In the UK Children the Terrence Higgins Trust, the NSPCC and the National Union of Teachers have called for enhanced and extended education about sex. The authors of a letter ot the Times say that children should be taught about sex and relationships throughout their time in school because children needed to know about health …
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Category:Education
Humans not as smart as monkeys …
Well the headline is cheeky, but highlights the similarity between humans and other primates. Findings, published in Current Biology, suggest we may have under-estimated the intelligence of our closest living relatives. Research suggests chimpanzees have an extraordinary photographic memory that is far superior to ours. Young chimps outperformed university students in memory tests devised by …
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International education study released: PIRLS and TIMSS
The Progress in International Reading Literacy Study was just released. It is a wide survey focusing on primary school reading standards, conducted every five years. It also surveys aspects such as how safe children feel. At right is a summary table extracted from the press release pack (zip). The executive summary is here. Other links …
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Literacy is declining rapidly in developed economies.
The following extract from PPI Trade Fact of the Week makes sobering reading. While the data is for the US, I am sure that it reflects similar trends in other wealthy nations, certainly anglophone ones. The culprits of declining literacy are presumably attractive TV, movies and video games combined with lowering of scholarship standards by …
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Education should provide more support for experiential learning over academics in early years
Dr Lilian Katz, a professor of education at the University of Illinois, USA who addressed an international conference on foundation-stage learning at the University of Oxford, spoke out against plans to teach reading at pre-school and said there is a danger that children could be put off reading for life. She said: “The evidence we …
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Emotional intelligence at 6 months
According to new research, 6 month old babies can already assess someone’s intentions towards them, deciding who is a likely friend or enemy, even though they are barely able to sit up. Like all social creatures, humans are able to make rapid judgements of other people based on how they behave towards others, but the …
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Education is Number 1 in China
China is now the largest higher education system in the world: it awards more university degrees than the US and India combined. But its not just volume, its quality and growth too. China has identified education as a priority and invested in its education system so that in a few years it has transformed itself …
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School governors denigrate tests and league tables
The UK’s National Governors’ Association is calling for an end to the current system of league tables and national tests, saying the tables held information that was too narrow and misrepresented what happened in schools. Instead it wants schools to be given a grade based on comparisons with others in similar circumstances, and tests that …
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Transport more important to us than children?
There are now three times more cars than children in the UK says a report commissioned by Play England who say that the disappearance of places where children can play demands a “robust and urgent response”. While the statistic in itself may be a bit misleading, since it does not reflect car ownership per family, …
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Global Text Project coming
A new website that make available open content electronic textbooks facilitating learning. Still in its early stages it also accepts contributions: Global Text Project