UK
Education Update
Issue
Five, Feburary 2003
Contents
Schools
Vocational
and Higher Education
Schools
Education
and Training for Students Aged 14-19 (England): stage two
The Government has announced the next stage in its overhaul of education
and training for young people aged 14-19 in England. Following its consultation
document “14-19: extending opportunities, raising standards”
(see UK Education Update 2 – May 2002; item 2) the Minister for
School Standards, David Miliband, set out proposals to increase flexibility
in the curriculum and raise the status of vocational (or “specialist”)
training:
- All young people
will include work-related learning and enterprise learning in their
programs;
- New “hybrid”
qualifications will be developed to include general and specialist options;
- New forms of institutional
partnership across school, college and university to broaden the range
and quality of study;
- The development
of dynamic and innovative partnerships between schools and colleges
and local employers
Concerned about the
large number of students leaving secondary education early, the Government’s
goal is to offer a range of studies tailored more to individual needs.
Proposed changes to the national curriculum mean that the core subjects
of English, math, and applied sciences will remain compulsory while subjects
like modern languages and ICT (information and communication technology)
will be optional. Students will be able to opt for qualifications in subjects
like engineering or tourism or take practical courses at further education
colleges.
The Government is appointing a Working Group on 14-19 Reform to investigate
a broader-based curriculum and the possible introduction of a qualification,
like the Baccalaureate, to replace the current A-level system. The Group
will also look at vocational opportunities and will report its findings
over the next eighteen months.
To read the Minister’s speech outlining the reforms, click here:
http://www.dfes.gov.uk/pns/DisplayPN.cgi?pn_id=2003_0006
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Meeting the Needs of “At Risk”
Students in Scottish Schools
Following the publication of the UK Government's social inclusion strategy
in 1998 and the more recent publication of the Scottish Executive's social
justice strategy, education departments have been developing policies
of educational “inclusion”. Inclusion can be defined as meeting
the educational needs of all individuals regardless of socio-economic,
physical, or other disadvantages.
In the first of a series of reports, Her Majesty's school inspectors in
Scotland have published "Count Us In: Achieving Inclusion in Scottish
schools". The report is based on inspectors’ visits and their
survey of existing best practice in schools.
The report:
- sets the legislative,
policy, educational and social context for developments towards more
inclusive education;
- identifies the
characteristics of inclusive institutions, with examples of good practice
in developing inclusion within primary, secondary and special schools;
- sets out a series
of possible indicators of successful outcomes for inclusive schools;
- sets out some
key messages about inclusive approaches to education.
To read the report
online or download as a PDF file, click here:
http://www.scotland.gov.uk/hmie/count%20on%20us/cui/cui-00.htm
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Reducing Teachers’ Workload in England
and Wales
The Government has signed an “historic” agreement with school
workforce unions in England and Wales aimed at reducing teachers’
workload. The goal is to free up more time for teaching by providing additional
support staff for teachers such as high-level teaching assistants, personal
administrative assistants, and more technical support.
The proposed teaching assistants will receive professional training from
the Teacher Training Agency (TTA) and could eventually progress to full
teacher status. However, the National Union of Teachers (NUT) did not
sign the agreement. It is concerned about the role of the teaching assistants
and wants a clearer definition of the extent of their responsibilities.
For additional information, click here: www.teachernet.gov.uk/remodelling
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Strategies to Tackle Truancy and Disruptive Behavior in Schools
The Government has announced a National Strategy on Behaviour and Attendance
for schools in England. The strategy includes a comprehensive package
of investment for families and schools in challenging circumstances, as
well as sanctions for parents who do not take responsibility for their
children’s behavior.
This means:
- Targeted help
for schools in the most challenging circumstances with intensive support
for around 400 high schools and 1,500 elementary schools educating around
800,000 children
- Funding for over
200 teams specializing in tackling disruptive behavior
- Increasing the
number of Learning Support Units
- Ensuring that
all high schools are fully equipped to deal with discipline issues and
tackle issues such as student behavior at lunchtimes
- Introducing new
rules on exclusions and strengthening appeals panels by ensuring that
a serving or retired head teacher must sit on the panel
- Increasing the
use of police patrols in schools
Parents who fail to
have an influence on their children’s behavior may face fixed-penalty
fines issued by welfare workers, police officers or head teachers. There
is also the possibility of mandatory attendance at parenting classes.
To read more, click
here: http://www.dfes.gov.uk/speeches/12_12_02/index.html
Latest figures from
the Scottish Executive show an increase in violent and abusive behavior
towards school staff. Scotland’s Education Minister has pledged
increased funding and an implementation of the Discipline Task Force’s
recommendations: student support bases, more staff to supervise students
between classes, and home-school link workers.
To read more, click
here: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/pages/news/2003/01/SEed180.aspx
VISIONARY is a new
website that is designed to support violence prevention in schools. It
has been developed for teachers, students, parents and experts across
Europe, and is supported by the European Commission. The UK site presents
online materials,
website links and a discussion forum where current debates include 'Are
girls bigger bullies than boys?' and 'How do we go from a bullying policy
to effective practice?'
To find out more,
click here: http://www.violence-in-school-UK.info
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Citizenship: Mock Elections at Scottish
Schools
Concerned about the
falling voter turn-out among young people the Hansard Society, which promotes
effective parliamentary democracy, is encouraging schools to take part
in mock elections which will mirror the actual elections to the Scottish
Parliament in May. Already a large number of Scottish schools have registered
to take part and are being sent teaching materials to help with the process.
High ranking politicians are showing their support and look forward to
the results which should be revealed the day before the actual election.
For information on
the Hansard Society, click here: http://www.hansardsociety.org.uk/
(Source:
BBC News online, 1/15/03)
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Information and Communications Technology
Research
The British Educational
and Communications and Technology Agency (Becta) has launched a new series
of research digests on its website. The "What the Research Says"
series offers four titles initially, covering
- ICT and reducing
teacher workloads
- Teacher continuing
professional development
- Portable ICT devices
in teaching and learning
- Virtual Learning
Environments in teaching and learning
The papers are aimed
at teachers, ICT coordinators and school managers.
To read more, click here: http://www.becta.org.uk/research/reports/wtrs.cfm
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Resources for Research on Scottish Education
- The Research,
Economic and Corporate Strategy Unit of the Scottish Executive has a
new website called Insight. Its coverage includes information about
the Education Department research program and access to online versions
of its publications. There is an archive containing full versions of
research reports and links to other websites concerned with educational
research. The website is intended to be a resource for policy makers,
and also of use to teachers, social workers, parents, academics, researchers,
consultants and the voluntary sector.
To find out more, click here: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/insight/
- The Scottish Centre
for Research in Education (SCRE) publishes a regular newsletter online.
The "winter" edition of the includes a literature review about
the causes and effects of truancy, and research articles about a local
scheme for reduction of exclusions, and on single-sex education for
girls.
To read more, click here: http://www.scre.ac.uk/newsletters.html
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Vocational
and Higher Education
Education and Training for Students Aged
14-19 (England): stage two
The Government has announced the next stage in its overhaul of education
and training for young people aged 14-19 in England. Following its consultation
document “14-19: extending opportunities, raising standards”
(see UK Education Update 2 – May 2002; item 2) the Minister for
School Standards, David Miliband, set out proposals to increase flexibility
in the curriculum and raise the status of vocational (or “specialist”)
training:
- All young people
will include work-related learning and enterprise learning in their
programs;
- New “hybrid”
qualifications will be developed to include general and specialist options;
- New forms of institutional
partnership across school, college and university to broaden the range
and quality of study;
- The development
of dynamic and innovative partnerships between schools and colleges
and local employers
Concerned about the
large number of students leaving secondary education early, the Government’s
goal is to offer a range of studies tailored more to individual needs.
Proposed changes to the national curriculum mean that the core subjects
of English, math, and applied sciences will remain compulsory while subjects
like modern languages and ICT (information and communication technology)
will be optional. Students will be able to opt for qualifications in subjects
like engineering or tourism or take practical courses at further education
colleges.
The Government is appointing a Working Group on 14-19 Reform to investigate
a broader-based curriculum and the possible introduction of a qualification,
like the Baccalaureate, to replace the current A-level system. The Group
will also look at vocational opportunities and will report its findings
over the next eighteen months.
To read the Minister’s speech outlining the reforms, click here:
http://www.dfes.gov.uk/pns/DisplayPN.cgi?pn_id=2003_0006
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Radical Proposals for Higher Education in
England
The Government has issued proposals for a radical restructuring of higher
education in England. The White Paper, entitled “The Future of Higher
Education”, aims to:
- address the under-funding
of higher education
- enable the leading
research universities to compete with the best in the world;
- increase the participation
rate of 18-30 year-olds from 43% to 50% by 2010;
- encourage more
students from disadvantaged backgrounds to participate in higher
- education and ensure
that they have access to the most prestigious universities; and
- make the student
support system fairer.
In brief, the proposals
include:
- allowing universities,
from 2006, to charge top-up fees of up to £3,000 per year. The
fees would not be paid up front by the student but repaid in the form
of a graduate tax according to future earnings (note: the overseas fees
paid by US students in the UK will not be affected);
- reinstating grants
for students from low-income families (those students’ eligibility
for lower fee status would remain)
- enhancing the
status of the work-related two-year Foundation degrees as a high quality
qualification in its own right and also as a springboard to an Honors
degree
- the appointment
of an Access Regulator who will monitor universities charging higher
fees to ensure fair access, and will have the power to fine institutions
who fail to meet their access targets
- additional research
funding for the very best research institutions (as identified by a
new, higher rating in the Research Assessment Exercise)
- a new emphasis
on teaching with the establishment of 70 Centres of Excellence which
will receive additional funding (giving newer universities a chance
to compete with older, research-based universities)
Overall, the proposals
strongly encourage institutions to play to their strengths and aim to
provide the assistance to allow them to excel whether they offer Foundation
degrees or research Masters. It is likely that the proposals would lead
to more institutions converting to university status (the Paper says that
from 2004/05 it would no longer be necessary to have research degree awarding
powers to become a university). It is also likely that there would be
more institutional mergers and regional alliances.
There will now be a period of consultation on the proposals with feedback
requested from both providers and beneficiaries of higher education.
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- What
it Means for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland
Scotland:
the education system is a devolved area in Scotland and its universities
do not charge tuition fees. However, implementation of the White Paper
in England would force Scottish institutions to look at their funding
with a view to maintaining quality and remaining competitive.
Wales:
funding for student support is not a devolved policy area in Wales. However,
Welsh officials are attempting to negotiate a complex formula that would
limit the impact of fees on students in Wales while protecting Welsh institutions.
The Welsh Assembly controls institutional funding and in theory could
prevent the introduction of differential fees.
Northern
Ireland: with the suspension of the Northern Ireland Assembly
and education under direct rule from England at present, it is unclear
at this early stage how Northern Ireland would be affected by implementation
of the proposals in the White Paper.
To read the policies
outlined in the White Paper in more detail, click here:
www.dfes.gov.uk/highereducation/hestrategy/
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Widening Access: Partners Program in Newcastle
Young people from
families with no tradition of higher education are being encouraged to
attend the University of Newcastle by way of its Partners program. The
program works with 56 schools in the Newcastle region. Teachers identify
potential students, looking in particular at young people in challenging
financial or family circumstances, and the University makes them an admissions
offer with lower grades on their A-levels (school leaving examinations).
The students then attend an intensive two-week summer school. Once admitted
to the University, they are treated the same as any other student.
Data show that the
Partner students are performing as well as their better-qualified peers:
examination re-sit and drop-out rates are below the overall university
average. This result has gone a long way to allay fears among skeptics
about compromising academic standards by admitting less qualified students.
Since its inception in 2000, the program has grown from a 40 to 340 intake.
It is still a small proportion of the 4,000 students at the University
of Newcastle but with the first intake due to graduate this year it is
hoped that participation will increase.
For more information,
click here: http://www.ncl.ac.uk/partners/schools/schoffer.phtml
(Source:
The Guardian, 2/4/03)
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UK Launches International Virtual Medical
School
From August 2004,
students will be able to enroll in the first virtual international medical
school (the International Virtual Medical School, or Ivimeds). It will
enable students around the world to study medicine through a combination
of e-learning and clinical experience at local health facilities. The
Scottish-led venture will give students access to the best international
expertise. Ivimeds has involved many founding partners, including universities
in the UK, China, Malaysia, US (University of Florida), Australia, Germany,
Italy, Ireland and Spain, and bodies such as the American National Board
of Medical Examiners.
For more information,
click here: http://www.ivimeds.org
(Source:
Times Higher Education Supplement, 2/7/03).
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Increase in International Students to the
UK
The continued growth
in the number of overseas students recruited by UK universities is forcing
institutions to rethink campus culture and their student financial support
arrangements.
New figures from the
Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) show a 19.6% rise
in the number of overseas students accepted into UK higher education last
year compared with 2001. An analysis by the UK Council for Overseas Student
Affairs (Ukcosa) shows that this is continuing a trend that began in 1989.
Adjusting for a change in the counting method used, which excluded visiting
and incoming exchange students, Ukcosa found that the number of overseas
students recruited in 2001 amounted
to a 15% increase on the previous year.
A survey by Ukcosa
shows that many institutions are making adjustments to fee policies, arrangements
for student support and counseling and to campus life in an effort to
accommodate the increasing numbers of international students.
(Source:
Times Higher Education Supplement, 1/23/03)
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Footnote:
In the last issue of the Update (November 2002) we mentioned proposed
mergers of prestigious universities including Imperial College and University
College London, both part of the University of London system. Following
strong opposition by faculty at UCL, who feared a take-over rather than
a merger, any further talks of merging have been cancelled. However, both
colleges have indicated plans to increase collaboration in the future.
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Upcoming
Events/Conferences
British Council Seminars
are offering the following on education issues:
Language
teaching and citizenship in international contexts
March 30 – April 4, 2003
Leicester
This seminar will
examine the role ELT can play in raising awareness of citizenship. Topics
to be discussed include the interface between ELT and society, the changing
role of English language, building citizenship into the ELT curriculum
and building a framework for defining the citizenship role. Case studies
from a range of countries will be examined.
Contact: Stephen Finn;
01144 1875 302715 or blueteam.seminars@britishcouncil.org
Youth Policy: have we got it right?
8 – 13 June, 2003
UK venue to be confirmed
Have youth policy-makers
got it right? This seminar will offer policy-makers
opportunities to test out their policies in discussion with young people.
Contact: Carole Loftus;
01144 1875 302703 or redteam.seminars@britishcouncil.org
Quality
Assurance in Schools
15-20 June, 2003
UK venue to be confirmed
Share ideas on approaches
to promoting quality in education in order to raise standards in schools
at local and national levels.
Contact: Ian Wilde;
01144 1875 302713 or yellow.team@britishcouncil.org
For more information
on British Council Seminars, click here: http://www2.britishcouncil.org/seminars
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For
More Information
If there are any topics
you would like to see covered in future editions of the Update, please
contact: alison.corbett@us.britishcouncil.org,
Education Research Officer, The British Council USA
This, and previous
issues of the UK Education Update, can be viewed here.
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Additional contacts
jenny.scott@us.britishcouncil.org
Director Education, The British Council USA
andy.mackay@us.britishcouncil.org,
Director, The British Council USA
judith.grant@worldnet.att.net
, Consultant to the British Embassy
British Embassy website; www.britainUSA.com
To add or remove a
name from the distribution list, please email alison.corbett@us.britishcouncil.org
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