Tag: ACS International School Cobham

What lessons can we learn from PISA ranking leader Finland? 

” In Finland for example, there is no national testing, no school inspections and no school league tables”

The latest  Program for International Student Assessment results has prompted questions about what certain countries are doing better than others when it comes to the quality, equity and efficiency of school systems around the globe. In this blog, head of School at ACS International School Cobham, Barnaby Sandow, explores some of the lessons that can be learned from Finland.

Scandinavian countries are world-famous for promoting happiness and wellbeing – and also for their exceptional education, whether measured in academic results, student happiness or overall progress to learning objectives.

You may have seen the 2019 PISA results recently which illustrated that most countries – particularly in the developed world – have seen little improvement in their performances over the past decade, even though spending on education increased by 15 per cent over the same period.

The report – outlined in this insightful editorial comment  – concludes that huge numbers of graduates are therefore likely to struggle to find their way through life in an increasingly volatile, digital world.

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Generation Greta: education & the global climate crisis

“A student could do 10,000 hours of contact time in the classroom, and only hear about environmental issues or discuss the effects of climate change in ten of them”

Barnaby Sandow, Head of School at ACS International School Cobham, asks how we can re-focus our approach to education to realistically frame the growing global climate crisis.

Environmental education is not consistent in the UK. Whilst it encompasses multiple topics and skills, environmental education has no defined syllabus or structure, which means in practice, it’s a subject matter that ‘falls through the gaps’.

It’s entirely possible that a student could do 10,000 hours of contact time in the classroom, and only hear about environmental issues or discuss the effects of climate change in ten of them. As each #FridaysForFuture protest passes, it’s starkly obvious that we need an education ready to support ‘Generation Greta’.

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