Blog Archives

If AI is to become a key tool in education, access has to be equal

If AI is to become a key tool in education, access has to be equal

The pandemic forced many educational institutions to move to online learning. Could the rise of chatbots, including OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Google’s Bard, now further improve the accessibility of learning and make education more obtainable for everyone? Chatbots are computer programmes that use artificial intelligence to simulate conversation with human users. They work by analysing the context of a […] … learn more→

Australia’s Year 4 students have not lost ground on reading, despite pandemic disruptions

Australia’s Year 4 students have not lost ground on reading, despite pandemic disruptions

Australia’s Year 4 students have not lost ground on their reading skills, despite all the disruptions to schooling during the pandemic. A major international test has found about 80% of students have “more than elementary” skills in reading comprehension. This is the same result Australian students recorded in the last round of PIRLS testing in 2016. But reading […] … learn more→

Is it beneficial to read aloud in class?

Is it beneficial to read aloud in class?

Our cultural tradition gives more weight to individual reading and writing than to the art of oral discourse. In schools and institutes, the teaching of written communication prevails over oral text or reading aloud. In fact, it seems that, as a classroom activity, listening to a person (student or teacher) read aloud is an outdated or boring […] … learn more→

Esol English classes are crucial for migrant integration, yet challenges remain unaddressed

Esol English classes are crucial for migrant integration, yet challenges remain unaddressed

In the year ending September 2022, more than 70,000 people had claimed asylum in the UK. The vast majority were from countries that do not use English as a first language. Being able to communicate in English is essential for newly arrived migrants. People who have gone through traumatic experiences are, understandably, often desperate to build new […] … learn more→

Maths for boys, French for girls? How gender stereotypes are perpetuated in school

Maths for boys, French for girls? How gender stereotypes are perpetuated in school

Do gender stereotypes enter the school preferences of French pupils? A study conducted in 2005 showed that they strongly influenced the perceptions that CM2 pupils (10-11 years old) have of school subjects . Thus, boys tended to value mathematics and physical education and sports lessons, while girls valued French lessons and reading and written expression work. How have things evolved […] … learn more→

4 factors that contributed to the record low history scores for US eighth graders

4 factors that contributed to the record low history scores for US eighth graders

When national student test scores revealed recently that knowledge of U.S. history and civics had reached an all-time low, one Republican lawmaker described the drop as an “outright failure that should concern every parent across the country.” The test scores showed that 86% of America’s eighth graders were not proficient in U.S. history, and 79% were not proficient in civics. While one […] … learn more→

Mothers’ education has a powerful role shaping their children’s futures

Mothers’ education has a powerful role shaping their children’s futures

Providing equitable quality education for all people is one of the United Nations’ 2030 Sustainable Development Goals. To meet this goal, international organizations and national and local governments have invested heavily in expanding education. In Canada, for example, laws mandate that children stay in school until a certain age. Since the 1950s, policies related to post-secondary study have resulted […] … learn more→

School and disability: exam accommodations, a real guarantee of equality?

School and disability: exam accommodations, a real guarantee of equality?

Since the implementation of the 2005 law on equal rights and opportunities , inclusive schooling has become a major objective of the French education system. Today, it is a question of setting up a quality education intended for all pupils, whatever their differences and their needs. If the financial and human resources allocated to the support of students […] … learn more→

What is that voice in your head when you read?

What is that voice in your head when you read?

What is that voice in your head when you read? – Luiza, age 14, Goiânia, Brazil When you first begin reading, you read out loud. Reading aloud can make the text easier to understand when you’re a beginning reader or when you are reading something that’s challenging. Listening to yourself as you read helps with comprehension. […] … learn more→