By Dr Sotirios Zartaloudis, Associate Professor in Comparative European Politics POLSIS, School of Government, University of Birmingham One of the major announcements of the new Labour government to improve the UK economy was the so-called “Youth Guarantee” whereby “every 18 to 21-year-old in England will get access to an apprenticeship, training or education opportunities or … Continue reading “The UK Youth Guarantee: A leap forward or window dressing?”
Category: Education
What is AI doing to parent teacher relationships? Collection pot messages and template school reports
By Dr Stephen Jeffares Department of Public Administration and Policy Associate Professor Director of Postgraduate Research, INLOGOV For parents of young children, the end of term errand list includes “pick up a present for the teacher”. It seems best teacher mugs and budget prosecco is being replaced by online collection pots. The most organised parent … Continue reading “What is AI doing to parent teacher relationships? Collection pot messages and template school reports”
How can universities use GenAI?
By Dr Kamilya Suleymenova & Dr Mary Dawood Department of Economics, Birmingham Business School The first open-to-general-public GenAI tool was launched in November 2022 and headlines ranged from exceptionally optimistic to dramatically alarmist. The ability to generate text (as well as code, and later images, audio, and video) was immediately spotted by those involved in … Continue reading “How can universities use GenAI?”
What’s the problem with asking teachers to clean kids’ teeth?
By Dr Kathryn Spicksley British Academy Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Education and Social Justice, University of Birmingham The polls tell us that it looks increasingly likely that a Labour government will be elected in July. For primary school teachers, this change might bring about an additional responsibility; Keir Starmer has proposed to introduce teacher-led toothbrushing … Continue reading “What’s the problem with asking teachers to clean kids’ teeth? “
Why Labour’s promise of 6,500 teachers is not likely to work
By Professor Beng Huat See School of Education, University of Birmingham Labour’s promise of 6,500 new teachers is unlikely to solve the chronic teacher shortage. The issue extends beyond just a lack of teachers or interested individuals. Despite various financial incentives and the Teacher Recruitment and Retention Strategy—which aims to reduce workload, improve school culture, … Continue reading “Why Labour’s promise of 6,500 teachers is not likely to work”
Education, Health and Care plans: why the policy needs to translate into practice
By Professor Laura Crane, Director of the Autism Centre for Education and Research (ACER) at University of Birmingham & Heba Al-Jayoosi, Head of Inclusion at Mayflower Primary School A recent report by BBC news highlighted how councils are failing to meet deadlines to issue Education, Health and Care (EHC) plans to children with Special Educational … Continue reading “Education, Health and Care plans: why the policy needs to translate into practice”
Only Foolish Nations Tax Educational Services: Labour’s Blind Spot and Independent Schools
By Professor John R. Bryson Professor of Enterprise and Economic Geography, The Department of Strategy and International Business, Birmingham Business School One of the underlying themes of the upcoming general election is that Britain is broken, with Sir Keir Starmer pledging to “fix broken Britain”. Nevertheless, it is British political discourse that is broken rather … Continue reading “Only Foolish Nations Tax Educational Services: Labour’s Blind Spot and Independent Schools”
Is BBC Bitesize Still Relevant? Evaluating the Role of Artificial Intelligence in Modern Education
By Dr Joachim Timlon, Assistant Professor of Strategy and International Business and Lei Zhu, PhD student, Department of Management, Birmingham Business School. AI integrated education is not just a future possibility, but a factor fundamentally transforming education. It not only makes learning more dynamic, but also hyper-personalised by using smart algorithms that understand each student’s … Continue reading “Is BBC Bitesize Still Relevant? Evaluating the Role of Artificial Intelligence in Modern Education”
Controversial RSHE Draft: Threatening LGBTQIA+ Education Amidst Election Turmoil
By Joséphine Hengstwerth, Postgraduate Research Student & Member of the Rainbow Network and Dr Sophie King-Hill, Associate Professor in the Health Services Management Centre The new draft Relationships, Sex and Health Education was released on the 16th May this year. There are many issues with this guidance that directly conflict with research and evidence in the … Continue reading “Controversial RSHE Draft: Threatening LGBTQIA+ Education Amidst Election Turmoil “
AI and Democracy: A threat or an opportunity?
By Dr Adam Matthews, School of Education, University of Birmingham 2024 has been described as make or break for democracy worldwide with 1.5 billion citizens going to the polls in more than 50 countries. With many claiming AI will be as disruptive as steam, electricity, printing press, TV and radio, and the internet, AI technologies … Continue reading “AI and Democracy: A threat or an opportunity?”