Education Policy Institute Research Articles

China in British Education: The Natzler Report in Historical Perspective

Michael Natzler's report for the Higher Education Policy Institute of March 2022 entitled “Understanding China: The Study of China and Mandarin in UK Schools and Universities” surveyed the provision of Chinese Studies in Britain since the Second World War and pointed out Britain's slow progress and current unpreparedness to cope with the new role of China in world affairs. In reviewing his very valuable contribution a longer-term perspective is adopted, going back to the nineteenth century, to explore the repeated failure of attempts at improving the situation as the background to a current almost complete failure to cope with the complexities of the Chinese cultural tradition, the understanding of which requires much more than a short course in Mandarin. Ignorance of Chinese culture is an insult to persons of Chinese heritage whatever their political persuasion, but under current circumstances educating Britons in this area after decades of ignorance and prejudice is not going to be easy.

Meet our new President: interview with Professor Dame Julia Goodfellow

I loved science and maths at school, which led to an undergraduate degree in physics. Through a final-year project I was introduced to the biosciences. From undertaking this first research project and getting a publication from it, I was hooked – especially on understanding how the structure of macromolecules was linked to their function.I had a typical academic career but at very different institutions – the Open University, Stanford University and Birkbeck, University of London. I began to take on leadership roles as head of department of crystallography and then deputy head of Birkbeck, so was able to take a wider perspective than just my own area of science. This increased even further when I became (the first woman) to run a research council as I had to liaise between academia and the government. I spent the last 10 years of my full-time career as Vice Chancellor of the University of Kent.During this time, I have always taken on wider roles to support the sector especially at a national level – the Council for Science and Technology, President of Universities UK, President of the Royal Society of Biology or Chair of the British Science Association.On retirement, I have taken on a few non-executive roles including Chair of Public Health England and a non-executive member of NHS England/I board. Currently, I am on the board of the Open University and a trustee of HEPI (the Higher Education Policy Institute).I have spent my career mainly in academia. During that time, I benefitted from learned societies including the Biochemical Society. As I progressed I realized that much of my role was to support others, earlier in their careers, whether within my research group, at the university or at a national level. Taking on this role, I can continue to support the biosciences and hopefully provide opportunities for others to flourish.First, I was very impressed by the inclusive way the strategy was developed under the leadership of Professor Sir Peter Downes. Bringing the Society and Portland Press closer together is especially important at this time of change, as well as aiming to make the Society more inclusive by embedding equality and diversity across all strands.The importance of supporting career development is key to ensuring a thriving and sustainable research community. The need for this community to come together to discuss science and to ensure that research can be published and disseminated widely are also important strands to this strategy.So a lot of thought and debate has gone into this strategy. We now need to put it into action!Like all those who communicate science through publishing journals, we are rightly moving to fully open access publications. This takes time – but I am impressed how forward and positively thinking Portland Press and the Society are about this far from easy to implement topic. So evolving open access will continue to be an opportunity and a challenge.We have rightly embedded EDI across all aspects of the Society’s new strategy. This is an area where I have taken a very active interest starting from the earliest stages of my career as one of the few women studying physics at undergraduate level. I think it will be challenging to bring our ambitions for an inclusive and diverse Society into practice, but one to which I am committed.Finally, supporting colleagues in these difficult and uncertain times especially those early on in their careers – we have seen the importance of molecular and cellular biosciences to society as scientists have contributed to control the COVID pandemic. We need to continue to encourage and support those entering into careers in the sciences.A flourishing and diverse community of scientists.Further evolution of open access publications.Ensuring we also look outward as excellent molecular biosciences is essential for our well-being as a society – as we have seen over the last few years.Finally, I realize I have not said anything about the employees of the Biochemical Society and Portland Press. They are a talented group of people under the leadership of the excellent Kate Baillie. Neither have I mentioned the Council of Trustees and members of the various Boards, Committees and Panels. I have been impressed with their expertise and commitment. I look forward to working with you all.

How do we progress racial justice in education?

How do we progress racial justice in education?

Trends in SEN identification: contexts, causes and consequences

SummaryThis policy seminar addressed these current issues and questions: i. Are there shifts from an interactive to within‐child model of identification? And if so, what are the factors that are contributing to this? ii. What are the changing relationships between parents, schools and LAs and their influence on identification practice? And iii. What kind of identification and assessment framework do we need for the future?The first speaker Jo Hutchinson, from the Education Policy Institute, presented on ‘How fairly and effectively special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) are identified?’ in which she summarised her interim findings about school attainment and inclusion questions. One of her key findings was that about four in ten children have some interaction with the SEND system over the course of their schooling. This is a lot more than the commonly held assumptions about SEN incidence (one in five or six). Further analysis indicated that factors that best predicted the identification of SEN Support in primary schools were measures of deprivation and prior attainment. There were moderate effects for absences, ethnicity, looked after child status and child in need status. Lesser but still significant factors were sex, months of birth, EAL status and school mobility. The communication language and literacy scale of the Early Years Foundation Stage Profile was the best predictor of being identified with SEND at the SEN Support level. Also, analysis showed that most of variation in SEN Support identification was predicted by school variations, indicating that individual effects were halved once school factors were taken into account. Analyses for secondary and SEN at the EHC Plan level were still be completed.Dr Sami Timimi, Consultant Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist, presented on ‘the social construction of autism’. In his presentation, he deconstructs the ‘common sense’ understanding of autism to argue that it is a construct that lacks a coherent basis in science and can result in therapeutically unhelpful dynamics. In presenting a historical background to psychiatric diagnosis, he argues that there is no such thing as a psychiatric diagnosis of autism. Part of this argument is that concepts like ASD do not even work well as a descriptive classification as they operate as ‘thin descriptions’, overlooking what matters about individual people. He concluded his presentation by pointing out that an ASD diagnosis can be a ticket to services but also a reason to exclude from services and that it can disempower parents and teachers by accident.The third presenter Neil McKay, a consultant and trainer, presented on ‘dyslexia – definitions and identification’. Though he started by acknowledging the problems with the IQ discrepancy diagnosis of dyslexia, he took a particular perspective on the ‘dyslexia debate’ based on his teaching and advisory practice. He questioned whether a dyslexia diagnosis unlocks provision at the expense of others, arguing that all children with a reading difficulty regardless of IQ should be encouraged to seek intervention. His central point was that Elliott and Grigorenko (who question dyslexia) rely on a narrow view of reading by concentrating on accuracy. This is the basis for the argument that, because dyslexic and non‐dyslexic poor readers show almost identical patterns of difficulty, dyslexia does not exist. McKay’s position is to focus on ‘unexpected difficulties’ by interpreting unexpected difficulties as being about comprehension, a position which derives from practitioners’ experience of children with ‘unexpectedly good’ comprehension despite poor‐reading accuracy. He advocates the Scottish HMIE concept of dyslexia as ‘marked differences in certain areas, especially with regard to oral versus text‐based skills’. From this stance, he concludes that high‐quality teaching based on validated synthetic phonic approaches empowers most learners, regardless of label, to learn to read. But, it is the unexpected gap between reading accuracy and higher order comprehension and thinking skills that often typifies the dyslexic learner.In the group discussions, there were common themes about an increase in prevalence of several conditions, with some questions about whether this was due to getting better at diagnosing particular types of need and/or that only by a focus on a within‐child model of identification would parents be taken seriously. Several groups believed that the role of parental expectations was central to this increased prevalence and the growing tensions between parents, schools and authorities. The kind of identification and assessment framework that was supported in several groups involved these features: multidisciplinary, collaborative, independent from budget holders, transparent, one aiming to build parental trust in the system and one that is values driven. There was some concern about whether there was proper scrutiny of environmental factors, and if not, whether this can lead to adopting a reduced within‐child model and a sense of learned helplessness in schools. A graduated response was endorsed by some as an appropriate model for an identification framework.

Enabling ambitious science teachers in urban challenging settings: the Hope Challenge model

ABSTRACT The call to raise educational standards in the UK has a particular focus on the underachievement of pupils attending schools facing challenging socioeconomic circumstances. In 2017 the Education Policy Institute (UK) reported that the most disadvantaged pupils in England are on average over 2 years of learning behind non-disadvantaged pupils by the end of their secondary education. Contributing to this underachievement is the notion of ‘poverty of expectation’ with some teachers being unambitious in their teaching, failing to challenge their pupils to achieve at the highest levels. In primary science education this is exacerbated by the fact that non-specialist teachers commonly deliver the science curriculum. Lack of confidence and expertise in science can limit knowledge of teaching strategies and approaches required to engage and stretch pupils. The Hope Challenge Model for partnership brings together a university’s Initial Teacher Education programme and urban primary schools facing challenging socio–economic circumstances. It aims to introduce trainee teachers to schools in a way that builds their confidence and nurtures more ambitious teaching for the future. This paper provides insights from an action research study designed to understand the processes and impact of the HCM (an action research cycle in itself) on primary science teaching. Early findings revealed how elements of the HCM approach support the goal of more ambitious science teaching in respect of trainees and importantly and how this rippled out to build the confidence and skills of more established school-based staff.

Assessment of Informal Learning Program on Weather Phenomena: Its Perception and Necessity in Greece

The inadequate approach of the weather phenomena, the associated atmospheric processes as well as their impacts at the Greek education led to the creation of the learning program "Peri Anemon & Ydaton", by the meteorological unit of the National Observatory of Athens. The program, which is presented to Junior High School and High School students, is structured into five thematic sessions and covers eight learning goals, the implementation of which was assessed using a multiple-response questionnaire. In general, the program "Peri Anemon & Ydaton" is a vivid example for the efficiency of informal learning programs. Furthermore, it is the first attempt for the recording of the results as an assessment of an informal learning program on weather and climate in Greece. The learning program "Peri Anemon & Ydaton" is implemented with the approval of the Educational Policy Institute of Greece, thus indicating its pedagogical adequacy

Staffing levels still in recovery

To what extent are recent policy changes to blame for the recruitment crisis? A new report from the Education Policy Institute has some answers. By Hannah Crown

The cost of losing staff to retail

The Education Policy Institute's recent report flags up the dangers of the continuing recruitment crisis in the early years sector. Without investment in pay, the Government risks its agenda for quality childcare.

Access to mental health services

British Journal of School NursingVol. 13, No. 9 EditorialAccess to mental health servicesCaroline VoogdCaroline VoogdSearch for more papers by this authorCaroline VoogdPublished Online:12 Jan 2019https://doi.org/10.12968/bjsn.2018.13.9.421AboutSectionsView articleView Full TextPDF/EPUB ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InEmail View article References Education policy Institute. Access to children and young people's mental health services—2018. (online) Available at: https://epi.org.uk/publications-and-research/access-to-camhs-2018/ (accessed 2 November 2018) Google ScholarHealth Education England. 2018. Could you be an education mental health practitioner? (online) Available at: https://www.healthcareers.nhs.uk/news/could-you-be-education-mental-health-practitioner (accessed 2 November 2018) Google Scholar FiguresReferencesRelatedDetails 2 November 2018Volume 13Issue 9ISSN (print): 1752-2803ISSN (online): 2052-2827 Metrics History Published online 12 January 2019 Published in print 2 November 2018 Information© MA Healthcare LimitedPDF download

On the cards

What does the future have in store for the early years workforce if current trends continue? Sara Bonetti, associate director of early years at the Education Policy Institute, makes some exclusive predictions

Education Policy Institute report highlights wide variation in standards of care.

One in ten local health areas has no plan to improve crisis care for children with mental health problems, according to a report from the Education Policy Institute (EPI).

Learning approaches and lecture attendance of medical students

There are arguably many factors that affect the way a student learns. A recent report by the Higher Education Policy Institute (HEPI) and the Higher Education Academy (HEA) on student academic experience in the UK states that class size is an important factor in the quality of the student experience and that smaller class sizes provide greater educational benefit than the delivery of lectures. This article assesses research related to lectures, lecture attendance of medical students and their learning approaches in higher education outside the clinical setting. A questionnaire and focus groups were employed to gather quantitative and qualitative data. The results show that students value lectures in the curriculum alongside other teaching and learning methods.

Patterns, drivers and challenges pertaining to postgraduate taught study: an international comparative analysis

The global growth in postgraduate (PG) study since the mid-1990s has been attributed to the expansion in Masters by Coursework participation (Bekhradnia, B. (2005). Postgraduate education in the UK: Trends and challenges higher education policy institute. Paper presented at a conference The future of postgraduate education supporting the students of today and tomorrow, London, 17 March). However, unlike at undergraduate level, research into understanding PG growth has been under-researched. This paper aims to contribute to the knowledge gap by identifying and comparing the growth in PG study in Australia, Canada, the USA and the UK. It explores the possible drivers behind the growth and concludes by highlighting potential challenges facing the future of PG study across the sector.

An Ounce of Prevention

Despite $60 million from Eli Broad and Bill Gates, education didn't emerge as a central presidential election issue. This is hardly surprising. The economy seemingly reels from a new blow every day, house prices are still falling, global warming takes on new urgency, energy prices are abating a bit but remaining high, and we are gifted by the occasional nasty surprise, like the Georgia-Russia war and Hurricane Ike. However, education is sure to get its day in the sun with attention ensured by such groups as the Broader, Bolder Approach to Education, organized by the Education Policy Institute, and the Education Equality Project, featuring New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, New York City schools Chancellor Joel Klein, and Rev. Al Sharpton. No Child Left Behind reauthorization will doubtless be front page and the fights fierce. One topic likely to arise in the process is what to do about early intervention programs. Early childhood education concerns James Heckman, a Nobel Prize-winning economist at the University of Chicago. In recent years, he has been quite worried over the downward direction of social indicators and how to turn that around. In a phrase--preschool education. In a May 2008 paper, Heckman links a number of his concerns and prescriptions. He backs up his summary of the situation with a lot of research, some done by himself and colleagues. follows in italics are his words; my annotations are in plain text. Many major economic and social problems, such as crime, teenage pregnancy, dropping out of high school, and adverse health conditions, are linked to low levels of skill and ability in society. Note the word linked. Heckman is not making a strong causal case. While increases in college attendance rates have slowed, he notes that high school dropout rates are rising. He does not accept the official National Center for Education Statistics rate, but his own calculations of graduation rates are higher than those of Chris Swanson of Editorial Projects in Education or Jay P. Greene of the University of Arkansas. He calculates that the rate for native-born students peaked around 80% in the 1960s and has declined 4% or 5% since. More of tomorrow's workforce will come from minority populations in which educational attainment, especially in males, is lower than for whites. What forces have produced these low levels and adverse trends? Heckman asks. the public schools responsible? Can we look to school reform to fix the problem? Are higher college tuition costs to blame? I argue that the answer is 'no' to all of these questions. In analyzing policies that foster skills and abilities, society should recognize the multiplicity of human abilities. Given the relentless push for ever-higher test scores from some reformers, this contention comes as a pleasant relief. Heckman takes NCLB to task for focusing only on test scores. He adds that motivation, sociability, the ability to focus on tasks, self-regulation, self-esteem, time preference, health and mental health all matter, as do perseverance, attention, and self-confidence. (Time preference is an economics term referring to an individual's tendency to focus on his condition in the here and now vs. thinking about what it might be in the future). Ability gaps between the advantaged and disadvantaged open up early in the lives of children. Most of the gap at age 18 is there at age 5. Schooling plays a minor role in creating or perpetuating gaps, Heckman writes. These gaps include gaps in behavior problems (he does not discuss the possibility of cultural insensitivity or outright racism in the system). Heckman delves into behavioral genetic studies, which have indicated that the nature-nurture debate is over. Nature won. Nurture won. But heritability of I.Q. differs markedly by socioeconomic class. In affluent families, most of the variance comes from genes; in low SES families, variance comes mostly from experience. …

Challenges of Access, Affordability, and Persistence

In early 2005, two comprehensive reports on the status and challenges of higher education institutions were issued. In April 2005, the Educational Policy Institute (EPI, www.educationalpolicy.org), a nonpartisan research organization focused on educational opportunity, released the report Global Rankings Compare Higher Education Access and Affordability across Countries. I will put aside, for now, the issue of rankings and their relative value to higher education providers and consumers. As educators, we are well aware of the problems of simplistic interpretations when casual readers fail to look beyond the rankings to the greater complexities associated with the hierarchies. That being said, this report did tackle long-standing issues of who goes to college (access) and how it is funded (affordability). Access is affected not only by college preparedness, but by the individual’s ability to pay. In the absence of individual resources, potential students are dependent on the various systems of institutional and governmental support to broker access and affordability. While academic preparation and intent to go to college may be somewhat within the control of the individual, other economic factors (e.g., individual resources, tuition-levels, governmental aid policies) play a significant role in who goes to college, at what institutional type, and how they engage with post-secondary education. I recommend this report (available at the website) because it challenges us to think about the societal commitments necessary to create creative, criticalthinking, collaborative populations around the globe. In this issue, Katrina Meyer analyses the establishment and evolution of Western Governors University (WGU, www.wgu.edu), a nonprofit online university established in 1995 by the governors of the western states. WGU was established to address “growing pressure for increased access to higher education” for increasing number of high school graduates and nontraditional adult students. “Anytime, anywhere learning” is rapidly expanding, and educational opportunities for non-traditional, adult populations are at the core of much of this growth. Meyer discusses how WGU was and is shaped by political

Less than the sum? What is missing in UK mass HE?

Roger Brown, the Chair of the Editorial Advisory Board, and I are delighted that John Aubrey Douglass, Senior Research Fellow of the Center for Studies in Higher Education at the University of California Berkeley, has agreed to edit this special issue of perspectives. The papers arise out of contributions to a Symposium in September 2004 on UK and US Higher Education Funding and Access, organised by the Oxford Centre for Higher Education Policy Studies (OxCHEPS) and the Center for Studies in Higher Education at the University of California Berkeley campus. It was co‐chaired by John and David Palfreyman, the Director of OxCHEPS, and it is a pleasure and privilege to publish some of the main papers. We are indebted to the AUA, the Sutton Trust, the Higher Education Policy Institute, the Rothermere Institute, the Institute for Governmental Studies (UC Berkeley), the Center for British Studies (UC Berkeley), and the University of California Office of the President, all of whom provided support for the Symposium. John’s first paper sets the scene on the UK funding environment and student support, and provides a context for those that follow. Ed.

The Higher Education Policy Institute (HEPI) Report Summaries

These reports are useful summaries of a quantity of research undertaken over a course of years by the independent HEPI research unit, based in Oxford. They are researched responses to the range of issues and questions which have been current in UK higher education over the last five or six years. Future social historians will surely discern, through their tiny print and clear thought, the growing instrumentality of this era, the nervous concern of the authorities, as costs rise, to ensure that university education brings economic benefit to the nation as a whole.

Dearing on Dearing and the 2003 White Paper

Lord Dearing delivered the Inaugural Annual Lecture of the Higher Education Policy Institute on 18 February 2003. This is a summary of the lecture, which can be viewed in full on www.hepi.ac.uk