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 →

‘Overqualified and underemployed’

Martin Allen A recent  International Labour Organisation report shows 73.4 million young people (12.6 %) expected to be out of work worldwide in 2013, an increase of 3.5 million between 2007 and 2013 and youth three times as likely to be unemployed than adults. Now reaching unprecedented levels in Greece 64% and Portugal 43%, youth … Continue reading ‘Overqualified and underemployed’ →

As applications rise, university chiefs call for quicker loan repayments

The latest UCAS  figures show a 3.5% increase in the number applying for 2013 full-time undergraduate entry to UK universities - though the figure is still down on 2011, the year before the £9000 tuition fee kicked in. Applications from 18 year olds are also up 2% and for 19 year olds 10.5%. (www.ucas.ac.uk/about_us/media_enquiries/media_releases/2013/20130130c) As … Continue reading As applications rise, university chiefs call for quicker loan repayments →

Review: The Great University Gamble                                                                                                                             

Andrew  McGettigan   The Great University Gamble: Money, Markets and the Future of Higher Education,  Pluto Press, London, 2013. 240pp., £16.99 pb  ISBN 9780745332932 Reviewed by Patrick Ainley              http://marxandphilosophy.org.uk/reviewofbooks/reviews/2013/744 Perhaps this book will at last get academic Marxists to apply their scholarship to (higher) education. It is ‘pitched at a general readership’ (ix) but this ‘tour through … Continue reading Review: The Great University Gamble                                                                                                                              →

The Curriculum Great Reversal

Kingston University Seminar (01.05.13) Martin Allen Michael Gove’s National Curriculum proposals have been out for consultation and have  received a fair share of attention.  While there has been particular controversy over proposals for history and English, this short paper provides an ‘overview’ –a more general critique of the underlying principles behind the Gove curriculum. To … Continue reading The Curriculum Great Reversal →

As the Treasury recognises it’s ‘financially unsustainable’, will the university tuition fees ‘bubble’ burst?

  http://www.thesundaytimes.co.uk/sto/news/uk_news/Education/article1248867.ece?CMP=OTH-gnws-standard-2013_04_20). Estimates that 4 out of 10 student loans will never be repaid only confirms  The Great Reversal of education policy by Coalition education ministers Michael Gove and David Willetts.  The last thirty years have seen huge increases in participation in post compulsory education. Ironically some of the sharpest increases coming in the reactionary … Continue reading As the Treasury recognises it’s ‘financially unsustainable’, will the university tuition fees ‘bubble’ burst? →

(Not) going on a summer holiday?

Once again, Michael Gove is posing as the ‘moderniser’ .  He now wants to persuade us that we need to bring the length of  school  holidays in line with those in Asian Pacific economies like Singapore and Hong Kong. So as to 'raise standard. As argued in The Great Reversal,   Gove’s   attempt to cherry pick policies from … Continue reading (Not) going on a summer holiday? →