Home Tags Posts tagged with "Crisis"
Tag:

Crisis

Education

Plan now to avoid post-Brexit languages crisis, say MPs

by Rajdeep
written by Rajdeep

Children and teacher look at globe

The government must plan now to avoid a post-Brexit languages crisis, say a cross-party group of MPs and peers.

Trade talks after leaving the EU will need more UK officials with language skills, say the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Modern Languages.

There is already a languages skills shortage but currently the UK can rely on other EU nationals “to plug the gap”, say the group.

Ministers say their reforms are already boosting language learning in schools.

Language checklist

Launching a checklist on Brexit and languages, the group say lack of language ability loses the UK an estimated 3.5% of economic performance.

The country currently relies on the EU to negotiate trade deals but this will no longer be possible once the UK has left the Union, they add.

APPG co-chair Baroness Coussins said: “Brexit must make the UK’s language skills a top policy issue.

“Language skills are vital for our exports, education, public services and diplomacy.”

Baroness Coussins called for “a national plan to ensure the UK produces the linguists we need to become a world leader in global free trade and on the international stage.”

The group identify a need to boost skills in both European and non-European languages for the purposes of trade, international relations and security.

In particular, they fear the loss of European language skills if EU nationals already living in the UK are not guaranteed residency status post Brexit.

They also want the UK to continue full participation in the Erasmus+ scheme,where young people study, work volunteer and train abroad in Europe, some working as language assistants in schools.

The checklist includes calls to:

  • Guarantee residency status for EU nationals already living in the UK
  • Continue full participation in Erasmus+
  • Set up a national plan to boost language education from primary school through to post-graduate level

‘Critical shortage’

“It is essential that schools continue to be able to recruit EU nationals post-Brexit,” said Malcolm Trobe, interim general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders.

“There is already a critical shortage of language teachers and the last thing that we need is anything which makes this situation worse.

“We understand that Brexit means Brexit but it is vital that it does not also mean a full-blown crisis in language teaching.”

Mike Buchanan, head of Ashford School and chairman of the Headmasters and Headmistresses Conference, said independent schools were proud of their “increasingly central role in ensuring the survival of languages in British universities”.

“But more is needed to reverse this trend. The national situation is parlous,” said Mr Buchanan.

Sara Davidson, head of modern languages at the private Oundle School and chairwoman of the Independent Schools Modern Languages Association, said she did not know of a language department that did not employ native speakers.

“Native speakers are helping us out amidst a major recruitment crisis in modern language teaching.

“We simply do not currently produce enough linguists in this country to fill the modern language teaching vacancies we have.”

Ruth Sinclair-Jones, UK director of Erasmus+, said the value of the scheme to the UK “cannot be underestimated”.

“Losing UK participation would limit the future prospects of young people and the country as a whole,” she said.

And Mark Herbert, head of schools programmes at the British Council, said: “Learning a language isn’t just a rewarding way to connect with another culture but boosts individual job prospects, as well as business and trade opportunities for the UK.”

A Department for Education spokeswoman said government policies meant the number of students taking one language at GCSE was up from 40% in 2010 to 49% this year.

The spokeswoman added: “The UK’s future access to the Erasmus+ programme will be part of wider discussions with the EU.

“Existing higher education UK students studying in the EU will continue to be subject to current arrangements.”

[Source:- BBC]

0 comment
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
Education

Computers and textbooks will not solve growing global education crisis alone, major report finds

by Rajdeep
written by Rajdeep

computers.jpg

Simply spending money on computers and materials will not solve a growing global education crisis, experts have warned.

A major new report reviewing the impact of education programmes in lower and middle-income countries has revealed that computer-assisted learning, widely regarded as one of the most effective and forward-thinking classroom tools, does not improve learning outcomes in all contexts.

In some cases, such programmes even had a negative effect on learning, leading to concerns that education funding was being wasted in areas where resources were especially limited.

The study follows concerns that improvements in children’s school enrolment rates have slowed down considerably over the past decade.

More than a quarter of a billion school-age children are not currently in any formal education, according to Unesco figures, a much higher figure than previously estimated.

Birte Snilstveit, a Senior Evaluation Specialist for the International Initiative for Impact Evaluation (3ie) who co-authored the report, said: “We find that just providing free computers and textbooks does not always improve learning outcomes.

“Our interpretation of this is not that children don’t need computers or textbooks to learn, but that many of these programmes have been poorly designed or poorly implemented.

“For instance, the teachers may not have been given training on how to use the computers in their teaching which may then result in lessons of lower quality.

“As for textbooks, in many poor countries you have a history of many different languages being spoken.

 “It’s likely that English will be used at school but another language will be spoken at home. So children may be using textbooks that are in their third language when they are only just starting primary school.”

By analysing research from top education bodies across the globe, the NGO was able to determine the best and worst cases of development within education.

“The pattern we see with the education programmes that fail is unsurprising, because they tend to be badly thought through or poorly implemented,” said Ms Snilstveit.

“In order to reach sustainable development goals, education programmes being offered to areas of must be better designed to ensure that money is being spent wisely.”

“Textbooks and computers and building schools – these are things that are quite visible to the public and may receive funding more easily. But such resources need to be integrated with the curriculum, provided in a language children understand and combined with training for teachers on how to incorporate new materials in their teaching.”

Part of the UN’s sustainable development goals state that by 2030, all girls and boys should complete a free, high-quality primary and secondary education system.

On current trends, however, it is believed that universal primary education will be achieved in 2042, all children of lower secondary school age will have schooling in 2059 and upper secondary schooling will not be universally available until 2084.

World leaders attending a UN General Assembly last month were urged to better address the growing education crisis, particularly in war-torn and underdeveloped countries.

Nobel Peace Prize laureate Malala Yousafzai also called on government officials to guarantee all refugee children access to a full 12-year education, in order to avoid a lost academic generation.

Speaking on 3ie’s analysis, Ms Snilstveit said: “Part of the issue is that the challenges in some of these countries are so great and the resources being put into education are so limited but they are being put into the wrong places.

“Yes, we need more money for education – but we need to make sure that money is being spent as effectively as it can be. Across low- and middle-income countries around the world, we find that successful programmes are those that are well-designed and implemented, and appropriately customised for the local context.”

The systematic review also contained positive findings, in that structured pedagogy programmes –whereby schools were given materials, curricula and teacher training customised to their needs – had seen proven positive developments to learning.

“Education is everyone’s responsibility,” she added, “we need to use what we know works, but also find new, better ways of improving learning outcomes and ensuring better spending of resources to tackle this education crisis.”

[Source:- BBC]

0 comment
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
Education

Nurseries at risk as staffing crisis hits, campaigners say

by Rajdeep
written by Rajdeep

Children following teacher's instruction

Nurseries in England are struggling to recruit qualified staff putting them at risk of closure, campaigners have said.

Since 2014, the government has said key nursery workers must have at least a grade C in GCSE English and maths.

But campaign group Save our Early Years said there was now evidence that this requirement was blocking staff career paths and deterring new starters.

The Department for Education said it was working with the profession on a future staffing strategy.

Figures from qualifications body Ofqual show about 12,500 students completed the Level 3 Early Years Educator course between July and September 2015, compared with 18,000 in the same period in the previous year – a fall of about 30%.

The course, which takes between one and two years to obtain, enables students to obtain their first jobs in nurseries and work with children aged under five.

‘Turn away children’

But industry leaders warn the drop in the number of those completing it is evidence of an impending recruitment crisis, which is already damaging the quality of childcare on offer to parents.

It also puts in jeopardy government plans to introduce 30 hours of free childcareto all three and four-year-olds from 2017, they say.

Under current rules, staff are only allowed to look after a specified number of children:

  • Aged one and under – One worker to three children
  • Two-year-olds – One worker to four children
  • Three and four-year-olds – One worker to eight children or one to 13 if the group is teacher-led.

The government requires that there must always be at least one member of staff qualified to Level 3 on duty, which means these staff are essential to all nurseries.

Julie Hyde, executive director at the childcare qualifications awarding body Cache, said if the government did not reverse its decision, there would be “no nursery staff and therefore parents would have no childcare”.

Liz Bayram, chief executive of the charity Professional Association for Childcare and Early Years, said nursery chains were able to move staff around to cover gaps, but sole nurseries would be hardest hit by the crisis, she added.

In the association’s survey of 75 Further Education college leaders, almost three quarters (72%) reported that enrolments on Level 3 courses had decreased in the latest academic year (2015-16), compared with the previous year.

A separate survey of 278 private nursery owners and managers across England suggested the main reasons for nursery staff leaving their jobs were low pay and a lack of progression due mainly to the GCSE requirements.

Purnima Tanuku, chief executive of the National Day Nurseries Association, which conducted the poll, said: “The serious staffing problems caused largely by these GCSE requirements can make these businesses unsustainable and force them to turn away children.”

‘Loved and hugged’

June O’Sullivan provides care for 4,500 children at 38 nurseries across London.

As chief executive of London Early Years Foundation, she is currently grappling with her business’s recruitment and retention policy to try to fill 90 vacancies (of her 650 staff) for Level 3 nursery workers.

She fears that unless the government changes the requirements, the industry will end up with more unqualified staff and nurseries will see a high turnover of staff.

“People just don’t understand the importance of the harmonious relationship you have to build with the children, their parents and the staff,” she says.

If parents can’t be sure their children are in safe hands, in a place where they are loved, hugged and taught, this may affect their confidence in going out to work every day, she adds.

Ultimately, there may be fewer nurseries, especially in London, if funds are eaten up paying agency costs. “Nurseries are not great profit makers. There is very little margin,” she says.

‘Counterproductive policy’

Former childcare minister Liz Truss introduced the GCSE requirement in 2014 in an effort to raise the quality of care.

But campaigners want the new childcare minister, Caroline Dinenage, to accept equivalent or similar qualifications, such as Functional Skills, which also tests numeracy and literacy.

Neil Leitch, chief executive of the Pre-school Learning Alliance, said: “It seems completely counterproductive to persist with a policy that is actively blocking qualified, passionate and able early years practitioners from entering the sector.

“To say that the GCSE requirement is causing a recruitment crisis is not an exaggeration,” he added.

Writing in Nursery World earlier this month, Caroline Dinenage hinted at a possible shift in government thinking, saying: “Our Workforce Strategy is in development and I am looking at ways of getting the best individuals into the profession, while recognising that excellence can be measured by qualities other than exam results.”

A Department for Education spokeswoman said: “We want to make sure we get the best staff into the early years sector.

“We are working with the profession to look at how we can develop people’s talents and keep our most experienced staff. This is backed up by record investment in childcare – £6bn per year by the end of this parliament.”

[Source:- BBC]

0 comment
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
Education

Teacher training budget slashed, despite recruitment crisis

by Rajdeep
written by Rajdeep

training funding falls

The funding cuts were made when Scottish teachers were struggling to find jobs, but levels have never recovered, despite shortages in many areas

Universities have called for the Scottish government to increase funding for teacher training after it emerged that spending was now £13 million lower than seven years ago – despite the ongoing recruitment crisis.

The government has sought to reassure the public over recent teacher shortages, stressing that it has increased spending on initial teacher education (ITE) every year for the past five years.

And it has been quick to highlight its investment in new routes into the profession, including redundant oil workers retraining as secondary teachers.

However, figures obtained by TESS that span the past 10 years show that spending on ITE has fluctuated wildly over the period and is now substantially lower than it was a decade ago.

For the 2016-17 academic year, the teaching grant stands at £25.6 million – £13 million lower than in 2009-10 when £38.6 million was spent on teacher training.

The figures also show that between 2009-10 and 2010-11, funding for ITE was cut by around a quarter (£10 million), from £38.6 million to £28.6 million.

The cut was a measure to cope with rising numbers of unemployed teachers, but funding for ITE has never fully recovered, despite recent teacher shortages.

At the time, teaching unions, parents’ groups and politicians criticised the move and warned that it could lead to a shortage of teachers in future years.

‘Turbulent’ impact

Universities are calling for the government to increase its investment in ITE because schools of education are being forced to fall back on associate tutors employed on precarious contracts.

Dr Rowena Arshad, head of the University of Edinburgh’s Moray House School of Education, said: “The impact on schools like mine can be quite turbulent if there are significant spikes or downturns [in funding].

“This is because we will have staffing in place, or not, and will have to respond to those spikes or downturns. Employing new staff, or losing staff, is not a quick process…I suspect that all stakeholders are agreed that a yo-yo scenario is not a good one.”

A Scottish government spokesperson said that more than £2 million funding was being made available to train an extra 260 teachers in the coming academic year, and the target for 2016-17 was 66 per cent higher than 2011-12.

[Source:- tes]

0 comment
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
Education

Detroit’s Massive School Protests Are the Latest Signs of a National Education Crisis

by Rajdeep
written by Rajdeep

May has been a tumultuous month for educators and students in Detroit. It started with a “sick-out” on Monday, May 2, when teachers walked out of 94 of the city’s 97 public schools in protest of budget cuts and a state takeover they say has put their school system hundreds of millions of dollars in debt and threatened to leave them without pay. The week ended with potential but controversial relief: Republican state legislatorspassed a bill that would give $500 million to Detroit’s broke school district.

“This package of bills resolves the financial problems faced by DPS [Detroit Public Schools] without affecting funding for school districts across the state and allows for every tool available to improve the DPS students’ education,” said Republican Representative Daniela Garcia, vice chair of the state’s House Committee on Education, in a statement. “For decades, students in Detroit have not received an adequate education, and the result is the worst academic achievement in the nation. This bill package ensures that schools that are consistently the lowest achieving are shut down and will no longer fail Detroit students. There are no more excuses.”

Garcia, along with representatives from DPS, did not respond to requests for comment.

But, according to union leaders, that $500 million falls short of what the school system needs for a financially stable future, and it comes with huge caveats, at least in the views of the teachers who are protesting. The bill, sponsored by House Republicans, but opposed by virtually every Democratic legislator in Michigan, would limit the ability of teachers to organize and punish teachers who choose to go on strike in the future. The state Senate, which is also controlled by Republicans, would have to pass the bill too, but it’s unclear whether that will happen because state Senators have shown favorfor a different rescue bill that is more union, less charter-school friendly. The bill would also create a new district that would oversee all of Detroit’s schools. Teachers from the old district would keep their jobs but with new, non-unionized contracts, their pay would be tied to performance as opposed to seniority, and schools would be overseen by a new commission that would decide which to keep open and which to close based on test performance and graduation rates.

“It’s hard for me to believe we’re making progress when I didn’t get paid for two days this week because the state didn’t have enough money,” Emma Howland-Bolton, a fifth grade teacher who has taught at two Detroit public schools in the past six years, told VICE. “Progress would be having our schools funded.”

0 comment
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
error: Content is protected !!