Author: Martin Allen

Robbins Remembered and Dismembered

'Young people who succeed in education today find ascent difficult because most mobility is downwards' http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/politicsandpolicy/archives/34278 Patrick Ainley   argues that  widening participation  has not led to fair and equal access to higher education or outcomes in the labour market as systemic inequalities have deepened between institutions and subjects.  System-wide reform is therefore necessary as well as … Continue reading Robbins Remembered and Dismembered →

Doing it the German way?

  It is often difficult to be in agreement with Andrew Adonis, but the one-time New Labour schools minister, now a cheer-leader for Michael Gove’s academies programme, does make some creditable comments about apprenticeships. http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/jul/01/youth-unemployment-not-age-lack-of-skills  As Adonis observes, just 1 in 10 school leavers are able to sign up for an apprenticeship and many of … Continue reading Doing it the German way? →

NUT and NASUWT strike for education

Even if last week’s strike by members of the NUT and NASUWT in the North West received little attention from the national media, it represented an important step in the campaign against Michael Gove’s ‘war on teachers’. With industrial action  at a  low,  teacher organisations, relative latecomers– a legacy of their past traditions as ‘professional … Continue reading NUT and NASUWT strike for education →

Rioters return to London streets……..

Rioters returned to London streets when public school pupils trashed a £2 million house, later boasting about their exploits on social media sites. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/law-and-order/10150379/Public-school-students-trash-2m-Hampstead-home-in-end-of-exams-party.html http://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/2m-hampstead-home-trashed-in-party-as-public-school-pupils-clash-with-police-8681264.html

The Blob Strikes Back!

Patrick Ainley and Martin Allen The Blob Strikes Back! A review of Schools at Risk! Gove’s School Revolution Scrutinised edited by Trevor Fisher for the Socialist Education Association Gove has characterised his critics in ‘the academic educational establishment’ as ‘The Blob’. If there is an academic educational establishment, some of the authors of this pamphlet … Continue reading The Blob Strikes Back! →

Guardian letter : response to Wilshaw

  19/06/13As youth unemployment rose in 1976, Arnold Weinstock, managing director of the General Electric Company, wrote a letter in the Times Education Supplement headed "I blame the teachers" for not preparing pupils for employment. Since then relentless repetition by other leading industrialists, politicians and now the chief inspector of schools, Michael Wilshaw, has deflected attention … Continue reading Guardian letter : response to Wilshaw →

New ‘grammar school’ GCSEs can only short change young people – we need a general diploma for everyone

There are few surprises in the new GCSE exams that have now been officially unveiled by Ofqual. Coursework and modules – as well as the chance to resit parts of exams – have continually been cited by Michael Gove as reasons for the ‘dumbing down’ of standards, with the 2010 White Paper The Importance of … Continue reading New ‘grammar school’ GCSEs can only short change young people – we need a general diploma for everyone →

COMPASS TO A HIGHER EDUCATION CURRICULUM

Paper to Student Experience Network  Sheffield Hallam 17/05/13 Patrick Ainley This paper begins by asking what is ‘higher’ about the education we claim to be giving our students and goes on to briefly examine alternatives to the traditional academic answer to this question, drawing upon the polytechnic tradition to suggest combining higher with further education and … Continue reading COMPASS TO A HIGHER EDUCATION CURRICULUM →