By Alison Broad, Director of Primary Education School of Education, University of Birmingham Dogs have traditionally assisted humans and their supportive roles continue to evolve and diversify. There are now courtroom facility dogs (Kaiser 2015) and even funeral therapy dogs, offering ‘love and support to the bereaved’ (Snead, 2018). More than half of Canadian universities … Continue reading “Should dogs be introduced to the classroom?”
Category: Education
How can we tackle the decline of modern languages?
By Dr Adam Cooke, Lecturer in Language Education School of Education, University of Birmingham The idea that languages may be struggling as a curriculum area is hardly new. The legendary Eric Hawkins first discussed a crisis in language learning way back in 1976. The issues so prevalent then: limited take up during the later secondary … Continue reading “How can we tackle the decline of modern languages?”
Advancing Equality in Higher Education
By Professor Kalwant Bhopal, Professor of Education and Social Justice Centre for Research in Race and Education, University of Birmingham An exploratory study of the Athena Swan and Race Equality Charters On Wednesday 13th March, Professor Kalwant Bhopal and Dr Holly Henderson participated in a dissemination event held at the University of Birmingham to discuss … Continue reading “Advancing Equality in Higher Education”
Is the new teacher retention plan feasible?
By Frances Child and Dr Anita Soni School of Education, University of Birmingham From offering cash incentives to a cut down on paperwork, recent plans by the Department of Education, led by Education Secretary Damian Hinds, have set out to tackle the apparent teacher retention crisis in the UK. This serious attempt to address the teacher … Continue reading “Is the new teacher retention plan feasible?”
Should schools rename Religious Education ‘Religion and Worldviews’?
By Professor Michael Hand and Dr Reza Gholami School of Education, University of Birmingham The Commission on Religious Education report has called for an overhaul to Religious Education (RE) in schools and has recommended that the subject should be called ‘religion and worldviews’, to reflect the diversity of today’s world and to incorporate worldviews such … Continue reading “Should schools rename Religious Education ‘Religion and Worldviews’?”
Happiness is in a good book
By Rachael Hunter, Research Fellow at the Jubilee Centre for Character and Virtues The child, through emulation, can develop the love of reading that the adult possesses. On the other hand, the child can enhance the adult’s virtues of open mindedness, optimism and courage, which come from a life less tainted by experience. The mental health … Continue reading “Happiness is in a good book”
Five Tips for International Students
By Dr Idlan Zakaria, Lecturer in Accounting Department of Accounting, University of Birmingham It wasn’t technically my first time in the UK when I arrived here almost two decades ago as a postgraduate student – my family and I spent a few years in the North of England (where my dad was a postgraduate student … Continue reading “Five Tips for International Students”
School progress measures are a missed opportunity for a fairer and more informative approach
By Tom Perry, Teaching Fellow, University of Birmingham, MA School Improvement and Educational Leadership Research Manager, Centre for the Use of Research and Evidence in Education (CUREE) The Progress 8 measures of school performance compare pupils’ GCSE results across 8 subjects to those of other pupils with the same primary school SATs results. There are many reasons … Continue reading “School progress measures are a missed opportunity for a fairer and more informative approach”