_id=2009_0070 or that they are about to be abandoned http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2009/apr/07/education-funding-sixth-form-diploma and in more detail here http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2009/apr/07/colleges I guess to be fair the press release only speaks of a tipping point having been reached not of what its tipping into.
Science corner
Are science qualifications too easy? http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/7966688.stm
Has Physics been dumbed down at A level? http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/educationnews/5094243/A-level-physics-students-being-short-changed-at-college.html
David Lammy, now impersonating Homer Simpson
Universities have been told by their minister to be cautious when using the new A*as part of their admissions criteria, as this qualification might conflict with their widening participation objectives http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2009/apr/08/higher-education-oxford-cambridge-uk-news so minister, who introduced the A*; D'oh!
Friday, 20 March 2009
1 The state of UK schooling
Sometimes I don’t understand this government’s way of doing things; this is one of those occasions. Last week, the department for children, schools and families released an excellent research report called Breaking the Link between disadvantage and low attainment – everyone’s business. http://publications.teachernet.gov.uk/eOrderingDownload/00357-2009.pdf In my opinion, this is the most convincing case that I have seen supporting the government’s claim that they have overseen a general improvement of schooling in the UK. In particular, it makes a strong case that significant progress having been achieved in overcoming the effects of social disadvantage within the education system. Yes, the report emphasises the successes and glosses over stubborn problems but it makes a very positive case for the success of past policies and identifies specific problem areas that now need considering. Most importantly, I think they make a convincing case that educational attainment in the most deprived areas of the country has shown the biggest improvement over the past 10 years. And yet this report is hidden away on the recent publications website of teachernet. I’d say if you are only going to read a single publication this year about schooling and disadvantage then this is it! In my opinion it should be up there in lights on the DCSF website and should have been the subject of a publicity offensive. Instead, the Minister got into a tussle over introducing American style report cards for schools and it was this that took prominence in the DCSF press release http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/pns/DisplayPN.cgi?pn_id=2009_0057 and then worse, this minor idea dominated the newspaper coverage http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1161807/School-league-tables-scrapped-replaced-wellbeing-charts.html I guess we will have another shot at this subject with the publication of the White Paper in the spring. However, I think a more aggressive and positive campaign is urgently required if only to combat the common perception that education standards are worsening http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2009/mar/02/education-standards-poll and that the great social divide shows little change http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1160314/Not-single-GCSE-nearly-half-UKs-poorest-children.html while there is evidence that private schools are doing better at A levels http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/education/article5871124.ece and more likely to study hard subjects http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/educationnews/4957568/Private-school-pupils-four-times-as-likely-to-get-straight-As-at-A-level.html I was surprised by the report that 1 in 10 parents may be using private tutors for their children http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/educationnews/4839415/Tutors-in-demand-in-race-for-grammar-schools.html negative news and analysis swamps all talk of improvement, this is a shame and not the full story.
2 Outraged of Westminster
A House of Commons Committee has expressed dismay at the slow progress of widening participation into university http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/7911211.stm the full report can be found at http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200809/cmselect/cmpubacc/226/9780215526557.pdf I think it worth quoting one of the findings “The Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills and the Higher Education Funding Council know too little about how universities have used the £392 million allocated to them over the last five years to widen participation.” However, in a more optimistic vein, a couple of ideas here seem to be worth a try http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/7937527.stm The suggestion that students might study university courses at school illustrates how the shape of higher education delivery continues to change. Last week it was announced that “Newcastle College was on course this week to become the first English further education institution to receive more funds for its higher education teaching than a university.” http://www.tes.co.uk/article.aspx?storycode=6009793
3 Mentoring good practice
I came across these Transition Mentoring Good Practice Case Studies which the DCSF say ‘We have collected case studies that show how many agencies and partners are offering mentoring support to young people at times of transition to support them into further education or training.’ http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/14-19/index.cfm?go=site.home&sid=42&pid=456&ctype=None&ptype=Contents
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)