Great Mistakes in Education Policy
And How to Avoid Them in the Future
By Ruth Lupton and Debra Hayes
Published
Apr 30, 2021Page count
216 pagesISBN
978-1447352457Dimensions
216 x 138 mmImprint
Policy PressPublished
Apr 30, 2021Page count
216 pagesISBN
978-1447352488Dimensions
Imprint
Policy PressPublished
Apr 30, 2021Page count
216 pagesISBN
978-1447352488Dimensions
Imprint
Policy Press
Great Mistakes in Education Policy
Education policies should drive success and equity but in many countries they are failing to do so. Situating the cases of England and Australia within broader global policy trends, this book critically analyses what has gone wrong.
The authors draw on extensive research in education to review the impact of multiple policies on students, teachers and schools, with a focus on communities where children and young people need education most. They issue a fundamental challenge to the policy orthodoxies of recent decades and set out a blueprint for making education both better and fairer.
Ruth Lupton is Professor of Education at The University of Manchester. She researches, writes and teaches about poverty and inequality, particularly in relation to education and neighbourhoods.
Debra Hayes is Professor of Education and Equity and Head of School at Sydney School of Education and Social Work, The University of Sydney. Her research investigates inequitable effects of schooling in high poverty and difference contexts.
Introduction
Setting the scene
Tests, tests, tests
Schooling that works for some but not for others
Teachers making less of a difference
Mistake #1: turning to the market
Mistake #2: letting test scores drive policy
Mistake #3: over-prescribing teachers’ work
Mistake #4: misunderstanding educational inequalities
Mistake #5: leaving education out of education policy making
Synthetic phonics: a ‘perfect storm’ of policy mistakes
There are alternatives
