Let's look at all the evidence from top educators abroad

Michael Gove is keen to see what we have to learn from education systems internationally, but the lessons may not be as straightforward as he thinks, says Valerie Hannon

Last week I saw a report that a US congresswoman wanted to change the official value of pi to precisely 3 as a way to help US 15-year-olds, after they came 25th in maths in the latest Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development's world study. The story was a hilarious spoof, but it well illustrates the strength of feeling about these global rankings.

Recently Michael Gove has stressed the importance of comparing education systems internationally, as seen in the OECD's Pisa studies, and of learning from the most successful nations. But what should our response be?

The education secretary enthuses about Andreas Schleicher, of the OECD, calling him the "most important man in English education" for the insights his work confers. Schleicher's analysis, according to Gove, shows, first, that "we [England] are falling further and further behind other nations"; and second, that the key to success is "to recruit the best possible people into teaching and provide them with high-quality training and professional development". This is true – as far as it goes. But it is a partial analysis.

What else have successful systems to tell us about the issues we face today? Schleicher's work demonstrates compellingly that demand for the competencies 20th-century school systems were good at imparting (routine cognitive and manual skills) is falling sharply among employers across the world. He shows that 21st-century systems need to prepare young people with the skills to undertake non-routine analytic and, especially, non-routine interactive tasks. Schleicher's conclusion is: "The skills that are easiest to teach and test are also easiest to digitise, automate and outsource."

The implication of these findings is that systems need to prepare students "to deal with more rapid change than ever before … for jobs that have not yet been created … using technologies that have not yet been invented". This is about learning how to learn, and new ways of thinking that involve creativity, critical thinking, problem-solving and decision-making. It is in sharp contrast to an emphasis on the capacity to reproduce facts. Reducing the debate into a "skills v knowledge" dichotomy is manifestly false. The issue is the right balance between content acquisition, and the skills and dispositions needed to succeed in fundamentally changed conditions. This is the key message of Schleicher and the OECD's work. It is to be hoped that the current curriculum review is permitted to take this wider view.

For this is the perspective being adopted by the world's leading systems. Rather than relying on past achievements, they are reconceiving how they approach the future. Take Finland – always at or near the top of the Pisa rankings. The director of the Finnish board of education has described how their system has identified the key competencies for lifelong learning, and is setting about transforming their system to ensure they're acquired. Critically, this entails enabling learners to "undertake meaningful problem-based inquiry, which might be multi-disciplinary, supported by blended teaching methods and hybrid resources". The Finns aren't giving up on acquiring knowledge. They just know it's not enough.

Then there's South Korea, another "top performing" system. Perceived as exam-driven, cramming its students, Korea is set to change. Exploring the work of its very best schools has revealed that they focus on providing concentrated time for some subjects (rather than shallow drip-feed); on personalising learning; on evaluating creativity; and on experience-based learning. South Korea is basing its innovation agenda on the "three C's": creativity, collaboration and character.

And finally, take one of the most improved cities in the world in terms of education performance – New York City. Gove recently hosted the former chancellor of the NYC school system, praising the rapid progress made by the city. What he omitted, however, was that NYC has acknowledged its current set of school improvement initiatives is inadequate to deal with the challenges young people face. So it has a launched an Innovation Zone, comprising a distributed network of schools, specifically to test and refine new approaches to learning and teaching that are more personalised and emphasise higher-level skills.

So yes, let's join the global education community seeking out the best ways to make learning engaging and relevant to young people in the digital age. But let's do it with open minds, and attention to all the evidence.

Valerie Hannon is a board director of the Innovation Unit.

source:http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2011/mar/29/pisa-international-education-systems-evidence-compare

International teacher trade unionists gather to debate ‘building the future through quality education for all

EI President, Susan Hopgood, and General Secretary, Fred van Leeuwen, are joined by the heads of South Africa’s largest education unions: SADTU, SAOU and NAPTOSA, and 42 of the most influential teacher union leaders from around the world. They will work together to use their expertise to review global developments in education policy; deliberate best practices to recruit, prepare and support teachers in ways that enhance the profession, and debate how to elevate student performance by access to quality public education for all.

The meeting will also identify the role of teacher unions in reforms and take strategic decisions on EI activity in coming months as it builds up to the sixth EI World Congress which takes place at Cape Town’s International Convention Centre from 22-26 July. The Congress will set out EI’s activity over the next 4 years and elect the global union’s new leaders.

EI President, Susan Hopgood, said: “The Executive Board and Congress are global forums in which teachers and education union leaders meet on the basis of shared interest and partnership to discuss how the confidence, learning and status of teachers can be enhanced. The future of all children and young people depends on qualified and motivated teachers. Our time in Cape Town is an opportunity to set a clear framework for how we achieve this.”

SADTU General Secretary, Mugwene Maluleke, said: “The global economic crisis emerged in financial markets in the developed world but continues to spread and impact in a myriad of ways on both developing and developed nations. EI’s work has shown that the impact of the global economic crisis has not been consistent across countries and within regions. Consequently, the effects on education sectors from early childhood through to higher education have been varied and heavily dependent on policies adopted by governments. The solutions to social, economic and environmental crises have to be global and must engage teachers who are often on the front line of enabling recovery.”

NAPTOSA General Secretary, Henry Hendricks, said: “We are proud to welcome teachers from around the world to our country and the Mother City, Cape Town. While enjoying the obvious charms of the city and its hinterland, delegates will address the many challenges facing education in South Africa as well as in other developing and developed countries. We are convinced that this Congress will be a water-shed that will set the platform to transform education in countries across the globe. We look forward with eager anticipation to working with our colleagues from all over the world in finding the solutions.”

SAOU General Secretary, Chris Klopper, said: “Hosting EI’s Executive Board and World Congress is a real opportunity to exhibit true South African hospitality and prove our prowess at arranging international events. South African unions have taken hands to ensure that the event lives up to everyone’s expectations. It is also an opportunity to prove that diversity is celebrated in South Africa and that all communities are represented by the three national teacher unions. EI fulfils a pivotal role in ensuring that the organised teaching profession is strategically positioned to confront the universal challenges that face education in all countries. The solidarity from EI ensures that unions can take the lead and give guidance in their respective countries to successfully prevail over such challenges. ”

SOURCE:http://www.ei-ie.org/news/news_details/1705

Obama’s Budget Proposes a Significant Increase for Schools

President Obama proposed a 2012 Department of Education budget on Monday that would, if approved, significantly increase federal spending for public schools, and maintain the maximum Pell grant — the cornerstone financial-aid program — at $5,550 per college student.

Whether it will be possible to keep that Pell maximum remains uncertain, however, given that House Republicans have proposed cutting the maximum by about $845, or 15 percent, in their proposal to extend the current budget.

The administration’s education proposal asks for $77.4 billion. That includes $48.8 billion for the portion of the education budget that does not include Pell grants, or an increase of about 4 percent above the 2010 budget. Congress has not yet enacted the 2011 budget.

Among education programs that the administration was protecting was Race to the Top, the competitive grant program that the administration has made its centerpiece initiative. Last year the administration used the Race to the Top to channel $4 billion in economic stimulus money to New York and other states that had proposed bold school improvement plans.

The 2012 budget proposal includes $900 million for Race to the Top, which the administration says would be awarded this time not to states but to school districts. That would make it possible, for instance, to channel money to Houston or other districts in Texas that wanted to compete in the Race to the Top initiative but could not because their state declined to participate.

Some House Republicans are skeptical of the program, however, and — like other line items in the education budget — it could face trims or elimination as Congress works on its own budget and the administration’s.

The Republicans also propose to cut $1.1 billion from the Head Start program, which, according to estimates by theNational Head Start Association, would eliminate services for more than 200,000 children and the jobs of more than 50,000 Head Start employees.

Reacting to the administration’s budget, Representative John Kline, the Minnesota Republican who is chairman of the House Education and the Workforce Committee, indicated a reluctance to invest more in education.

“Over the last 45 years we have increased our investment in education, but the return on that investment has failed to improve student achievement,” Mr. Kline said. “Throwing more money at our nation’s broken education system ignores reality and does a disservice to students and taxpayers.”

The administration’s education proposal also includes $600 million for School Turnaround Grants, another favorite of the president and of Secretary of Education Arne Duncan. This would be a $54 million increase above 2010 levels. The turnaround effort, which the administration hopes will finance makeovers of thousands of the country’s worst schools, was also financed with billions in economic stimulus money.

The vast program known as Title I, which channels money to school districts to help them educate disadvantaged children, would receive $14.8 billion, an increase of $300 million over 2010.

Last year, the president said that, to remain competitive, the nation must increase the number of college graduates. But forced to make deep cuts in many areas of government, the president now proposes to eliminate some provisions of the Pell program, which has doubled in size over five years, and serves nine million low-income students. The administration’s budget would end Pell grants for summer students and end interest subsidies on graduate students’ loans.

“We’re making some tough choices to protect the Pell grant,” Justin Hamilton, a department spokesman, said Monday in an e-mail statement. “We’re cutting where we can so that we can invest where we must.”

Congress passed the legislation providing an extra $36 billion over 10 years for the Pell program, and increasing the maximum grant to $5,550 only last year. But with the new Congress’s emphasis on cost-cutting, Pell grants became a prime focal point for cost-cutting. Beyond the 15 percent cut in this fall’s Pell grants, the House Republicans’ proposal would, over 10 years, cut $56 billion from the program.

Mr. Kline said the Democrats had expanded Pells beyond what taxpayers can afford and put the program on the path to bankruptcy.

But education groups warned that cutting the Pell program would put college out of reach for many low-income students.

“With millions of Americans struggling to make ends meet, cutting Pell grants would pull the rug right out from under students and families who are counting on these crucial grants to help pay for college this fall,” said Lauren Asher of the Project on Student Debt.

source:http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/15/us/15education.html?_r=1&ref=education