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→
Blog Archives
4 factors that contributed to the record low history scores for US eighth graders
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?
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? – 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→
Educate without sanctioning? Misunderstandings of positive education
How to react to the whims and acts of disobedience of a young child? Sending him to his room to punish him, is that being too strict or does it amount to setting necessary limits for him? In this spring of 2023, psychologists and families are again divided on these questions, reviving the debate around an education without […] … learn more→
Math teachers hold a bias against girls when the teachers think gender equality has been achieved
Math teachers who believe women no longer face discrimination tend to be biased against girls’ ability in math. This is what we found through an experiment we conducted with over 400 elementary and middle school math teachers across the United States. Our findings were published in a peer-reviewed article that appeared in April 2023 in the International […] … learn more→
UK students are abandoning language learning, so we’re looking for a more creative approach
There is a storm brewing for modern language education in the UK. The uptake in higher education has more than halved in the past 15 years. And in the same period, ten modern language university departments have closed, while a further nine have been significantly downsized. Meanwhile, language provision in schools is patchy. There are substantial regional […] … learn more→
Biodiversity in primary school: worms, bees and neighborhood stores
From an early age, boys and girls get closer to fauna through visits to zoos, stories and children’s movies. They know many animals, although they are usually species from faraway places and, basically, large mammals, such as the lion or the kangaroo. However, they present more limited knowledge about the animals in their environment and their value to […] … learn more→
School phone bans seem obvious but could make it harder for kids to use tech in healthy ways
School phone bans may seem like the answer to reeling in young people’s technology use. But if we ban phones and bury this issue under the sand, when and how do our kids learn to have a healthy relationship with technology in a world becoming more tech-focused by the day? Existing bans in Australian schools School mobile […] … learn more→
Keeping a diary can improve teachers’ wellbeing – here are some ways it can work for all of us
Teachers in England are struggling. A recently released government report on the working lives of teachers found that teachers’ wellbeing levels are lower than the general population. More than half of the 11,177 teachers and school leaders surveyed said that their job was negatively affecting their mental health. Teacher wellbeing should be addressed at a structural level. […] … learn more→
