If something is important, but not possible, should schools try to do it anyway? There is no better example of a thing-that-can’t-be-done than careers education. The argument for careers education seems compelling: many students (particularly from disadvantaged backgrounds) don’t know what jobs are out there, therefore careers advice is important. Nearly every adult you meet …
On Saturday 8th September 2018 I gave a talk to researchED London about the pupil premium. It was too long for my 40-minute slot, and the written version is similarly far too long for one post. So I am posting my argument in three parts [pt I is here and pt II is here]. I used …
On Saturday 8th September 2018 I gave a talk to researchED London about the pupil premium. It was too long for my 40-minute slot, and the written version is similarly far too long for one post. So I am posting my argument in three parts [pt I is here and pt III is here]. Most school expenditure …
On Saturday 8th September 2018 I gave a talk to researchED London about the pupil premium. It was too long for my 40-minute slot, and the written version is similarly far too long for one post. So I am posting my argument in three parts [pt II is here and pt III is here]. Every …
Continue reading The pupil premium is not working (part I): Do not measure attainment gaps
I have been thinking about social inequalities and education for the past decade and feel like I’m walking a well-trodden path that has a hopeful ending. Perhaps by telling you where it leads it’ll help you get to a productive destination quicker. I’ve spent my whole research career thinking that our best hope for fixing …
This is roughly the talk I gave at a Policy Exchange fringe at Conservative Party Conference in 2016 I don’t like the words social mobility because they are so slippery as to give carte blanche to politicians to do exactly as they please. We appear to have entered an era where social mobility policies involve …
Continue reading We don’t need better sorting hats to improve social mobility
