Author: Martin Allen

The government, the SATs and the boycott

        The   proposals from the Government’s’ Expert Group’ that SATs in English and maths should  continue is not what campaigners expected. It’s clear that the proposed ‘stage not age’ tests outlined in the consultation document ’Making good progress’ are not ready and the Expert Group are asking for an extension of the … Continue reading The government, the SATs and the boycott →

Education in and after the recession

              Martin Allen and Patrick Ainley NUT  Conference April 2009   With no end to the recession and unemployment rising, what of New Labour’s promises of increased opportunities for those prepared to become more qualified?   The current generation of young people is not only the most highly educated … Continue reading Education in and after the recession →

The Pre-U Won’t Do

                                                                 Martin Allen  *                                                                                                                           Proponents of Tomlinson style reform of 14-19 education may have been encouraged by last year’s   announcement of new diploma lines in more traditionally academic subjects - humanities, science and languages- alongside the original 11 diplomas in more directly vocational areas[1], yet there is still no evidence of the … Continue reading The Pre-U Won’t Do →

MERDS paper Institute of Education 07/02/09

                                                                                                                                            From jobs without education to education without jobs. Education, economy and young people  and society -an overview Martin Allen and Patrick Ainley     Summary Though many Marxist writers continue to theorise the relationship between education and the workplace ‘needs’ of capital, we have argued in Education make you fick, … Continue reading MERDS paper Institute of Education 07/02/09 →

Responses to Cambridge Exams Pre-U

                                                                                                Martin Allen,  letter, The Guardian  23/07/08   The real issue for Greg Watson (Cambridge exam chief...Guardian 22/07 http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2008/jul/22/alevels.gcses) is that too many young people are now passing A-levels, a qualification originally designed for the elite few. Faced with the demands of Government's 'standards agenda', teachers increasingly 'teach to test', but it is also the case that … Continue reading Responses to Cambridge Exams Pre-U →

Why we need a general diploma accessible to all

                Martin Allen and Patrick Ainley   The Guardian 15/04/08     The government's new strategy for 14-19 follows the peak in numbers of 18-year-olds entering higher education (42.5% in 2005-06), along with those achieving two A-levels (34% in 2006).   Although more than 80% remain in full-time education for … Continue reading Why we need a general diploma accessible to all →

The cruellest con of all

        Patrick Ainley    Times Higher Education Supplement  07/02/08       Widening participation is a cruel con but the people academics fool the most with it are themselves.  The government target of 50 per cent of 18-30 year-olds entering higher education by 2010 presents itself as a professionalisation of the proletariat but it … Continue reading The cruellest con of all →

Here comes the ‘Burgerluarette’ !

  Martin Allen  Campaign Teacher Spring 2008   News that McDonalds are offering  employees a  ‘training’ equivalent to A-levels  got its fair share of media attention at the end of January, particularly when it became known that QCA was recognising it - along with courses from two other major companies, the airline Flybe and Network Rail. … Continue reading Here comes the ‘Burgerluarette’ ! →

Crisis of childhood. A critique of the Children’s Plan

      Richard Murgatroyd and Martin Allen    Morning Star  04/01/08   New Labour's recently published Children's Plan sets itself the modest target of making Britain the "best place in the world to grow up." Unfortunately, the mixture of good intentions, technocratic changes and small-scale reforms on offer don't add up to sort of radical vision that … Continue reading Crisis of childhood. A critique of the Children’s Plan →