When I recently explained why teaching grammar in primary school still matters, Radio 4’s Today programme invited me to debate the importance of standard English. My opponent was Nevile Gwynne, a British private tutor, author and, as presenter Nick Robinson put it, a “stickler for the right sort of grammar”. Robinson asked that I explain my position, which is […] … learn more→

With nearly half of Australia’s population in lockdown, a lot of children and young people are still not attending face-to-face school. In Melbourne students in year 12 go back to the classroom this week, and there are staggered return plans for the rest of the year levels. Preps and grades 1 and 2 will return part time […] … learn more→

Schools are often compared to small companies. But does this image reflect all the specificities of this organization? If the company brings together a diversity of members under the authority of the law, the community is characterized by its homogeneity and a life punctuated by repeated uses. In this sense, the school would undoubtedly have as much […] … learn more→

Of all the things teachers do on the job, we found that teachers enjoy interacting with students the most – and that the positive feelings when working with students intensified once schools shifted to remote learning during the pandemic. This finding is based on a study that enabled us to examine how teachers felt about various aspects […] … learn more→

The UK government is reportedly considering bringing back national curriculum tests (known as Sats) for 14-year-olds in England. The reasons cited were that, without formal assessment to mark the end of key stage three (KS3 – years seven, eight and nine of secondary school) children were at risk of losing focus, and losing out. The KS3 Sats were […] … learn more→

In Spain there are a little more than three-quarters of a million non-university professors (specifically, 755,242). It is a very important group in the workforce. Teachers’ Day, established by UNESCO in 1994, is a perfect occasion to reflect on what these hundreds of thousands of professionals do and how they work. Being a teacher has always been a laborious […] … learn more→

Already a month into the school year, and after two years of disrupted learning by COVID-19, students with special education needs have been deeply affected. Individual education plans (IEPs) have become a crucial part of the education system. And the number of students on IEPs is growing across Ontario public schools. IEPs are created for students who are defined […] … learn more→

Despite the fact that the uncertainty generated by the pandemic has allowed the savings rates of Spanish families to increase for several quarters, Spain continues to maintain one of the lowest savings rates in the European Union. Saving is still the pending issue. Different factors that explain the lack of savings are mixed. On the one hand, it is a country with […] … learn more→

Proponents of charter schools insist that they are public schools “open to all students.” But the truth is more nuanced. As an education policy researcher – and as author of a new book about charter schools I wrote with fellow researcher Wagma Mommandi – I have discovered that charter schools are not as accessible to the public as they are often […] … learn more→

What if we work in the classroom with insects, arachnids, etc., better known to children as bugs? It is very interesting to work with arthropods as an animal model due to the high diversity of anatomical models that they present and because of the ease of observing them both in the classroom and in their environment. […] … learn more→