China

Posted on April 13, 2012 by | Leave a comment
Heated debate on “examination” and “educating people” problem at China’s Leading Policy Forum
Main China (4 April 2012)

The “one shot, one kill” kind of college entrance exam–known as the “gaokao”–is at the center of the exam-oriented Chinese education system. Education in China teaches to tests and yearns for higher scores, with some labelling these examinations an “obsession” and others pointing to the stress that such high-stakes testing has imposed on students. Besides the very strict once-a-year schedule of the exam, there are also other policy aspects, such as suggesting that students should return to their household-registration city to take the exam, even if they have migrated to and attended school in another city for many years. Universities treat students with the same scores from different regions differently so the “hometown exam-taking” requirement has been causing a tremendous amount of inequality.  Educators and policy makers continued the dialogue on the reform of college entrance exams at Boao Forum, one of China’s leading policy forums.  Some individuals have proposed less stringent guidelines, even favoring more elective options for students.

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Ireland

Posted on April 13, 2012 by | Leave a comment
Bishops oppose axeing [sic] class religion rule
Donnelly, K.  The Independent (11 April 2012)

Although they broadly support recent education proposals by Education Minister Ruairi Quinn, bishops in Ireland “are opposed to the proposed scrapping of an old primary school rule, Rule 68, that states religion should underpin every aspect of daily school life.”  Quinn established the Forum on Patronage and Pluralism, which issued a report suggesting that eliminating Rule 68 will allow further respect for Ireland’s increasingly diverse population.  Finn said, “We live in a changed and changing nation. There is a general acceptance that a greater diversity of primary schooling is necessary and I welcome the readiness among partners to embrace this.”  Father Michael Drumm, secretary of the Catholic Schools Partnership, believes the rule can be rephrased but not deleted entirely.  This is a contentious issue, as most schools in Ireland are state-funded but Catholic run.

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Scotland

Posted on April 13, 2012 by | Leave a comment
Analysis: from concept to classroom
Denholm, A.  The Herald (11 April 2012)

New research by Stirling University highlights that “there is still significant uncertainty over [Scotland’s Curriculum for Excellent (CfE)], even as 54,000 secondary pupils move towards the first exams in 2014.”  CfE’s purpose was to move education from the regurgitation of facts to “a new style of learning, better suited to the fast-changing modern economy which relies on creative thinking and resourcefulness.”  Focus has been on the early CfE curricular materials, which have been labeled “vague and confusing.”  (A summary of the Stirling University research can be found here; additional news about the study can be found here.)

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Canada

Posted on April 10, 2012 by | Leave a comment
Students: Help chart the future of B.C. education
British Columbia’s Ministry of Education (30 March 2012)

The newly launched EdChat program “offers an informal way for small groups of students to gather in person or online, discuss British Columbia’s Education Plan and share their vision for the future of education.  Participants work within the five themes of the plan: personalized learning for every student, quality teaching and learning, flexibility and choice, high standards and learning empowered by technology.” (Find EdChat’s “Face to Face Tool Kits” here.)  When speaking with members of BC Student Voice, Minister of Education George Abbott said he hopes to hear from students because they “have the greatest stake in our education system and we want to hear from them about what we are doing well, what we can improve and what they would like to see done differently. By participating in EdChats or joining the discussion online, students have a chance to be actively involved in the decisions that affect their future.”

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Austria

Posted on April 10, 2012 by | Leave a comment
Majority against the idea that schools should start later (in German)
Der Standard (5 April 2012)

The usual starting time for schools in Austria is 8 a.m.  Education expert Andreas Salcher, also a former Austrian politician, argues that children cannot concentrate at such an early time and demands a later start. However, a recent poll among Austrian citizens reveals that 69 percent are against postponing the start of the school day to 9 a.m. and the president of the school inspectors points to the fact that working parents will face severe problems if school starts later. The Minister of Education indicates that the idea can be discussed among school partners, but for the time being is not being addressed in the Ministry.

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Ireland

Posted on April 10, 2012 by | Leave a comment
Cuts will force schools to drop Leaving Cert subjects
Donnelly, K.  The Independent (5 April 2012)

Budget cuts are forcing students “in some schools [to face] the loss of important Leaving Certificate subjects such as physics and chemistry next autumn…”  This article highlights how two-out-of-three schools are considering dropping one or more subjects for fifth or sixth years as schools face tighter budgets.  The last budget “cut the extra hours allocation that schools get to provide guidance counselling, resulting in the loss of 700 posts, or an average loss of 0.8 teachers in each school, next September.”  Many schools will have to pay for guidance counselling out of their general allocation of teaching hours, resulting in less funds for instructors who teach Leaving Cert subjects.  In addition to physics and chemistry, other leaving certs schools will likely drop include accountancy and economics.

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Japan

Posted on April 10, 2012 by | 1 comment
The new national teaching guidelines for middle schools (in Japanese)
Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology (unspecified)

The Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology announced that the new guidelines for middle school will be effective this month. This follows the implementation of new guidelines at the elementary level last year. The new guidelines have four major aspects. First is to increase rigor in the curriculum. This will be promoted by the second aspect of the reform:  to increase weekly instructional hours by 10% in language arts, social studies, mathematics, science, physical education and foreign languages. The third aspect of reform is to place emphasis on teaching basic knowledge and skills, improve the ability to apply them, and to increase student motivation. The last aspect is to promote collaboration between schools, homes, and communities.

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England

Posted on April 10, 2012 by | Leave a comment
Half of England’s secondaries becoming academies
Hannah, R. BBC News (5 April 2012)

Academy schools are state funded but privately managed primary and secondary schools. The first academy schools were established in 2003, and now less than a decade later, 50% of English secondary schools have either converted or are seeking to convert to the governance model.  Opponents to the proliferation of academy schools “argue academies are unaccountable and undemocratic as they have no link with locally-elected education authorities…”  (See one school’s protest against being turned into an academy here.)  Proponents believe the academy schools’ greater freedoms allow the opportunity for schools to “meet the needs of local parents and pupils.”  (See Education Minister Michael Gove on detractors of academy schools here.)

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India

Posted on April 6, 2012 by | Leave a comment
PPP Indian Style
Sengupta, M. The Times of India (4 April 2012)

The nation of India has recently faced the realization that the scale of educational change is too big for the government to fund.  As a result, the private sector has to assume an important role in increasing educational access.  “The government finally announced the much awaited plan to allow private sector investment in secondary schools via the PPP route — with a few caveats, rules and deposits of course. This is a major shift in policy, though we see that the opportunity has not been extended to primary education yet.”  This policy is in line with what has been happening at the pre-school level, as an article from The Hindu highlights.  In addition to these newspaper articles, a study in Economics of Education Review by Amita Chudgara and Elizabeth Quinb “call[s] into question the claim that [the] private school effect may be unequivocally positive and highlights the potential heterogeneity in private school performance in the Indian context.”

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Canada

Posted on April 4, 2012 by | Leave a comment
Big class compensation coming
Steffenhagen, J.  Vancouver Sun (3 April 2012)

According to new regulations in British Columbia, “teachers who have more than 30 students in their classes next year may opt for extra pay, additional preparation time, more professional-development money or extra funds for classroom supplies.”  Under Bill 22, which passed last month, teachers will earn $2,000-to-2,500 for each additional student.  Some tout the cost-saving measures of the bill.  For example, the president of the Greater Victoria Teachers’ Association wrote, “If an extra 29 students can be spread around into oversized classes, that will be $2,000 less than the salary of an additional teacher.”  Others, including many teachers, believe that the plan will not lead to improved student learning outcomes.  (See how some teachers feel about Bill 22 here.)

As the video below shows, Bill 22’s imposition of report cards has caused confusion in British Columbia:

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