Jane Davidson Lecture

Guest Lecturer: Jane Davidson: Minister for education, Lifelong learning and skills Lecture

What is education- The Learning Country

           The learning country- vision into action is a programme that began in 2001, due to the previous structured system of education not delivering the correct results. The learning country is an agenda that’s passionate about learning highlighting lifelong learning and describing key objectives and actions that the Assembly Government will be taking to make learning from a young to old age a reality. In 1997 the labour government, repeated “education, education and education. Then, now and in the future.” (2000) the goal of the learning country is to support anyone who wants to learn and progress in education. The Learning country states

“We want Wales to be a learning country, where high quality, lifelong learning provides the skills people need to prosper in the new economy, liberates talent, extends opportunities and empowers communities.” (2001)

 Lifelong learning refers to the fact that all the way through our lives we are continually learning. The learning country wants children to have the best start to their lives; they want children to be able to reach their full potential. The learning country has the aim to improve learning standards, teaching in an inclusive community about change, how to survive, how to communicate, progress and live. Bartlett agrees with the idea of Lifelong Learning stating “Learning is something we do all the time, we learn from birth, through childhood, in the workplace.” (2003) we constantly have the opportunity to learn, not only in school but everywhere, at home, at work, from televisions from the Internet- the possibilities are endless. The learning country has many schemes. Some of the schemes include, providing nursery education to all children of the age of three, as well as making sure all infant classes are no more than thirty. Furthermore these schemes allow breakfast clubs and milk for young children and a capital expenditure programme to help the conditions of schools. The learning country not only encourages children to use their imagination, and prepare them for school more efficiently by helping their literacy and numeracy skills. Their schemes moreover help tackle inequality and support the professional judgement of teachers.

Reference List

Bartlett, S. (2003). Educational studies: essential issues. London: SAGE publications.

Blair, T. (2000, September 26). BBC NEWS. Retrieved from BBC.co.uk:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/943374.stm

Welsh Government (2001,August). The Learning Country vision into action. Retrieved March 22, 2012, from Wales.gov.uk:

http://wales.gov.uk/topics/educationandskills/publications/guidance/learningcountry/?lang=en

 

Graham Allen Lecture

Guest Lecture: Graham Allen: Environmental Manager SMU

Sustainable education

         Graham Allen’s lecture was about education for sustainable development. Citizenship and sustainability usually overlap, when citizenship is involved sustainability usually follows as people understand that being a model citizen involves looking for a more sustainable way of living for the future. Education shines light on the problems of sustainability, teaches pupils about developmental and environmental difficulties and “prepares young people more effectively for life in the twenty-first century.” (Hicks, 2008, p. 109) Pupils become aware of environmental issues such as global warming and other crucial issues affecting the planet, that not only allows them to understand how to reduce their impact on the situation but to appreciate the planet, its resources and living organisms. People are beginning to take action, action being a key component in sustainability. Action encourages young people to take control of what they learn rather than absorbing information. Measures are being taken to help reduce the risk on the planet such as travel management and energy use; people are learning to recycle more. People are also beginning to understand the economic world better due to education, (Matheson, 2008, p. 10) agrees with this, stating

“education is viewed as a preparation for life or as a means of coping in one’s economic circumstances.”“the skills, attitudes and values which enables people to work together to take action to bring about change and take control of their own lives.” (Hicks, 2008, p. 111)
education for sustainability improves the standard of living; the alternative to sustainability could perhaps be as bad as the great depression.

Reference List

Hicks, D. (2008). Education for Sustainability. In S. Ward, A Student's Guide to Educational Studies (pp. 107-116). Oxon: Routledge.

Matheson, D. (2008). An introduction to the study of education. London: Fulton Press.