Writing for Toffee?

Richard Evans is concerned about the decline in writing skills. Last September a number of daily papers (e.g. The Independent 6/09/08) ran reports on a study by exam boards and assessors/markers on the ability of candidates sitting GCSE and ‘A’ levels examinations to write their answers in longhand. According to the report, the number of requests from candidates for ‘scribes’ in examinations had increased from 28,324 in 2005 to 40,215 in 2007. The figures relate to the total number of requests for ‘scribes’ and clearly a particular candidate might require help for more than one subject. However it was unlikely

Reading Skills and ICT

Richard Evans returns to his soap box on the issue of computers and their possibly negative impact on education A recent BBC World Service programme presented by Michael Rosen raised a number of interesting issues regarding the impact of the declining use of narration in popular films on reading skills. An American film critic on the programme voiced his concerns about Hollywood productions which were increasingly superficial and undemanding on the audience. Too often, the films were formulaic in character e.g. car chases, explosions, sex and special effects with predictable and superficial story lines and plots. The audience were primarily

The Knowledge Society

The professional organisations of today were founded tn the growth of societies dedicated to the advancement of knowledge in previous centuries, as our resident historian Dick Evans explains The foundation and development of learned and professional organisations representing science and technical disciplines is a fascinating story in its own right, but a study of their history also identifies many similarities with the evolution of technical and scientific education. During the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, both science and technology were in rapid transition and these disciplines had to fight hard to gain recognition and a place in the education system Before

New Services and Products

The quality of what the college offers by way of its services and products is the primary core business on which it is judged. Learner satisfaction and success can guarantee a more secure future as can return business from individuals, employers and other sponsors. The changing nature of employment and the ever accelerating knowledge/skill base coupled with the significant impact of the Information and Communications Technologies on the learning products and processes present particular challenges to the college in order for it to develop and deliver a high quality relevant and appropriate range of services and products to its learners/customers/stakeholders.

The Free Market

A Landscape of Contradictions and Paradoxes There are manifest schisms at the centre of the UK government and little joined up thinking. Dr Dick Evans explains why. It has often been said that we live in a time full of contradictions and paradoxes many of which have been brought about by the operation of the so-called free market, questionable political interventions and ambiguous political slogans e.g. ‘the third way’, ‘choice’ and the latest nonsense the ‘opportunity society’. Many commentators see the continuing introduction of the market by successive governments into the public services as a cynical way of reducing costs

Labour Market Research and Information

Three key questions successive Government have failed to tackle adequately are: How is the supply of sources of labour and skills changing? How is the demand for labour changing? How is the balance between supply and demand changing? In this article Dick Evans examines the consequences. These are the questions that drive and in form labour market research and information. In spite of an immense amount of effort over many years skills gaps and shortages continue to occur. Skills gaps and shortages occur when there is an imbalance in the labour market namely a mismatch between the demand for and

The A-Z Study Revisited

All too often innovative and informative studies get waylaid with the passage of time and replacement of Governments. In this article Dr Dick Evans re-examines one such study and illustrates just how relevant its findings around employer requirements still are. One of the interesting facts of existence is the persistent inability of politicians to acknowledge let alone learn from history. New policies and initiatives abound without reference to or knowledge of previous attempts to tackle and develop public policy on the same issues and this sad reality is true in most areas of political life. Perhaps it is an inevitable

Productivity and the Public Sector

In this article, Dick Evans explores how poorly thought through targets, linked to productivity are ironically proving to be the cause of continued decline rather than its salvation. The debate on this country’s productivity continues at a pace. However, one has to be cautious about stating how productivity is measured. It is now widely acknowledged that this country’s productivity in a whole range of employment areas is well down the international league tables. Many factors impinge on this complex factor. Clearly one major element of interest here is the need to create a highly qualified workforce and at the heart

Learning Banquet or Dog’s Dinner?

Dick Evans helps us make sense of the Learning and Skills Bill and the changes that will affect us all in the years ahead. In December 1999, the DfEE published the Bill that will establish the Learning and Skills Council for England. The Bill set out the range of responsibilities for the Council, which would include: *  planning and funding post-16 further education and work-based training. *  assuring the quality of provision that the Council funds, and *  taking forward a strategy for quality improvement. As a result the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) will take over the funding responsibilities

To Learn or Not to Learn?

That is the basic question says FE College Principal Dick Evans. A recently-introduced government performance indicator focuses on graduates obtaining employment and the new national target regarding participation rates for 16 to 19 year olds. This has provoked reflection on student retention, achievement and the wider aspects of people who do not participate in education and training. Student retention and achievement justifiably continues to be an important issue for colleges and universities. Obviously they wish to see all their students succeed and have value added to them through their studies and the associated learning opportunities and experiences afforded to them