The new university academic year will soon be upon us. Over half a million new hopeful students will begin what should be one of the most important experiences of their lives. Sadly, many of these students will drop out before the end of their first year. Research indicates that if you are the first in […] … learn more→

Australians value education, so when looking at the OECD’s Education at a Glance 2017 report, it’s not surprising to see we spend more on education than average among comparable nations. However, it’s worth noting where the money comes from. A closer look at the data shows public funding for education in Australia is much less […] … learn more→

Academics have never entirely trusted students not to cheat. Few exams, for instance, have ever been conducted without an invigilator prowling the aisles in search of surreptitious copying or smuggled-in notes. But the current level of institutionalised distrust of students has reached such a pitch that it seems reasonable to call it a moral panic. […] … learn more→

It’s official: the people of Great Britain have lost faith. New research from the British Social Attitudes survey reveals that 71% of young people are not religious. Overall, 53% of the population in England and Wales are non-religious. It is the first time that following a religion has been a minority position. Only 18% of […] … learn more→

  It’s fair to say that the UK was always ambivalent about Europe. The primary reason for European Economic Community and European Union membership was the economic benefits, and the sensible centre of British politics took the view that, in essence, “we can take the benefits of EU membership without becoming European”. The UK attitude […] … learn more→

It really is amazing the level of scrutiny Trump gets. Every action, no matter how trivial, gets blown up and represented as negatively as possible. Even when he got a second scoop of ice cream, the media did what they could represent his getting a bit extra as yet another sign that he’s literally Hitler. […] … learn more→

Canada’s recent results in the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) have been celebrated widely. In August 2017, the BBC marked Canada as an “education superpower” because we were one of the top-ranking countries. In fact, in-depth analysis indicates that our high school students’ performance has remained stagnant over the past decade. Even more troubling, […] … learn more→

If you step on to a university campus in any town or city across the UK, chances are that most of the students you will see will all be of a similar age. Yes, there may be the odd “mature student”, but for the most part, a lot of the students look to be in […] … learn more→

Let me begin by saying I’m not a poet. And when I commenced my PhD a year ago I certainly didn’t set out to document my PhD journey using an ancient Japanese form of poetry known as haiku. And yet, here I am, 15 months in, confirmed and about to analyse the data from my […] … learn more→

It’s troubling to think that at any moment you might open an email that looks like it comes from your employer, a relative or your bank, only to fall for a phishing scam. Any one of the endless stream of innocent-looking emails you receive throughout the day could be trying to con you into handing […] … learn more→