Education system needs a mayor shift, finds report

Charity Big Change and the Innovation Unit have released a new report on reimagining education, stating current education systems needs to have a significant shift in focus.

The report is backed by a new survey by YouGov and TeacherTapp which shows that teachers, students and parents want less focus on cramming for exams

It shows that 84% of teachers think school is preparing children for exams, but three-quarters of all teachers wish this wasn’t the main focus.

Sixty per cent of all children aged 11-18, and half (50%) of parents of children aged 11-18, want schools to focus on more than passing exams.
 
Teachers, parents and students all wanted to see more focus on preparing young people for the future and helping them to become good citizens:

Teachers (84%) and almost two-thirds of children aged 11-18 (65%) wish that education did more to help students learn about making a positive difference to society and the planet.

Parents wish that schools would prioritise helping students find what they are passionate about (32%), improve their communication skills (42%) and learn about the environment - a far cry from what they feel schools do best, which is preparing them to pass exams.

Almost two thirds (64%) of teachers wanted education to prioritise helping students get the job they want.

Students wanted to see a shift in how they learn, beyond the traditional classroom setting:

Students aged 11-18 feel they learn well when interacting with their peers (76%) and with other adults outside of school (40%) - yet this is not the norm in our education system.

The ‘Reimagining Education Together' report highlights twenty examples from across the world of pioneers who are making change happen in their schools, communities and on a broader scale. They show how businesses, parents, governments and whole communities can come together to reimagine education and take learning beyond the classroom.

Andreas Schleicher, Director for the Directorate of Education and Skills at the OECD, said: “This report from Big Change is an important contribution to the urgent debate on the need for change in our education system.

“Where systems don’t involve actors like parents or teachers in the design of change, they are unlikely to help you with implementing it. That is why educational leaders are rarely successful with reform unless they build a shared understanding and collective ownership for change, and unless they create accountability measures designed to encourage innovation rather than compliance.

"The exam system in the UK, in particular, is not currently doing this, and teachers, students and parents feel disempowered. This report should lay the foundations for us to give everyone in the system the tools to effect the change we need."