What are the biggest problems in the education system, right now, today?!
This is a question I asked educators last week; I've collated most of their replies to get a sense of current pandemic priorities from a UK perspective.
In some of the hyperlinks listed, I've offered solutions to each problem posed.
[Tweet "England's state schools face continued underfunding and a renewed agenda to academise the state system."]
26 education problems...
- Over assessment. Some students are sitting school-wide tests in maths every half term to generate performance data. Imagine you are in the bottom set (because
What about the fact that English-speaking countries are obsessed with starting formal schooling at a very early age – long before many children are developmentally ready for this sort of ‘standards-driven’ approach. There is now a mountain of evidence that the under-sevens learn best in a relationship-centred, play-based environment … but the educational establishment (even those who question the educational establishment) doesn’t yet see that what happens in the early years (birth to eight) has a lifelong impact on children’s physical and mental well-being and potential to learn. We need to rethink the whole concept of education and care for the under-sevens.
Please can we add the depth and breadth curriculum model where children are learning things at GCSE now that they used to learn at degree level. That massively polarises the children into those that can and those that can’t. Destroys enjoyment of learning for the majority, leaves no time for personal interest or exploration and relies completely on the ability to recall and regurgitate vocabulary and facts rather than understand and engage in what they have learnt, develop evaluative skills, a personal narrative or a sense of excitement about possibility. The lack of course work at GCSE and the ridiculous knowledge based curriculum at primary cause mass disengagement and disaffection before they have even started secondary school. There is almost no practical application of the knowledge learned to real life and for SEND students predominantly has no value at all except to gain useless qualifications which they don’t need for the level 1 courses they inevitably have to go to college to study. It is quite simply a disaster.