The Conservatives are particularly awful, but people should dismiss any politician who argues that anything other than establishing a fairer and equitable society for children may compel gains in educational performance.
Every instructor would most likely respond to the question in a completely different way. What is the most difficult educational challenge? For some, it may be the behaviour of students, while for others, it may be the Office for Standards in Education (Ofsted). It would most likely be the woke agenda for a tiny percentage and psychological health for the majority.
The politics
The Conservative administration is, of course, the obvious response to the question (what is the most difficult educational challenge?). However, just changing the Conservative administration would not address all of the issues unless it was replaced by one dedicated to significant educational change.
So, what is the most difficult task? Perhaps there is a growing tendency in education toward privatisation. The government wants to see the ratio of academies reach 100%, according to a recent report on education.
Academisation
Of course, students do not profit from being educated in academies – in fact, new research shows that local govt schools beat academy schools even when using the government’s own poor standards.
Academisation has just one ideological agenda: to remove democratic accountability and shift public revenues to private ownership. Trade unions, in collaboration with parents and students, must fight any academisation.
The Office for Standards in Education
The regulatory authority has repeatedly shown to be ineffective, increasing workloads and producing reports that reveal more about the socioeconomic level of the school’s watershed area than they already do about the excellence of schooling provided at the school.
While audits should be used to help schools, that has not been the situation. In fact, one inspector stated that the objective of the audit was to uncover flaws in institutions rather than to strengthen them and that political meddling was rampant from the beginning. Ofsted should be recognised for what it is: a mechanism of regulating and reinforcing the ruling class’s hegemony.
So, what is the most significant educational challenge? There is just not one issue, but many — and although people make a little impact in the lives of the students as individuals, the community as a whole will suffer unless there is an equitable system in place. What people really need is an administration that is committed to long-term social reform. An administration dedicated to the transfer of money and power on an ongoing basis.
