Patrick Watson is Managing Director of Montrose Public Affairs Consultants and EdCentral's resident policy and research expert.

What is pedagogy and why does it matter?

 The quality of the teaching workforce and the teaching practice in classrooms is one of the biggest levers we have for improving student outcomes. Even after accounting for prior student learning and family background, research suggests that teacher quality is an important factor in student achievement. So, it follows, that energy, resources ...
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The importance of teaching knowledge (not just skills)

As much of the world clamoured to define the term "21st-century skills" and explain how teachers could instill them in their pupils, Daisy Christodoulou took a step back. In her 2013 book Seven Myths About Education, she identified, addressed and subsequently demolished seven assumptions that pervade teacher training and classroom practice but don'...
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Facilitating subjects are more important than ever – but what are they?

"I want Britain to be a place where advantage is based on merit, not privilege. Where it's your talent and hard work that matter, not where you were born, who your parents are or what your accent sounds like." When prime minister Theresa May set out her vision for Britain in September 2016, social mobility was high on the agenda. Educators often fi...
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EBacc overview

The English Baccalaureate (EBacc) was first announced on 6th September 2010 by the Secretary of State for Education. Further details were released through the Schools White Paper of November 2010. The English Baccalaureate (EBacc) is a performance measure, not a qualification, for schools in England. It was first applied in the 2010 school performa...
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Birbalsingh, tiger teachers and the Michaela way

Teacher Katherine Birbalsingh received a standing ovation at the 2010 Conservative Party Conference, when she said: "The [education] system is broken because it keeps poor children poor." She went on to condemn a "culture of excuses, of low standards"; "the chaos of our classrooms"; and a "sea of bureaucracy". Birbalsingh has since regretted her co...
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