The English Baccalaureate

by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Education Committee
The English Baccalaureate
Author: Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Education Committee
Publisher: The Stationery Office
Total Pages: 108
Release: 2011-07-28
Genre: Education
ISBN: 9780215560964
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This report suggests that any new performance or curriculum measures affecting schools should only be implemented after proper consultation with key stakeholders and the wider public - something which didn't happen with the English Baccalaureate (EBac). The Committee says that the Government should also have waited until after the conclusion of the National Curriculum Review before introducing the EBac. They want the Government to deliver on its promise in the White Paper - The Importance of Teaching - to use performance tables to put greater emphasis on the progress of every child. The report notes that "certain academic subjects studied at A-level are more valued by Russell Group universities than others", but argues that a "focus on a fairly narrow range of subjects, demanding considerable curriculum time, is likely to have negative consequences on the uptake of other subjects." The Committee does not make recommendations on which subjects should or should not be included but rather encourages the Government to reconsider the EBac's composition when the National Curriculum Review is concluded. The Government should confirm how it will monitor the attainment of children on free school meals in the EBac. The report also calls for further international evidence to inform debate on the merits of the EBac: evidence the inquiry received did not suggest a link, in other countries, between the prescribed study of certain academic subjects and improved attainment and prospects for poorer students. Elsewhere, the report argues that the current arrangements for certification of the EBac should be shelved, as should calls for a Technical Baccalaureate to sit alongside the existing award.

Building A Learning Nation

by Chris Pratt
Building A Learning Nation
Author: Chris Pratt
Publisher: eBook Partnership
Total Pages: 449
Release: 2019-03-19
Genre: Education
ISBN: 1785453882
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In Building a Learning Nation, Chris Pratt and Allison Chin use powerful evidence to expose serious fault lines in the English learning and education system. The authors show that the result of a thirty-year political consensus on education has been growing child mental ill-health, high levels of educational underachievement, major skill shortages, and a crisis in the retention and recruitment of teachers. Increasing numbers of children leading dysfunctional home lives, coupled with ineffective government education and skills policies over decades, are identified as the principal causes. The book explains how these problems make a defining contribution to the country's sluggish economic performance and deep social divisions. Above all else, Building a Learning National provides a compelling case for change. Unlike other critiques of contemporary education it provides a well thought out, workable alternative: promoting lifelong learning for all; tackling underachievement; supporting families; radically changing the conditions within which schools operate; and developing the skills the nation needs.

Education, Social Reform and Philosophical Development

by Richard Pring
Education, Social Reform and Philosophical Development
Author: Richard Pring
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 167
Release: 2021-07-20
Genre: Education
ISBN: 1000410315
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Reflecting on the meaning and purpose of an education at the mercy of political changes and innovation, this book considers the social, historical, religious and cultural contexts that define education systems. With a particular focus on how historical contexts shape the nature of education and its relevance to wider society, it explores the history of education in relation to social reform, economic relevance and raising standards. The first part of the book describes the developing system of education within England and Wales from the 19th century, with reference to the growing consciousness of the need for ‘education for all’. The second part identifies key philosophical influences on the evolving understandings of education, and thereby of the developing policies and arrangements made in the light of those understandings which they generated. Finally, the third part of the book revisits the ‘aims of education’ in the light of the historical development and the philosophical critiques. This book will be of great interest to academics, researchers, postgraduate students and policy makers interested in the history of education and the moments that have defined it.

Beyond A Levels

by Ann Hodgson
Beyond A Levels
Author: Ann Hodgson
Publisher: Psychology Press
Total Pages: 218
Release: 2003
Genre: Education
ISBN: 9780749439798
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Since its introduction over 50 years ago, the A-level has been a constant subject of debate in schools, HE and government. Sometimes hailed as a 'gold standard', there is now intense speculation about the future of the A-level in particular, but also about post-14 qualifications in general. The furore about quality and standards which accompanies each year's A-level results has become an annual fixture in the UK press calendar. With the introduction of Curriculum 2000, and an increasing number of calls for Baccalaureate-style examinations, vocational qualifications and more, the need for serious debate - and change in this field is clear. Based on primary research by two of the leading commentators on the qualifications, this book is a wide-ranging and critical view of the fundamental approaches of the education system in Britain today. With government action on this subject looking inevitable, this will be a challenging and important book for anyone interested in this debate.

Educating Tomorrow's Engineers

by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Science and Technology Committee
Educating Tomorrow's Engineers
Author: Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Science and Technology Committee
Publisher: The Stationery Office
Total Pages: 142
Release: 2013-02-08
Genre: Education
ISBN: 9780215053411
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In the UK we teach young people to become computer users and consumers rather than programmers and software engineers. This is creating a chronic skills gap in ICT. We need around 82,000 engineers and technicians just to deal with retirements up to 2016 and 830,000 SET professionals by 2020. On the plus side, the Government's proposal to include computer science as a fourth science option to count towards the EBac is welcomed. The Committee also welcomes the EBac's focus on attainment of mathematics and science GCSEs but is concerned that subjects such as Design and Technology (D&T) might be marginalised. A Technical Baccalaureate (TechBac) is being designed but if it is to be a success, schools should be incentivised to focus on the TechBac by making it equivalent to the EBac. Reforms to vocational education following the Wolf Review meant that Level 2 of the Engineering Diploma, a qualification highly regarded, would count as equivalent to one GCSE despite requiring curriculum time and effort equivalent to several GCSEs. The Engineering Diploma, however, is currently being redesigned as four separate qualifications. The Committee also expressed concerns over the Department for Education's (DfE) lack of clarity on its research budget, and use of evidence in decision-making. The DfE needs to place greater focus on gathering evidence before changes to qualifications are made, and must leave sufficient time for evidence to be gathered on the effectiveness of policies before introducing further change. The possibility of gathering evidence from randomised controlled trials (RCTs) should be seriously considered

Assessment Policy Reform

by Tina Isaacs
Assessment Policy Reform
Author: Tina Isaacs
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 255
Release: 2020-05-21
Genre: Education
ISBN: 1000546861
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This book highlights the impact of policy and politics on assessment across the globe. With contributions from England, the Irish Republic, Northern Ireland, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, and Wales, it explores state-led assessment policies and practices that have been the subject of much debate. We are experiencing a shift from using assessments — especially national tests — as measurement instruments designed to produce information, to a reliance on tests to influence policy and instruction. Once tests become high stakes — for students, teachers, and schools — even those that might have been reasonable monitors of educational success can lose dependability and credibility. However, not all countries’ assessment policies follow the same model and the contributors explore and analyse a range of different national (and supra-national) assessment policy approaches and perspectives. The chapters identify the impetus behind changing assessment policies and practices and analyse ways forward and innovative approaches. Readers can draw their own conclusions about which model(s) can provide the best outcomes for learners – surely the most important part of the equation. This book was originally published as a special issue of Assessment in Education: Principles, Policy & Practice.

Integrating Critical and Contextual Studies in Art and Design

by Jenny Rintoul
Integrating Critical and Contextual Studies in Art and Design
Author: Jenny Rintoul
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
Total Pages: 195
Release: 2016-11-18
Genre: Education
ISBN: 1317194047
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Integrating Critical and Contextual Studies in Art and Design examines the relationship between two aspects of art education that appear at times inseparable or even indistinguishable, and at others isolated and in conflict: Critical and Contextual Studies (CCS) and studio practice. Underpinned by international contexts, this book is rooted in British art and design education and draws upon contemporary case studies of teaching and learning in post-compulsory settings in order to analyse and illustrate identities and practices of CCS and its integration. The chapters in this book are divided into three sections that build on one another: ‘Discourse and debate’; ‘Models, types and tensions’; and ‘Proposals and recommendations’. Key issues include: knowledge hierarchies and subject histories and identities; constructions of ‘theory’ and the symbiotic relationship between theory and practice; models and practices of CCS within current post-compulsory British art and design education; the reification of ubiquitous terms in the fields of art and design and of education: intuition and integration; approaches to curriculum integration, including design and management; and suggestions for integrating CCS in art and design courses, including implications for pedagogy and assessment. Integrating Critical and Contextual Studies in Art and Design offers a comprehensive analysis of the current drive towards integration within art education, and elucidates what we understand by the theory and practice of integration. It explores the history, theory, teaching and student experience of CCS, and will be of interest to lecturers, teachers and pedagogues involved in art and design as well as researchers and students of art education.

Educating with Purpose: The heart of what matters

by Stephen Tierney
Educating with Purpose: The heart of what matters
Author: Stephen Tierney
Publisher: John Catt
Total Pages: 185
Release: 2020-08-04
Genre: Education
ISBN: 1913808580
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If the last decade focused on what works, the decade ahead must focus on what matters. In his second book, Tierney argues that the purpose of education must move to the heart of the educational debate. Purpose will significantly influence what schools and the education system as a whole will do next. Why we educate is a question from which all other aspects evolve. A question for all times, it will resonate with those who have experienced the Great Pause. Using four main philosophies of education - personal empowerment, cultural transmission, preparation for work and preparation for citizenship - he provides the underpinning theory and seminal works alongside a powerful critique. Using the impact of these different philosophies on a school's curriculum he challenges the current orthodoxy, allowing the reader to consider alternative views and approaches. Proposing that the telos of education must be a life well lived, he argues for a re-purposing of education, with a preferential option for the poor at its heart. Educative and challenging this will be read by all those interested and involved in education.

The Baccalaureate

by Graham Phillips
The Baccalaureate
Author: Graham Phillips
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 199
Release: 2003-12-16
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1135725152
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Every year the UK A-level results bring a tide of questions about their quality and standard. One option already available to schools and students is the baccalaureate system. Covering national and international approaches, the IBO and more, this