2007 December:   Education
Anchor:   Base Index
Other months:    November  January
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Topics:   Behaviour  childhood  curriculum  environment  failure  finance  languages  literacy  mathematics  physical  political  preschool  primary  professions  science  secondary  skills  sport  teachers  technology  testing  tertiary  trades
Behaviour and Environment(see also in Science) last  down  top   back  on

Keep Christmas gadgets 'at home', BBC, 2007 Dec. 28 (parents are urged to ensure their children keep their Christmas gadgets out of class)
Alok Jha, Bullying is in the genes, Guardian, 2007 Dec. 27 (scientists have found a strong genetic influence on whether a child becomes a bully or a victim of bullying)
Polly Curtis, School results still depend heavily on class, Guardian, 2007 Dec. 13 (bright children from poor homes outperformed by less gifted children from wealthy homes, finds research)
Jess Smee, Berlin schools hire guards after attacks on pupils, Guardian, 2007 Dec. 11 (for thousands of children in Berlin, this week started with a new sight: security guards at the school gates)
Suzanne Goldenberg, American teen pregnancies rise for the first time in 15 years, Guardian, 2007 Dec. 7 (Bush administration under attack for diverting funds from sex education to abstinence programmes)
Bridie Smith, Snarl, you're on bully camera as schools act, The Age, 2007 Dec. 5 (schools are spending tens of thousands of dollars on high-tech devices to beat bullying in the schoolyard)
Childhood(see also Preschool and in Social) up  down  top   back  on

Benedict Carey, Foster care better for I.Q. than orphanage, study finds, IHT, 2007 Dec. 20 (the results of U.S. research in Romania, being published on Friday in the journal Science, found that toddlers placed in foster families developed significantly higher I.Q.s by age 4, on average, than peers who spent those years in an orphanage)
Libby Brooks, Comment: A tide of bland imagery tells girls that sexy is everything, Guardian, 2007 Dec. 20 (pre-teens are increasingly being deluged with the message that an alluring appearance ought to be their ultimate goal)
Lisa Harker, Comment: School must start at seven, Guardian, 2007 Dec. 12 (the new Children's Plan ignores the one change that could transform the learning experience)
Natasha Wallace, Older kids choose TV over exercise, The Age, 2007 Dec. 12 (children aged 10 to 12 years old spend half the amount of time doing moderate physical activity they did when they were five to six and watch an "excessive" three hours of television a day, according to a study by Deakin University)
Deborah Gough, Cuddles give tiny brains a head start, The Age, 2007 Dec. 9 (children who suffer extreme neglect show signs of stunted brain growth, potentially leading to a lifetime of difficult relationships, behavioural problems and lower educational outcomes)
Barry Dickins, Through the eyes of innocents, The Age, 2007 Dec. 4 (want to learn about the world?; sit on the floor with the children)
Sherrill Nixon, Parents urged to chill out, The Age, 2007 Dec. 3 (in this age of hyper-parenting, the "enrichment opportunities" for children are endless as adults fill their pre-schoolers' days with activities to give them a leg-up in life)
Deborah Gough, Dark, not terror, remains biggest fear for children, The Age, 2007 Dec. 2 (despite the rise of terrorism and other modern horrors, today's children are still scared by the same things that have always frightened children - the dark, getting lost and animals)
Curriculum up  down  top   back  on

Sensitivity concern over RS exam, BBC, 2007 Dec. 21 (coursework in religious studies GCSEs has been scrapped because of concerns children are being left to study "sensitive" topics unsupervised)
Primary curriculum to be reviewed, BBC, 2007 Dec. 9 (a "root and branch" review is planned into what is taught in English primary schools to allow more time for reading, writing and maths, Ed Balls has said)
Vanessa Thorpe and Nicholas Watt, Pupils to get five hours of arts lessons a week, Observer, 2007 Dec. 9 (schools are told to make artistic experience 'a key part of childhood')
James Meikle, School poetry teaching too limited, Ofsted says, Guardian, 2007 Dec. 7 (primaries choosing too many lightweight poems; GCSE pupils put off by dull, technical approach)
Jonathan Wolff, Comment: Plato for primaries, Guardian, 2007 Dec. 4 (what is the meaning of life when you're six?)
Failure and Testing up  down  top   back  on

Polly Curtis, Sats marking flawed again, Guardian, 2007 Dec. 28 (watchdog expresses concerns over potential flaws in marking)
Polly Curtis and Will Woodward, Medical schools told to ignore test results, Guardian, 2007 Dec. 19 (medical schools told to ignore results from a test this year after the examiners decided too many scored high mark)
Alice Pung, Take a number and grow with it, The Age, 2007 Dec. 16 (our tertiary entrance rank, the ENTER, is often tacitly—and wrongly—considered a combined intelligence test and character evaluation, proof of how hard we've worked, perhaps even evidence of the full brim of our intellectual capacity)
Polly Curtis, Tests overhaul will give children second chance, Guardian, 2007 Dec. 10 (review to put emphasis on assessment by teachers; commercial pressures on childhood to be examined)
Anthea Lipsett, Pressure driving some schools to cheat, say teachers, Guardian, 2007 Dec. 6 (five primaries stripped of stage 2 Sats results; Minister praises highest ever standards at age 11)
Pledge to do more for dyslexics, BBC, 2007 Dec. 5 (children with dyslexia are to receive extra help in some schools in England under a £3m pilot scheme)
Anushka Asthana, More black teachers will end underachievement, Observer, 2007 Dec. 2 (a major drive to get more black teachers into the classroom will be launched this week by MPs and campaigners who say the change will improve the performance of black boys)
Finance(see also Politics) up  down  top   back  on

Education: The race is not always to the richest, Economist, 2007 Dec. 8 (money and effort aren't enough to impart the skills and knowledge needed in a cut-throat world)
Farrah Tomazin, Public schools go private, The Age, 2007 Dec. 6 (Victorian public schools will be built and maintained in partnership with private companies for the first time)
Josh Gordon, Reality Check: DIY or partnership—what's best?, The Age, 2007 Dec. 6 (the problem is, the deals are usually so complicated and secretive that working out whether they are good value for the public is very difficult)
Construction on campus: Just add cash, Economist, 2007 Dec. 1 (the great expanding American university)
Languages and Literacy up  down  top   back  on

Polly Curtis, £53m to revive languages in schools, Guardian, 2007 Dec. 20 (ministers unveil a package that is only £5m more than last year and delivers an extra £5,340 to each school)
Schools to get £340 for languages, BBC, 2007 Dec. 19 (primary schools in England will receive about £340 each next year to make language lessons compulsory)
Jon Henley, Can you learn English in a month?, Guardian, 2007 Dec. 19 (the short answer is, it depends what you mean by 'English')
Multi-lingual pupil numbers rise, BBC, 2007 Dec. 17 (the proportion of primary school pupils in England with English as a second language has risen by 73% in a decade)
Vanessa Thorpe, Subversive rhymes are child's play, Observer, 2007 Dec. 16 (lottery funds will be used to research changes in playground songs and how they break taboos)
Charlotte Higgins, Comment: An audience with Rome, Guardian, 2007 Dec. 10 (as Latin is introduced to inner-city schools, we can finally stop thinking of it as a 'posh' language)
Mathematics and Science up  down  top   back  on

Julie Steenhuysen, Apes make monkeys of college students, The Age, 2007 Dec. 19 (monkeys performed about as well as college students at mental addition in a study American researchers say suggests non-verbal mathematics skills are not unique to humans)
Warning over science teacher data, BBC, 2007 Dec. 10 (a lack of reliable data is making the science and maths teacher shortage worse, it is claimed)
Maths 'plateaus' in secondaries, BBC, 2007 Dec. 6 (progress in maths stalls in the first years of secondary school, an academic's study suggests)
Anushka Asthana, State pupils shun science, Observer, 2007 Dec. 2 (pupils from comprehensive schools are shunning science A-levels, according to new research which shows those from independent and grammar schools are far more likely to study chemistry, physics and biology)
Physical and Sport up  down  top   back  on

Sam Jones, Take children for hour's exercise daily during holiday, parents told, Guardian, 2007 Dec. 27 (government tells parents to take children outside for an hour's exercise over the Christmas holidays)
Wii players need to exercise too, BBC, 2007 Dec. 21 (playing "active" computer games such as the Nintendo Wii is no substitute for playing real sports, warn experts)
Mike Baker, More ball games, Guardian, 2007 Dec. 18 (all work and no play makes Jack a sad boy)
National strategy on play pledged, BBC, 2007 Dec. 11 (the government promised to launch a national strategy on play and pledges millions of pounds for playgrounds)
Play and learning children's plan, BBC, 2007 Dec. 11 (more playgrounds, support for parents and a review of primary school tests are in a wide-ranging Children's Plan)
Natasha Wallace, Older kids choose TV over exercise, The Age, 2007 Dec. 12 (children aged 10 to 12 years old spend half the amount of time doing moderate physical activity they did when they were five to six and watch an "excessive" three hours of television a day, according to a study by Deakin University)
Minister backs boxing in schools, BBC, 2007 Dec. 7 (sports minister Gerry Sutcliffe wants to increase the number of schools offering boxing to their pupils)
Politics(see also Finance) up  down  top   back  on

Chris Wheat, The making of a school, The Age, 2007 Dec. 19 (Monday's report that the Premier and his Education Minister have decided to consider bribing successful university graduates to work in disadvantaged schools suggests an exhaustion of imagination; not quite a silly idea but a rather feeble response to a big problem)
Gary Tippet and Reid Sexton, Opportunity's knocks, The Age, 2007 Dec. 16 (with the increased size and visibility of the Indian student population has come a corresponding increase in discrimination; the opportunity to gain a permanent residency visa has lured many of the 80,000-odd international students seeking Australian degrees this year)
Shaking up education: No place for a child, Economist, 2007 Dec. 15 (doing less for Britain's allegedly unhappy children might be the best policy)
Farrah Tomazin, Move to woo graduates for problem schools, The Age, 2007 Dec. 10 (top university graduates could be given incentives to work in underperforming schools under a plan being considered by the Victorian Government)
Brian J Caldwell, Aiming to be first class, The Age, 2007 Dec. 6 (education should be a top priority, but the Rudd Government is not tackling big picture issues)
Farrah Tomazin, Rudd's revolution falls short, The Age, 2007 Dec. 6 (all teachers should be required to get a master's degree and the best teachers should be given financial incentives to work in struggling schools if the Rudd Government is serious about an "education revolution", according to a leading education expert)
Jessica Shepherd, A very Chinese revolution, Guardian, 2007 Dec. 4 (China's education system is undergoing a radical overhaul almost overnight; what can we learn from their methods?)
Mark Pesce, Brace for a steep re-learning curve, The Age, 2007 Dec. 2 (Kevin Rudd's education revolution will take more than laptops in high schools)
Primary and Preschool(see also Childhood) up  down  top   back  on

Robert Booth, Let boys play with toy guns, ministers advise nursery staff, Guardian, 2007 Dec. 29 (the Department for Children, Schools and Families said boys aged between three and five had fallen behind their female classmates partly because nursery staff tried to curb their desire for boisterous play involving weapons)
Warren St John, Georgia school melds a world of differences, IHT, 2007 Dec. 25 (the International Community School, which goes from kindergarten through sixth grade, began five years ago to address a pressing local problem: how to educate a flood of young refugees; it has evolved into a laboratory for the art of getting along, a place that embraces the idea that people from different cultures and classes can benefit one other, even as administrators, teachers and parents acknowledge the many practical difficulties)
Jason Dowling, Preschools face education revamp, The Age, 2007 Dec. 23 (child-care centres and kindergartens would have a greater emphasis on education under a State Government push for more structured learning for young Victorians)
Play and learning children's plan, BBC, 2007 Dec. 11 (more playgrounds, support for parents and a review of primary school tests are in a wide-ranging Children's Plan)
Lisa Harker, Comment: School must start at seven, Guardian, 2007 Dec. 12 (the new Children's Plan ignores the one change that could transform the learning experience)
Jonathan Wolff, Comment: Plato for primaries, Guardian, 2007 Dec. 4 (what is the meaning of life when you're six?)
Professions and Trades(see also Skills) up  down  top   back  on

Anna Bawden, The basics no longer suffice, Guardian, 2007 Dec. 18 (Germany's vocational training scheme is so popular, it often takes only the most able students)
Nassim Khadem, Employers dangle baits to help beat skills shortages, The Age, 2007 Dec. 18 (the results of Treasury's interviews confirm the need for the Rudd Government to commit to its inflation-fighting agenda of tackling skills shortages and infrastructure bottlenecks in the economy—an issue that will be an integral part of this week's Council of Australian Governments meeting)
Farrah Tomazin, Trades beat university in retention stakes, The Age, 2007 Dec. 15 (young people more likely to drop out of university than quit an apprenticeship, regardless of how well they did in high school, a State Government study finds)
Donald MacLeod, Open schools for skills training, Guardian, 2007 Dec. 6 (influential government education adviser calls for a tier of technical schools teaching vocational diplomas)
Secondary up  down  top   back  on

Failing schools 'need teamwork', BBC, 2007 Dec. 27 (head teachers say twinning failing schools with good ones is the best way to turn them around)
Bridie Smith, The price of success: from $80 to $20,000, The Age, 2007 Dec. 20 (Charlton College charges parents a voluntary fee of only $80 a year, but the state school in the Wimmera-Mallee has rivalled leading private schools for academic performance)
Skills(see also Professions and in Computing) up  down  top   back  on

Phyllis Korkki, Tips for the tech-averse, IHT, 2007 Dec. 17 (mastering a certain type of technology would help you immensely in your work, but every time you try to learn it, you become frustrated and give up; what can you do?)
Barry Fitzgerald, Mining booms, but skills dearth looms, The Age, 2007 Dec. 19 (a survey, covering 90% of Australia's mineral production, found chronic shortages in skilled labour and key construction and production inputs, such as tyres, locomotives, draglines and grinding mills; these would continue to cause delays and increase project costs)
Alan Wells, Making a list, checking it twice, Guardian, 2007 Dec. 18 ('tis the season to be very worried about adult skills)
PA, Hundreds of authors urge PM to tackle child illiteracy, Guardian, 2007 Dec. 15 (more than 500 writers have called on Gordon Brown to confront the issue of childhood illiteracy)
Talk more in class, experts say, BBC, 2007 Dec. 14 (education experts say children should be allowed to talk more in class, despite the traditional view that chatter can be disruptive)
Bridie Smith, Alarm as students start to slip, The Age, 2007 Dec. 5 (Australian students are slipping in the key areas of maths and reading when compared to their overseas counterparts)
Chris Arnott, Better shape up, Guardian, 2007 Dec. 4 (universities must work with employers to give students and employees the skills they need)
Teachers up  down  top   back  on

Thousands of teachers 'leave job', BBC, 2007 Dec. 27 (more than 250,000 qualified teachers no longer work in schools, according to research by the Tories)
Farrah Tomazin, Move to woo graduates for problem schools, The Age, 2007 Dec. 10 (top university graduates could be given incentives to work in underperforming schools under a plan being considered by the Victorian Government)
Jo Revill, Schools crisis as head teachers quit, Observer, 2007 Dec. 9 (younger staff are reluctant to take on the responsibilities and workload of a generation nearing end of their careers)
Jewel Topsfield, Labor review on summer schools, The Age, 2007 Dec. 6 (contentious summer schools for teachers are likely to go ahead, despite Labor rejecting the initiative while in opposition)
Sir is now 'learning consultant', BBC, 2007 Dec. 3 (teachers will become "learning consultants" and pupils will wear suits when a school becomes a city academy)
Anushka Asthana, More black teachers will end underachievement, Observer, 2007 Dec. 2 (a major drive to get more black teachers into the classroom will be launched this week by MPs and campaigners who say the change will improve the performance of black boys)
Technology up  down  top   back  on

AP, MIT spinoff's little green laptop computers a hit in remote Peruvian village, IHT, 2007 Dec. 24 (doubts about whether poor, rural children really can benefit from quirky little computers evaporate as quickly as the morning dew in this hilltop Andean village, where 50 primary school children got machines from the One Laptop Per Child project six months ago)
Anne Eisenberg, After a lecture, students can play it again on their laptops, IHT, 2007 Dec. 9 (at least two companies now sell software to universities and other institutions that captures the words of lecturers and syncs them with the digital images used during the talk - usually PowerPoint slides and animations; the illustrated lectures are stored on a server so that students can retrieve them and replay the content outside of class, clicking along to the exact section they need to review)
Bruce McCabe, Don't let computers distract us from good teaching, The Age, 2007 Dec. 6 (Rudd appears to be taken with the idea of giving every child a laptop, which would not be the best way to deliver)
Reuters, Police recruits use iPods to study, The Age, 2007 Dec. 5 (the New York Police Department is handing out iPods to academy recruits for the first time to allow them to listen to and watch coursework on the subway)
Tertiary up   first    top   back  on

Victoria Adam, Holy cash cow, Guardian, 2007 Dec. 11 (is it right for UK universities to admit students with poor attainment simply because they pay big fees?)
Anthea Lipsett, Snow queens, Guardian, 2007 Dec. 11 (at Reykjavik University, 95% of staff are happy at work and each year the finances get healthier; could that be because of all the women in top jobs?)
Higher education in Mexico: Big university, big scientific ambitions, Economist, 2007 Dec. 8 (with some 160,000 undergraduate students and 21,000 graduate students, Mexico's National Autonomous University is the largest in Latin America and among the largest in the world)
David Pallister, Big guns train their sights on universities, Guardian, 2007 Dec. 4 (arms research is a lucrative business, which is why universities are doing so much of it; but is it ethical?)
Construction on campus: Just add cash, Economist, 2007 Dec. 1 (the great expanding American university)