Keven Cotton’s Post

Limited competition for teaching jobs is holding down the quality of recruits. American teachers come disproportionately from the least selective universities. These institutions pump out about 13% of American graduates, but were providing more than a quarter of new educators before the covid-19 pandemic. (Elite universities mint one-fifth of all graduates but were producing only about 7% of new teachers.) Expanding the pool of applicants would eventually push up grades. Research suggests that people who take up teaching during recessions—when other industries shed staff—get better results over their careers than people who sign up when times are good.

Teacher shortages in the UK are a pressing concern. 📚 Recent statistics indicate that secondary schools are particularly affected, with a shortfall of 3,000 teachers in key subjects like Maths and Science. This gap is set to widen, with pupil numbers projected to rise by 15% over the next decade. But it's not all doom and gloom. Opportunities for professional development are expanding, with a 25% increase in CPD offerings tailored to educators. This is a crucial step in not only retaining talent but also in enhancing the quality of education. I believe that the key to overcoming these challenges lies in a dual approach: actively promoting teaching as a rewarding career path to attract fresh talent, and investing in ongoing development to nurture the educators we already have. 🌱 If you're facing similar challenges or have insights to share, let's connect. Together, we can forge strategies to ensure our educational institutions remain robust and our children's futures bright. #EducationUK #TeacherShortage #ProfessionalDevelopment

Is education in the US stagnating? If so, what’s the remedy for that? Great series of articles in The Economist on the state of education in the US and other western countries. The special report points to the quality of teaching, demographic changes, and an apparent lack of public concern over mediocre test scores as possible explanations for the current situation in the US. Germany, France, the UK, and other wealthy countries are dealing with many of the same issues. Schools in rich countries are making poor progress https://lnkd.in/grWjjqGP from The Economist #education #economicprogress #teacherquality #testscores

Declining domestic enrolments in our universities reflects rising levels of high school drop-outs, and declining maths and science education in high schools. Demanding more maths and science teachers may not be a realistic solution. Schools ‘fail’ kids on maths, science https://lnkd.in/gkHtsyv5

Catch up with all the latest news, trends and important updates in education with our Weekly Sector News. This week looks at measures to improve attendance, GCSE resit results, and social selection in schools. Read the latest update: https://bit.ly/3NZR7oR

The #Institution or its Students? Evaluating Notions of Good #Education New research reveals perceptions of good #schools are heavily dependent on the preparation of the #students entering them

A real privilege to be in the NZH today on Schooling in NZ Schools need to get back to basics, too - Alwyn Poole The piece is on Herald Premium but some excerpts here: https://lnkd.in/eDwfVdRN The new [NZ] Government has made much about their “back to basics” of an hour of reading, writing and maths a day for every school child from years one to eight”. There is merit in much of it - .... There are questions about these curriculum changes though, and three broad ones are coming up most frequently. In a five-hour teaching day, when will science, technology (i.e. STEM), NZ history (compulsory), social studies, exercise, languages, art, music and health be taught? ... A huge part of the solution is that schools ... need to get back to basics too. ...... (I then give a range of things to do) There is much schools can improve on that is already in their decision-making power. Best Alwyn Poole Innovative Education Consultants https://lnkd.in/gSWGwDp7 alwynpoole.substack.com

"The Department for Education has slashed its secondary school teacher recruitment targets by almost a tenth, despite missing them by 50 per cent last year. Government sets targets annually against which recruitment is assessed. Today’s figures show that the government believes it needs to recruit 23,955 to postgraduate teacher training in September, down 2,405, or 9.1 per cent, on its target for 2023. The DfE said the decrease was “driven by more favourable supply forecasts”. “For example, recruitment forecasts for both returners, and teachers that are new to the state-funded sector are more favourable for almost all subjects this year.” It added that while “secondary pupil numbers are still growing, they are now growing more slowly; in advance of peaking around 2025-26”. “This has acted to reduce the rate at which the workforce needs to grow and has helped lead to this year’s lower secondary target. “Meanwhile, the primary target has been revised up by 2.4 per cent from 9,180 to 9,400, despite falling primary pupil numbers nationally. #Recruitment #Teachers #Schools

Is it time to say that levelling the playing field means the kind of financial investment per pupil in the state sector that is already in the private sector? Not trying to be controversial here, but we see local academy trusts producing bigger and bigger schools to keep costs down, and pupils moving between campuses to ensure they can take A Levels of their choice. We also see SEND pupils absolutely overwhelmed by the size of these schools, irrespective of some excellent local SEND provision where schools have really invested in these pupils.