The story of Oxford University’s supposed support for tuition fees is again indicative of the terrible state of UK education journalism. First things first, this wasn’t an Oxford Uni vote as the headline makes out. This was a Christ Church College vote. One of 38 colleges at Oxford University. Secondly, out of a student body [...]
“Ofsted inspectors say literacy standards ‘fall short’”, the Beeb reports. This simply isn’t true. What has really fallen short are literacy test scores not literacy standards. OfSTED are confusing scores with literacy levels. A child that does badly on a test isn’t necessarily lacking in literacy. They are just unable to score high enough on [...]
The Fund Our Future: Stop Education Cuts march yesterday (11/11/10) was an eye-opener for many reasons. One reason why it drew our attention was the lack of unity shown by the student reps. The NUS leader seemed more intent on covering his own back by saying that the violence had overshadowed the purpose of the [...]
‘X factor’ Bangor teacher wins UK award reads the Beeb. Well, really. That’ll make everything else go away. No worries about mortgages, £9000 tuition fees for their offspring, political interference, over-bearing managers, meaningless paperwork and yet more paperwork, disrespectful kids, pushy parents, unscientific research initiatives and no time for a normal social life. The award [...]
According to various news organisation, school league tables do actually make a positive difference to ‘performance’. The research has been produced by the very uneducational Centre for Market and Public Organisation (CMPO). They conducted a longitudinal study of Welsh kids to see if, after the Welsh assembly abolished tables back in 2001, things got better [...]
How Seniors can save American Education and the Economy by Bernard Starr. “Everyone agrees that we have a crisis at all levels of education evidenced by: •Budget slashing, cutbacks and teacher layoffs that are decimating primary and secondary schools. •A disturbing 25 percent high school dropout rate between the freshman and senior year. •At the [...]
Pressures forcing teachers to quit Queensland schools, reads the Sunday Mail. “CLASSROOM sizes and behaviour-management issues are driving teachers out of the workforce. Almost three quarters of Queensland teachers say it is difficult to retain staff because morale is so low. Teachers and parents are compensating for a lack of government funds by working longer [...]
The announcement of a new private university in the UK doesn’t come as much surprise. Any government, especially a coalition, will shirk responsibility for its decisions when it can lest it be saddled with something that it can’t shift come coalition-meltdown and fresh elections. The tired mantra of the free market is a trusty friend [...]
According to the Beeb, ‘British citizenship tests: One in three immigrants fail’. Well, actually, no. One in three immigrants WHO TOOK THE TEST failed. That is very different to saying 1 in 3 of ALL immigrants failed the test as the Beeb headline implies. We’re not saying that’s intentional but an emotive subject such as [...]
We know that it is all too easy to have a pop at MPs these days. But we thought it worthwhile reminding our readers and the wider public that teachers are not known to take or consider bribes for their influence. Byers, Hoon and Hewitt, on the other hand, have shown that this appears to [...]
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