Education: A Contested
Enterprise
Alpha Plus Next Gen Taskforce
15 January 2009
Nick HitchenFalcons School for Girls
The Alpha Gold Standard
The Common Sense Discourse
(The Times; 6/12/08, reader comment)
My son is 4 years old & it is my intention for him to go to private school when he is 11. This will involve living in a
smaller house, but I am happy to do this for the benefits he will get. Smaller classes, access to a variety of sports,
languages & good old fashioned non-PC teaching!
Typology of Ideologies in Education
Individual (progressive)
Knowledge (traditional)
Society (egalitarianism & elitism)
Teacher X & Teacher Y
X
externally motivates
pupils through
controlling actions
Y
encourage intrinsic
motivation through self-development
(McGreagor)
I.Q.
Innate, immutable ability
Cognitive Developmental Theory
Intellectual & moral development as sequential
(Piaget)
Constructivism
(Vygotsky)
People make their own sense
of things in a unique way
Need to give learners responsibility for their own learning
Metacognition
Learning Styles
Learning Approaches
Learning Style
Learning Strategy
Learning Preferences
Learning Styles
Howard Gardener
V.A.K
Sternberg: analytical, creative & practical
Emotional Intelligence
Buzan MindMaps
Left / Right Brain
Personalised Learning
The purpose of education for all children is the same; the goals are the
same. But the help that individual children need in progressing towards
them will be different.’
(Warnock)
Sociological perspective
Development of basic skills
Socialisation
Social control / social order
Preparing for work
The Fear!
Pupil-centered, discursive pedagogy sees
degree of control pass to the pupils...
Political context (with a small ‘p’)
Neo-liberalismChoice and competition
Neo-conservatismUphold traditional values
Experiments
Continual Conflict
No correct answer
Interaction between competing ideologies
Tension between neo-liberal and neo-conservatism
Gold Standard – permission to experiment
Questions
?
?
?
? Is education a process?
Is education a product to be consumed?
What does education involve?
Where does education take place?