England is being overtaken by other leading nations because progress on literacy has stalled, says chief schools inspector Sir Michael Wilshaw.
[...]
The latest Programme for International Student Assessment survey, in 2009, showed the UK had slipped from 17th to 25th place in a global assessment of reading standards measured using a sample of 15-year-olds' test results.Read the full news article here.
What do you think?
In light of these findings, is it time developed countries stopped projecting 'best practices' in the education sector? Given our own rates of literacy need improvement, can we really be providing advice for literacy programmes in very different contexts? Can there ever be one perfect model for schooling or literacy? Share your thoughts and experiences in the comments box below.
Thank you for posting on this. I must admit, the more I hear about 'best practices', the more I'm reminded of the era of Imperialism...whilst the intentions may be good, I think it's hard to avoid this. My experiences have shown me that although good school models exist, there is no one-size-fits-all model. Instead, adaptation is most definitely always required.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comment Anonymous.
DeleteI do agree that there doesn't seem to be a one-size-fits-all approach. Of course, we can take global success stories and learn from them, however should be aware that they won't necessarily be successful out of that particular context.
I wonder if other readers have similar or opposing views? Get commenting!