2007 May: Education
Index: Parent
Other months: April June
Other areas: Business climate computing
health Internet national
science social
technology Others
Topics: Behaviour
childhood
curriculum
failure
finance
languages
maths/science
physical
political
preschool
professions
secondary
skills
teachers
technology
tertiary
Dan Oakes, Student's massacre fantasy on net, The Age, 2007 May 30 (a Ballarat schoolgirl who made references on the internet to killing her schoolmates also posted a tribute online to the man responsible for massacring 32 people at Virginia Tech university last month)
Parents accused of exam drug use, BBC, 2007 May 29 (parents are giving their children internet-bought "smart drugs" to boost their performance in the exam room)
Oenone Crossley-Holland, Schools: A little respect, Guardian, 2007 May 22 (I often read that there is a growing tide of rudeness, lack of respect and violence in the youth of today)
Julie Bindel, Schools: Teenage kicks, Guardian, 2007 May 22 (could self-defence classes for secondary school girls help them to feel more confident as well as safer?)
Felicity Lawrence, New fears over additives in children's food, Guardian, 2007 May 8 (potential link to behaviour problems prompts advice to parents over diet)
Behaviour lessons for teenagers, BBC, 2007 April 30 (secondary schools are to teach "emotional intelligence" to improve classroom behaviour)
Amelia Hill, Children's TV is social poison, says top novelist, Observer, 2007 May 27 (Philip Pullman attacks market approach as watchdog starts inquiry)
Violence 'a problem for children', BBC, 2007 May 21 (violence is seen as a "major problem" by more than 80% of 11 to 16-year-olds)
Alex Williams, Adults want to bring back pre-digital child's play, IHT, 2007 May 20 (a number of educators like Cohill, as well as parents and child-development specialists, are trying to spur a revival of traditional outdoor pastimes, including marbles, hopscotch and kickball)
Nikhil Swaminathan, Cognitive Ability Mostly Developed Before Adolescence, Scientific American, 2007 May 18 (NIH announces preliminary findings from an effort to create a database that charts healthy brain growth and behavior)
Amelia Hill, Study reveals plight of child carers, Observer, 2007 May 13 (intimate photographs reveal the lives of children who look after their mentally ill parents alone)
Reuters, Nine in 10 US babies watch TV, The Age, 2007 May 8 (researchers say excessive TV watching among young people "could really dumb down society")
Bahram Bekhradnia, Higher education: Demanding questions, Guardian, 2007 May 22 (employers' needs must not decide what we teach)
Harry Kroto, Higher education: The wrecking of British science, Guardian, 2007 May 22 (if the world's future lies in scientists' hands, the answers are unlikely to come from the UK unless we reverse decades of political neglect, argues a Nobel laureate)
Law challenge to Gore school film, BBC, 2007 May 4 (the government faces a legal challenge for sending every secondary school in England a copy of Al Gore's climate change film An Inconvenient Truth)
Dyslexia defended as 'very real', BBC, 2007 May 29 (dyslexia charities reject claims that the condition is used as a label for low achievers)
David Conn, Cast in a new role, Guardian, 2007 May 9 (a new scheme teaches troubled youngsters how to fish, and be calm, with extraordinary success)
Anushka Asthana and Jo Revill, Revealed: Britain's 100,000 'invisible' teenage dropouts, Observer, 2007 May 6 (a shocking new study that finds thousands of youngsters give education a miss - and are then lost and cut loose without help)
Bridie Smith, Mentone Grammar sued for 'education failure', The Age, 2007 May 3 (a Melbourne man is suing an elite private school, claiming that it failed to educate his son properly)
Catherine Deveny, It would take real guts for society to fund schools properly, The Age, 2007 May 30 (if you want to send your kids to the best school, send them to the local)
Ian Black, Dubai's ruler gives £5bn to improve region's education, Guardian, 2007 May 21 (Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum launches an Arab development foundation)
Lydia Polgreen, Africa's once-great colleges are overcrowded and crumbling, IHT, 2007 May 20 (they are victims of overcrowding, too little money, mismanagement and trends in international development that have favored primary education over higher learning even as a population explosion propels more young people than ever toward the already strained institutions)
Bridie Smith, Parents pay for help as private schools fail test, The Age, 2007 May 4 (parents forced to seek additional help from private tutors and education specialists despite paying private schools thousands to educate their children)
Polly Curtis, Schools: 'If we wait for aid, we wait for ever', Guardian, 2007 May 1 (ahead of a crucial conference on global education; in Nigeria the trail from wealthy donors to crumbling classrooms)
Jewel Topsfield, Not minding our languages, The Age, 2007 May 29 (Australians are dunces when it comes to foreign languages and this is damaging the nation's performance in trade, tourism and cultural diplomacy)
Nora Schultz, Babies can spot languages on facial clues alone, New Scientist, 2007 May 24 (young babies can discriminate between different languages just by looking at an adult's face, even if they do not hear a single spoken word; and babies who grow up bilingual can do this for longer than monolingual infants)
Peter Kingston, Further education: Cuts drive adults out of language classes, Guardian, 2007 May 22 (half a million fewer adults are learning a foreign language than a decade ago)
Leader, Latin in schools: Quids in, Observer, 2007 May 13 (for some, it is the key that unlocks a better understanding of European civilisation; to others, it is a cruel and unusual punishment; either way, Latin is making a comeback)
Anushka Asthana, Latin storms state schools, Observer, 2007 May 13 (once the preserve of private schools, the language of the Romans is even booming in Britain's inner cities)
Diane Hofkins, Schools: Wales watching, Guardian, 2007 May 1 (there is a part of the UK where languages aren't in freefall and bilingualism is the norm)
Justin Parkinson, Reviving a 'dead' language, BBC, 2007 April 25 (a teacher at a leading independent school is giving up her job to teach classics in inner-city comprehensives)
Lorena Galliot, How to learn? Early and often, IHT, 2007 April 27 (according to Fred Genesee, a professor of psycholinguistics at McGill University in Montreal, a child simply needs to be exposed to a different language for at least 30 percent of his or her waking time to acquire it)
School science changes 'rushed', BBC, 2007 May 2 (changes to England's science curriculum are too hurried to succeed)
Diane Solway, How the body (and mind) learns a dance, IHT, 2007 May 28 (while it obviously manifests itself physically as far as dance is concerned, what actually happens, according to neuroscientists, is that the movements become thoroughly mapped in the brain, creating a shorthand between thinking and doing)
Mark Lupton, Schools: Raising their game, Guardian, 2007 May 22 (can lots of yoga, badminton, netball and aerobics lead to better Sats results?)
Alex Williams, Adults want to bring back pre-digital child's play, IHT, 2007 May 20 (a number of educators like Cohill, as well as parents and child-development specialists, are trying to spur a revival of traditional outdoor pastimes, including marbles, hopscotch and kickball)
Seth Schiesel, Video game revolutionizing physical education, IHT, 2007 May 1 (while traditional video games are often criticized for contributing to the expanding waistlines of American children, at least several hundred schools in at least 10 states are now using "Dance Dance Revolution," or "DDR," as a regular part of their physical education curriculum)
Barry Jones, Our education failures, The Age, 2007 May 30 (in Victoria, our educational priorities have been skewed by managerialism)
Nicholas Watt, Revealed: UK schools dividing on race lines, Observer, 2007 May 27 (a remarkable picture of how Britain is 'sleepwalking' towards US-style segregation of schools along racial lines is highlighted by government figures which reveal that many towns are developing schools that are overwhelmingly white, Asian or black)
Anushka Asthana, School stress hits new peak as exams loom, Observer, 2007 May 20 (our children are the most tested pupils in the world; schools are now forced to hire armies of psychologists)
Jewel Topsfield, Canberra flags uni takeover, The Age, 2007 May 10 (the states are facing a hostile federal takeover of universities as the Government moves to seize control over the financial management of campuses in its latest bid to further centralise power in Canberra)
Global alliance 'to educate all', BBC, 2007 May 2 (businesses are joining forces with governments and international groups to try to meet a pledge to provide education for all children by 2015)
Schools are now 'exam factories', BBC, 2007 May 1 (schools have been reduced to "exam factories" by ministers' obsession with targets)
Universities reject Europe fears, BBC, 2007 April 30 (university heads in the UK have rejected warnings that the European Commission is trying to wrest control of higher education from member states)
Nora Schultz, Babies can spot languages on facial clues alone, New Scientist, 2007 May 24 (young babies can discriminate between different languages just by looking at an adult's face, even if they do not hear a single spoken word; and babies who grow up bilingual can do this for longer than monolingual infants)
Judith Rich Harris, Why home doesn't matter, Prospect, Issue 134, 2007 May (the BBC series "Child of Our Time" assumes that studying children with their parents will help us understand how their personalities develop; but this is a mistake: parents influence their children mainly by passing on their genes; the biggest environmental influences on personality are those that occur outside the home)
Tessa Livingstone, Home does matter, Prospect, Issue 134, 2007 May (Judith Rich Harris argues that the sole influence of parents on the personalities of their children is genetic; the evidence is against her)
Marc Moncrief, Unis break down language barrier between science, business, The Age, 2007 May 29 (a chasm separating Australian researchers from the businesses that can take their ideas to market is closing as universities offer programs tailored to produce market-savvy scientists)
Martin Fackler, Asia courts Japanese engineers, IHT, 2007 May 23 (one of the hottest exports from Japan these days is not video games or eco-friendly cars; it is engineers)
Jill Stark, Teens warned on medical courses, The Age, 2007 May 26 (teenagers desperate to get into medical school are being charged up to $1700 for courses that promise to help them pass the entry exam but show no evidence of success)
Business schools: New graduation skills, Economist, 2007 May 12 (as business schools start to teach more ethics and practical skills, enrolments are climbing again)
'Superschool' plan for Cornwall, BBC, 2007 May 29 (a new type of "all in one" academy is proposed for Cornwall, which would combine a school, further education college and a university)
Law challenge to Gore school film, BBC, 2007 May 4 (the government faces a legal challenge for sending every secondary school in England a copy of Al Gore's climate change film An Inconvenient Truth)
Teenagers split on learning to 18, BBC, 2007 May 1 (only half of teenagers back raising the education age to 18, compared with 71% of parents)
Behaviour lessons for teenagers, BBC, 2007 April 30 (secondary schools are to teach "emotional intelligence" to improve classroom behaviour)
Dyslexia defended as 'very real', BBC, 2007 May 29 (dyslexia charities reject claims that the condition is used as a label for low achievers)
Diane Solway, How the body (and mind) learns a dance, IHT, 2007 May 28 (while it obviously manifests itself physically as far as dance is concerned, what actually happens, according to neuroscientists, is that the movements become thoroughly mapped in the brain, creating a shorthand between thinking and doing)
Bridie Smith, Proof it pays to stay on in school, The Age, 2007 May 25 (for all those students looking for an added incentive to finish secondary school, look no further than a report released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics)
Nora Schultz, Babies can spot languages on facial clues alone, New Scientist, 2007 May 24 (young babies can discriminate between different languages just by looking at an adult's face, even if they do not hear a single spoken word; and babies who grow up bilingual can do this for longer than monolingual infants)
Joe Clancy, Further education: High-flyers only, please, Guardian, 2007 May 22 (the motor industry needs to attract bright young things to service the complex cars of the future)
Bahram Bekhradnia, Higher education: Demanding questions, Guardian, 2007 May 22 (employers' needs must not decide what we teach)
David Conn, Cast in a new role, Guardian, 2007 May 9 (a new scheme teaches troubled youngsters how to fish, and be calm, with extraordinary success)
Australia seeks skilled workers, BBC, 2007 May 8 (Australia is to admit more skilled migrant workers to help ease its labour shortage while cracking down on firms which mistreat foreign staff)
James Randerson, Research links excess TV watching to impaired school skills, Guardian, 2007 May 8 (adolescents who watch too much TV develop learning problems and are less likely to go to university)
Debbie Andalo, Schools urged to teach basic skills, Guardian, 2007 May 8 ('an army of the unemployable' is being created as teenagers leave school with no qualifications, the leader of a headteachers' union has warned)
Katherine Sellgren, Creative skills urged for primary, BBC, 2007 May 7 (primary pupils should learn skills such as carpentry and cooking, say head teachers)
Lorena Galliot, How to learn? Early and often, IHT, 2007 April 27 (according to Fred Genesee, a professor of psycholinguistics at McGill University in Montreal, a child simply needs to be exposed to a different language for at least 30 percent of his or her waking time to acquire it)
Jolly Phonics (Jolly Phonics is a thorough foundation for reading and writing; it teaches the letter sounds in an enjoyable, multisensory way, and enables children to use them to read and write words)
Bridie Smith, Hoarse teachers leave pupils paddocks behind, The Age, 2007 May 29 (teachers need to be in full voice to communicate effectively with students, according to British research that found teachers with strained, croaky or hoarse voices could have a detrimental effect on children's learning)
Jewel Topsfield, Best teachers push up pupils' scores, The Age, 2007 May 21 (best teachers twice as effective at improving students' scores as the worst teachers)
Merit pay for teachers: Into the hornets' nest, Economist, 2007 May 12 (paying for performance is tough)
Janette Owen, Schools: The school sell, Guardian, 2007 May 1 (teachers, the last stand against advertisers?)
Mike Baker, Are school tests on their way out?, BBC, 2007 March 24 (the logic of the latest testing changes)
Jessica Shepherd, Higher education: Science degrees go global, Guardian, 2007 May 29 (students in Ireland, the US and Australia will tackle the world's most pressing problems together)
Marc Moncrief, Unis break down language barrier between science, business, The Age, 2007 May 29 (a chasm separating Australian researchers from the businesses that can take their ideas to market is closing as universities offer programs tailored to produce market-savvy scientists)
Sean Coughlan, Google bans essay writing adverts, BBC, 2007 May 22 (after complaints about students buying essays over the internet, Google is to ban essay adverts)
Short degrees 'respond to demand', BBC, 2007 May 21 (two-year degrees are making higher education more responsive to a wider range of students)
Sara Rimer, Harvard on a steep learning curve to improve the standard of its teaching, IHT, 2007 May 10 (with strong support from the university's interim president, Derek Bok, nine prominent professors are leading an effort to rethink the culture of undergraduate teaching and learning)
Jewel Topsfield, Canberra flags uni takeover, The Age, 2007 May 10 (the states are facing a hostile federal takeover of universities as the Government moves to seize control over the financial management of campuses in its latest bid to further centralise power in Canberra)
'Bullied' academics' blog attack, BBC, 2007 May 8 (academics who say they have been bullied are using a blog to record their experiences of alleged unfair treatment within universities)
Jessica Shepherd, Higher education: It's a world of possibilities, Guardian, 2007 May 8 (virtual campuses are springing up in Second Life, as universities discover the advantages of cyberspace)
Matthew Chapman, Fake students net loan millions, BBC, 2007 May 5 (criminal gangs obtain millions of pounds in student loans by enrolling "ghost students" in universities)
Charlemagne: Winning by degrees, Economist, 2007 May 5 (Europe's universities are the reluctant and unlikely pioneers of public-sector competition)
Michael Crommelin, The Melbourne Model will help students from all walks of life, The Age, 2007 May 4 (the university's changes aim at excellence without discrimination)
Alan Finder, Religion gets an 'A' at U.S. colleges, IHT, 2007 May 2 (across the country, on secular campuses as varied as Colgate University, the University of Wisconsin and the University of California, Berkeley, chaplains, professors and administrators say students are drawn to religion and spirituality with more fervor than at any time they can remember)
Jessica Shepherd, Higher education: Getting closer by degrees, Guardian, 2007 May 1 (the Bologna Process aims to standardise university courses across Europe; is that to be welcomed?)
Farrah Tomazin, Reinforcing an elite attitude, The Age, 2007 May 1 (the Melbourne Model looks set to make an institution already difficult to get into, more remote than ever)
Universities reject Europe fears, BBC, 2007 April 30 (university heads in the UK have rejected warnings that the European Commission is trying to wrest control of higher education from member states)
Game combats campus culture shock, BBC, 2007 April 27 (a computer game which helps overseas students deal with the culture shocks of UK university life is devised)