Edited by Martin Yarnit.
Published 2007 (ISBN 1 905370 28 8) Price £9.95
Despite improvements in school results over the last 10 years, much more needs to be done to improve participation, attainment and, importantly, aspiration among the most disadvantaged. Our economic future depends upon ensuring that our whole population have the aptitudes and capabilities to cope in a changing and changeable world of work. But, as these essays highlight, the skills needed are also changing and new forms of learning and schooling need to be considered. As Michael Peters’ essay states, by the time children now entering school are ready for employment, they are likely to be engaged in a job that does not yet exist. The essays set out some of what that new model of schooling might look like. As well as making the case for new systems and new approaches, the contributors outline and showcase some of the very practical steps that have been taken to experiment with and test out these ideas – both internationally and through a range of project-based activities in the UK. Taken together, the essays seek to make a coherent case for the need to develop new approaches to learning and education – to provide children with the skills and capabilities required for a new world of work, and to unlock the talent and realise the aspirations of all our children.