Children living in relative poverty in England have worse average educational outcomes, including lower grades in exams, than other pupils. This situation is often referred to as the poverty attainment gap. Closing this gap, so that poorer students do as well at school as their peers, is a concern for countries around the world. The […] … learn more→

Whenever the Scripps National Spelling Bee takes place, parents and children may wonder: What does it take to become a champion? Is it worth the effort? But to the extent possible, competitive spellers, including several previous Scripps National Spelling Bee winners, have purchased special word lists to gain a competitive edge. These word lists, which may come in the form […] … learn more→

The latest reform of the professional path was presented on Thursday May 4, 2023 by President Macron. The press kit that accompanies these announcements highlights the need to make the sector attractive and to make it a path to success and excellence. Implicitly, it paints the portrait of a student in lack of success undergoing a default orientation and prone to […] … learn more→

How is writing research like story? Last post I wrote about Kurt Vonnegut’s man in hole structure and how that might help you think at a very macro level about how to organise your material. This post is also about structure – this time a four part structure I’ve called C3REC. The C3REC structure is an academic […] … learn more→

Hey – Before I start, here are some upcoming events I’m doing at Cambridge University, which are open to the public: A lecture at Wolfson College, Cambridge on Tuesday 6 June at 5:30pm, which touches on themes from my new book with Simon Clews ‘Be visible or Vanish’. There’s an in-person option if you can get to Cambridge, […] … learn more→

As part of the federal government’s bid to overhaul higher education, the Universities Accord discussion paper is seeking to “widen” opportunities for people to access university. It also wants to “grow a culture” of lifelong learning in Australia. As the review team note, most people in Australia who study at university are under 35. Lifelong learning can […] … learn more→

On social networks, it has become common for some parents to post photos of their children and we see these publications in the news feeds mingling with images of little cats and other “like” content. According to a survey carried out in 2021 by the Gece polling institute, 39% of babies have a digital footprint even […] … learn more→

Pursuing an MBA online in finance can help you advance your career and add value to your organization. Whether you are a controller, insurance manager, risk manager or treasurer, an MBA in finance degree can give you the leadership and management skills to meet organizational goals. An MBA in finance also provides a comprehensive understanding […] … learn more→

Teacher shortages around Australia mean there is an ongoing debate about how to attract, retain and educate more teachers. One part of the push to increase teacher numbers is encouraging people to swap their current career for a teaching role. Mid-career or “career change” students are increasingly common in teacher education programs. The most recent Australian data shows as of 2017, one-third […] … learn more→

People, students, are not highly capable: they have capacity to varying degrees, as occurs in other less elusive aspects such as weight, height or any other physical condition. Both ignoring it and trying to make categories based on measurements of whatever kind is to lose focus. To consider “high ability” as a dichotomous variable (“some are” […] … learn more→