EdBlogs

Welcome to EdBlogs, where you'll find education insights, analysis and stories from the frontline. If you've got a story to tell, send it over to ed@edcentral.uk and if we think it's relevant to our network we'll publish it :-)

Do smaller class sizes really improve student outcomes?

While it might feel like having fewer pupils in your class would help you make more progress, there is strangely little hard evidence that reducing class sizes consistently improves student attainment. It's not just teachers who gravitate towards a leaner classroom; reducing class sizes is extremely appealing to parents and one of the main attracti...
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Teachers, stop using collective punishment – it makes you look weak and lazy

I have given up on collective punishment. Don't get me wrong, I have been that teacher. It was many years ago, but I can still feel the sheer desperation and the feeling of vindictive hatred towards the pupils who had wrecked my well-intended, well-planned lesson. Eventually, I realised it was wrong – or perhaps I got better at managing my classes ...
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Do academy chief executives need to be education experts?

Research shows that in a number of settings – such as hospitals and universities – there is a correlation between the 'expert knowledge' of the leader and organisational performance. In their 2015 paper, A Theory Exploring How Expert Leaders Influence Performance in Knowledge-Intensive Organizations, Amanda Goodall and Agnes Bäker digest research o...
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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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Why knowledge matters: rescuing our children from failed educational theories

by Eric D Hirsch How can knowledge-based curriculum be integrated into K-12 schooling? What are other ways to equalise educational experiences across various demographics? ... asks Dr E D Hirsch Jnr, in his latest book.  In Why Knowledge Matters: Rescuing Our Children from Failed Educational Theories published by Harvard Education Press in Sep...
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