education

Breaking the silence: The importance of student involvement in school mental health

By Cathy Atkinson and Lucy Wilkinson Filed Under: Digital Futures, Education, Health and Care Posted: February 5, 2019

Hardly a day passes when adolescent mental health is not in the news. Dr Cathy Atkinson, Senior Lecturer in Education and Child Psychology at the Manchester Institute of Education, and Lucy Wilkinson, sixth-form student at Altrincham Grammar School for Girls, discuss their research into student-led mental health initiatives at AGGS, and suggest that this approach […]

Is it time to address accent as part of the Teachers’ Standards?

By Alex Baratta Filed Under: Digital Futures, Education, Growth and Inclusion Posted: January 29, 2019

Dr Alex Baratta, Lecturer in Language, Linguistics and Communications at the Manchester Institute of Education, discusses the ambiguity of ‘articulacy’ in the Teachers’ Standards and its effects on teachers and their accents. The Teachers’ Standards state that teachers in England and Wales must use standard English and demonstrate ‘articulacy’. There is no mention of accent […]

Empire and the World War One Centenary: Remembrance as racialisation?

By Meghan Tinsley Filed Under: Ethnicity, Growth and Inclusion Posted: December 17, 2018

Dr Meghan Tinsley, a Presidential Fellow in Ethnicity and Inequalities, reflects on the four years of the First World War centenary, asking to what extent collective memory of the war remains white and Eurocentric. She argues that in pursuit of a more global narrative of past and present, history curricula should emphasise three themes: the […]

What happens to those who ‘miss the mark’ in GCSE English and maths?

By Ruth Lupton, Sanne Velthuis, Stephanie Thomson and Lorna Unwin Filed Under: Education, Growth and Inclusion Posted: November 6, 2018

As part of the publication of a new working paper on the characteristics and post-16 transitions of GCSE ‘lower attainers,’ Ruth Lupton, Sanne Velthuis, Stephanie Thomson and Lorna Unwin reflect on the progress made by those with lower GCSE attainment during the 16-18 phase, and highlight the need for appropriate, high-quality post-16 provision for all […]

Can British universities be sites for reparative justice?

By Karis Campion Filed Under: All posts, Education, Ethnicity, Growth and Inclusion Posted: October 15, 2018

This October is Black History Month, and despite some local councils’ attempts to dilute and replace it with ‘diversity’ agendas, the ongoing Windrush scandal has served as a stark reminder of some of the continued misunderstandings about Black history in Britain. Dr Karis Campion discusses the responsibility universities have in creating honest conversations on their […]

The Long-Term Policy Failures in Education – The Northern Powerhouse and a Fairer Start

By Kingsley Purdam and Dr Maria Pampaka Filed Under: Education Posted: September 28, 2018

The start of the new school year, debates about the value of homework and concerns about how the Northern Powerhouse education fund is being spent are a further reminder of the inequalities in the UK education system. It is a priority that policy makers focus on addressing the long-term inequalities in the education system. As […]

A Policy@Manchester interview with the Dr Bachir Ouedraogo, Minister of Energy for Burkina Faso

By Chris Peters Filed Under: Cities and Environment, Digital Futures, Energy and Environment, Industry 4.0 Posted: August 7, 2018

Dr Bachir Ouedraogo won a scholarship from the Sustainable Consumption Institute at The University of Manchester and he went on complete his PhD in MACE in 2012 looking at the impact of climate change, renewable energy and population on the future energy demand for Burkina Faso. In 2015 Bachir was elected to the National Assembly […]

Working towards a new Prevent strategy

By Bob Hindle Filed Under: All posts Posted: October 5, 2017

In recent months both Theresa May and Greater Manchester Mayor, Andy Burnham, have made significant interventions in the debate on counter extremism. In this blog, Bob Hindle of Manchester Institute of Education, explains why a new Prevent strategy is needed, and how that might develop. Policy must consider wider educational responsibilities such as strengthening community […]

Bridging the skills gap: primary to higher education

By Donna Johnson Filed Under: All posts, Science and Engineering Posted: August 21, 2017

The UK’s skills gap in science, technology, engineering and maths has been widely acknowledged, but the measures needed to address it are less clear. Here, Donna Johnson, Head of the Science & Engineering Education Research and Innovation Hub, lays out the current debate and argues for cross-sector support between schools and universities and a focus […]

Why language statistics might be misleading

By Yaron Matras Filed Under: All posts, British Politics, Growth and Inclusion Posted: July 27, 2017

This month’s issue of The Economist included an article entitled ‘Why central and eastern European children lag behind in British schools’. Here, Professor Yaron Matras responds to the article and discusses the difficulties of using official statistic to record languages. The article looks mainly to languages as being a factor in differential educational achievement, but […]