Category Archives: Education

Who needs data literacy?

Big data and artificial intelligence concept.

Is ‘data literacy’ a useful response to the datafication of contemporary life – not least of education itself? It all depends, not only on how it’s defined but also on how it is practically implemented.

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Wizz for Molesworth: British private schools and the making of ‘character’

Portrait

How might a series of children’s books published in the 1950s provide insights into the character of today’s privately educated political leaders?

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Deschooling society? Revisiting Ivan Illich after lockdown

All over the world, the school has an anti-educational effect on society.’ Fifty years ago, Ivan Illich’s book Deschooling Society offered a radical challenge to the very institution of the school. How far might it be relevant to the world after lockdown?

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Enemies of promise? Education, culture and meritocracy under the Conservatives

The argument for restoring ‘traditional’ forms of education is based on dubious claims about social justice. Why the argument for meritocracy needs to be challenged. 

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Teaching Culture: The Missionary Position

The attempt to civilize the uncultured masses is coming back into style. I look back to the Leavisite approach to popular culture, and its place in the history of English teaching.

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