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?
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?
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 […]
Improving Sexual Health Awareness in Education
As Sexual Health Awareness Week 2018 draws to a close, Dr Debbie Fallon blogs for us on the current state of sexual health issues, education, and services in the UK. Sexual health awareness and education campaigns are of great importance, especially for young people who are navigating their independence for the first time. Rates of […]
The Long-Term Policy Failures in Education – The Northern Powerhouse and a Fairer Start
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 […]
Prevent in schools and colleges: why a new approach is needed
As part of our new publication ‘OnCohesion’ read Bob Hindle’s blog which focuses on the counter-terrorism Prevent Strategy in schools and colleges. Schools and colleges provide environments for debate and meeting points and a rising proportion of young people from mixed race backgrounds suggests we have more in common than what makes us different. Is […]
The Case for Optimism amid the ‘Broken’ NHS
NHS organisations and the professionals who staff them are under tremendous pressure. The University of Manchester’s Professor Leo McCann has been working closely with NHS paramedics in England over the last five years, learning about the changes they have gone through as professionals and the pressures that ambulance trusts face as organisations. In this blog, […]
Transforming children and young people’s mental health services: taking one step forward and two steps back
In this blog Dr Terry Hanley, Senior Lecturer in Counselling Psychology and Dr Laura Anne Winter Lecturer in Education and Counselling Psychology both from The University of Manchester set out their response to the Government’s Green Paper on children and young people’s mental health. The Green Paper focuses on earlier intervention and prevention in schools […]
Bridging the skills gap: primary to higher education
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
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 […]