Education matters

Ian McGimpsey, senior manager of education at the RSA, and Peter Walker, principal of the Evelyn Grace Academy in Brixton, believe there is a need to both state clearly the aims of schooling nationally and provide an alternative to the current model for secondary education.

Ian McGimpsey: The RSA is articulating its aims in terms of the social aspiration gap, which is the gap between the world we want to live in and the world that will be created by our behaviour. The changing context of the 20th century, in our view, means that challenge and unpredictability are now fundamental parts of modern society. The aims of schooling should look at what we need to do as citizens to take on these challenges successfully. It would be interesting to hear your perspective.

Peter Walker: My starting point is similar. A point of reference for me is Neil Postman’s book The End of Education, where he says that there are two questions to be answered in education: the metaphysical question and the engineering question. As a nation we tend to spend most of our time addressing the engineering one, the means by which we might change things, rather than saying what, fundamentally, school is for. I think there are three core concepts. Young people in, as you say, a changing global community are going to need a range of skills. I think that’s fairly uncontested, but they’re also going to need to internalise it – what David Hargreaves calls “moving from dependence to independence”. Secondly, it’s about developing a sense of self and of community at a personal, local and global level. The third area, which is partly influenced by where I work, is knowing how to safeguard oneself and develop a sense of the sanctity of learning.

IM: We need young people who are not only capable of coping with the world around them, but capable of thinking critically about it and then reshaping it. How do your ideas of individual efficacy come into this, particularly given that, historically, young people from relatively disadvantaged groups have not shaped the world in which they’ve grown up?

PW: I felt it was important to have a clear mission statement for Evelyn Grace. I believe strongly in the concept of ‘structure liberating’ and the need to get the culture and ethos right in our schools. We have some specific routines in terms of behaviour management that we’re trying to instil in the youngsters, so that they feel safe and the teachers are free to teach. Ultimately, we want them to internalise that self-discipline and understand how to operate in different contexts.

IM: It’s a testament to how important it is to talk about aims because one might associate such routines with a model of passivity and carrying out repetitive tasks, but for you these rules are used in the early stages in order to liberate later. In terms of system change, I want to pick up on the current confusion around the curriculum for 14–19-year-olds – the introduction of vocational diplomas. It strikes me that we lack a clear, widely understood message around what these changes aim to achieve. It’s said these reforms will be judged on the basis of their uptake by students. So if there is a lack of public clarity about what these reforms are for, if the ‘consumer’ doesn’t understand them, there’s something fundamentally lacking in the government’s approach.

PW: That goes back to where this conversation began, because if you start with clarity about the aims of schooling then it may be a choice that you have to leave to the practitioners and not try to prescribe it. I do think it’s a problem in this country that we invest so much money in central agencies. There is still a sense that that’s where the wisdom comes from.

IM: Moving on to the innovation that results from a consideration of aims, what is the right balance among the profession, practitioners at the local level and government? If we assume that a set of community relationships are necessary for schools to respond to local need, but that central government retains a role in setting out systemic priorities, how do we make sure effective innovation flourishes?

PW: My motivation was always to find a point where you could create system change and with Evelyn Grace there is an opportunity to create a potentially scaleable model. We are creating a different small school model within the academy where the small school heads are responsible both for standards across all subjects and for generating a smaller-scale learning environment where every student is known, challenged and supported. Instead of heads of departments, we’ve got consultant subject leaders. As the lead practitioner, that person is freed up from any line-management responsibilities. Their prime task is to generate outstanding teaching by coaching. When you get to the point where you have clusters of small schools, that role can potentially work alongside practitioners in other schools, starting to generate a community of practitioners.

If you have an interest in this subject area and would like to discuss it with other Fellows, email Networks.