Events | 2010.02.14
Head calls for schools revolution
\'Formulaic and mechanised\' teaching must be overhauled as it is not equipping youngsters for work, argue experts including Anthony Seldon
Schooling is now so "formulaic and mechanised" that the time has come for another Great Debate on education, similar to that begun by the then prime minister, James Callaghan, more than three decades ago.
That is the view of the leading headmaster Anthony Seldon , who argues that there is an urgent need to "remodel and refashion education". And a leading academic has warned that without urgent action England risks becoming a "third world country".
Callaghan launched his Great Debate in 1976 during a lecture at Ruskin College, Oxford. In one of the most influential speeches about schooling since the 1944 Education Act, the Labour prime minister spoke of "legitimate public concern" about trendy and informal teaching methods. His speech was to pave the way for the national curriculum and a style of teaching that would dominate for decades to come. But, according to Seldon, the master of Wellington College, in Berkshire, and a renowned political historian, it is no longer relevant in 2010.
Professor Dylan Wiliam, deputy director of the Institute of Education in London, agreed that employers were not satisfied. "That is because the type of jobs where people don\'t need to read and write hardly exist any more. The British economy loses 400 no-qualification jobs every day," said Wiliam. "Schools are doing better than ever before but can they ratchet up performance to provide the skills that are needed?"
Wiliam claimed the one thing that was urgently needed was an improvement in the quality of teaching. The Conservatives have suggested raising the bar to entry for teaching – by only providing funding for those who have achieved B grades in GCSE maths and English and an upper second or above at university.
But Wiliam argued that there was little correlation between a teacher\'s qualifications and the progress of their pupils, and the policy would take decades to work through the system. "If it takes us 30 years to solve this problem we\'ll be a third world country. So you have to focus on teachers already working."
Wiliam argued that a Great Debate had the potential to be "hazardous" and to delay change. "We don\'t need it because we know what we need to do," he said.
Other headteachers were also wary. John Dunford, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said staff were "punch-drunk" with changes in education and wanted stability. But David Laws, the Liberal Democrat education spokesman, said his party would welcome a debate. "There is a need for a fundamental review of the state of English education and to assess what has been good and bad in the last 10 to 15 years," he said.
Seldon makes his caseat an event tomorrow organised by Bright Blue – an organisation campaigning for progressive conservative policies.
A spokesman for the Department for Children, Schools and Families said Seldon was providing a "very negative view" of education that did not reflect the realities in schools. "The fact is standards have never been higher – today around half of young people achieve five good GCSEs, including English and maths, compared to a third a decade ago." He claimed that most business leaders were happy with the state of the education system.
For more information, please visit
http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2010/feb/14/great-debate-schools
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