As government focussed attention exclusively on reopening schools ( in the hope more parents would be able to return to work), universities anxious about the financial implications of empty campuses and with young people pressured by their schools and the anxieties of parents, taking up places rather than deferring, it hasn't needed rocket science to … Continue reading University lockdowns – the nightmare continues for the covid generation
‘Building back better’: not much sign in education!
Despite conflicting medical evidence and signs of a Covid ‘second spike’ - Boris Johnson and Dominic Cummings are desperate to send all children back to school this week. But except for photo opportunities, the Tories are not interested in schools or learning - education had been given little attention since Johnson became PM and … Continue reading ‘Building back better’: not much sign in education!
Even before Covid, 1 in 8 still NEET
Remember the NEETs? An acronym created by the Blair government and then used across Europe. Latest figures for young people Not in Education, Employment or Training for the first six months of this year, show 13% (more than 1 in 8) of all 18- 24’s in this category. Other research shows 75% being NEET for … Continue reading Even before Covid, 1 in 8 still NEET
Exam grades ‘U-turn’. Why can’t we have teacher assessment all of the time?
As a result of wide scale opposition - from Tory MPs to the National Education Union; not to mention the spontaneous protests by young people - the Westminster government, fearing another fiasco when GCSE results are published on Thursday, has followed its more astute Scottish counterparts and will allow A-level grades to be based on … Continue reading Exam grades ‘U-turn’. Why can’t we have teacher assessment all of the time?
Exam grade ‘mess’ – Gove’s legacy lives on.
With their students unable to take A-level and GCSE exams this year, schools and colleges were asked ‘to use their professional experience to make a fair and objective judgement of the grade they believed a student would have achieved’. This meant 'providing a full range of available evidence when they graded students - including non-exam … Continue reading Exam grade ‘mess’ – Gove’s legacy lives on.
Covid generation: apprenticeships and grads continue to take a hammering
Barely a month after Boris Johnson promised an apprenticeship for any young person who wanted one, Department for Education data shows the devastating effects of the pandemic. The number of apprentice starts have already declined in recent months – between August 2019 and January this year, the number of new apprenticeships was 7.3 per cent … Continue reading Covid generation: apprenticeships and grads continue to take a hammering
Home or away? Working practices during and after the crisis *
* https://education-economy-society.com/2020/04/02/theres-no-place-like-home-working-practices-after-the-crisis/ As lockdown has eased. more people have been encouraged to go back to their offices, yet a study by the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR) indicates that between 25 per cent and 30 per cent of employees will still be working from home on any one day in 2021. Other surveys … Continue reading Home or away? Working practices during and after the crisis *
Review: Stephanie Kelton, The Deficit Myth
With government deficits and government borrowing reaching levels not experienced since the second world war, debate grows about how it will be paid for. Stephanie Kelton argues that it does not have to be. Kelton is a leading promoter of Modern Monetary Theory. Its central argument is that because countries like the UK issue their … Continue reading Review: Stephanie Kelton, The Deficit Myth
The vagaries and complexities of labour market statistics
Labour market figures for March to May, published today, show official unemployment remains at 3.9% or 1.35 million. Of course, 9.4 million employees are furloughed, being paid but not actually working. A further 2.4 million of the self-employed are receiving financial support, while another 500,000 are temporarily away from their employment, so while not unemployed … Continue reading The vagaries and complexities of labour market statistics
Stuck in the middle with Williamson
With the economy experiencing a huge downturn, attention has focussed on likely loss of jobs in the hospitality and retail sectors, many of which are considered ‘low skilled’ (as well as disproportionately performed by young people). But according to the OECD’s Employment Outlook for 2020, In the United Kingdom, new online job postings for middle-skill … Continue reading Stuck in the middle with Williamson
