“In order for man to succeed in life, God provided him with two means, education and physical activity. Not separately, one for the soul and the other for the body, but for the two together. With these two means, man can attain perfection. —Plato” If we could identify an education subject that could enhance our... Continue Reading →
Invited to contribute to one of The Big Education’s ‘Big Conversations’ I was excited to join a stellar line up including Sir Tim Brighouse, Karen Giles and Nadine Bernard. Each speaker contributed a perspective on leadership which we all agreed should be underpinned by values, integrity and authenticity. However, we realised that in order to... Continue Reading →
All universities are required by the Office for Students to increase the proportion of students they take from ‘low participation’ areas. One of the main ways they do this is to flag up on applications the ‘Polar quintile’ the applicants live in. POLAR is an acronym which stands for Participation of Local Areas. The UK... Continue Reading →
Twenty years ago this week – on Indian Republic Day, 26 January 2000 – I wandered into the slums behind the Charminar, in the Old City of Hyderabad, and my life changed. Building on my PhD at what is now the UCL Institute of Education, I had become an expert on private education. Twenty years... Continue Reading →
It is now thirty years since the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) was globally ratified by nearly two hundred States, recognising education as being a fundamental right. In 2005, The UN Committee clarified the practical application of Article 12 by saying that a child’s right to express their views should... Continue Reading →
I love stories. We use them to work through our context in the world, they serve to transform lives and some of them are even true. I have worked in leadership development for a number of years and like many others I have used the metaphor of the frog remaining in a pan of water... Continue Reading →
PISA (the Programme for International Student Assessment) is funded by the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development). The programme started in 2000 with tests happening every three years. PISA is the most rigorous project ever undertaken to assess what makes schooling effective. PISA tests are computer-based, administered to a sample of 15-year-olds in each... Continue Reading →
In the PGCE courses here at Buckingham we create excellent reflective practitioners. The design of the course requires it. The weekly readings and stimulus questions direct our trainees to consider a particular area of research or focus of pedagogy and reflect systematically on this in relation to their own teaching. They are encouraged to consider... Continue Reading →
The story of Finland is a good example of the complexities of understanding the causes of school success. When the PISA 2000 results were released in December 2001 Finland emerged as the top performer in the world. People flocked to the country to work out what it was that they did so well. They looked... Continue Reading →
