A new series of posts: Six Searching questions: answered by Chris Harris

In 2022 the FEPG will be inviting guest speakers who present at  their meetings and other key educational figures to answer ‘ six searching  questions.’
To start the ball rolling we invited FEPG’s Vice chairs Mark Williams and Chris Harris in separate posts  to give their responses.
These are Chris Harris’ responses
Barry Hines and Lady Plowden – asking searching questions.

 

1: If you had the power to transform one thing about education overnight,what would it be?

I would reinstate Sure start funding to at least 2010 levels. (1.8 billion in current value) A variety of research (IFS through Nuffield Foundation for instance) found that the Sure start centres brought ‘big benefits for children’s health’, support information and advice for parents, reductions in hospital admissions for under 11’s-particularly in disadvantaged areas. Reinstating this flagship Labour policy is essential to create an education system that enables all children to succeed from early years onwards.

2: Imagine you were 17/ 18 again and sitting your A levels or equivalent. By which of the following methods would you like your knowledge assessed and grades decided?

A) Timed written examinations

B) Coursework

C) A practical demonstration

D) A formal presentation followed by a q+a?

If I were 17/18 again I would favour a blend of timed written examinations, coursework, practical demonstration, and formal presentation as ways to assess knowledge. Timed written examinations should be no more than 30%. (In some subjects it might be less.) Instead Controlled assessment should return but with more centre protocols to ensure a standardised approach. Opportunities for longer individually chosen academic pieces of coursework offered. Viva voce and practical demonstration should be assessed by external moderators and fellow students in individual or discussion formats (as speaking and listening was in English before its removal from the main qualification under the coalition.) These different agile modes of assessment mirror the variety of ways that the CBI expect students to be ‘work-ready’- targeting resilience, communication and problem solving within the assessment suite alongside traditional literacy numeracy and academic application and recall

3: In your view, what is the most significant development in education over the last hundred years? 

The most significant development in education has to be the 1967 Plowden Report for me. This report into primary education which favoured a creative child-centred approach based on theoretical research (Piaget et al) personally affected my education and experience first-hand. The unleashing of creative approaches meant that after 1967 we had secondary school teachers  who were employed in my old grammar school, who did more than sit reading the Listener whilst we read Shakespeare without any input from them at all! How this changed from 1967 to 1972 when I left. I had teachers who used exploratory approaches, engaged in group and pair work (and discussion!) and I had the opportunity to appear in a series of exciting School productions( Ray Ingram- what a teacher.) By the time I arrived at teacher training college  we all started the four years in Junior Schools then were able to switch to other sectors later- the impact of Lady Plowden’s visionary report was at its height. I could go on for ages about how lucky I was to witness /experience all of it and what a panacea it was to the reductive Govian curriculum. I’ll save it for a book!

 

4: If you were a contestant on Mastermind, what would be your specialist subject? 

If I were on Mastermind, I would pick the silent movie actress Clara Bow as my specialist topic.She had a luminous quality on screen.

5: What’s your favourite book, film or play set in/ around an educational setting?

My favourite film set in an educational setting is Ken Loach’s brilliant ‘Kes’ based on the novel by Barry Hines.

6: What, for you, is the definition of a ‘good education’? 

 A good lifelong education allows every child and adult to enjoy personalised learning, developing an understanding of our interconnected cultural world and progressing with the skills they require for their future chosen pathways.

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