January 2013

  • Neither national, nor a curriculum

    It was a pleasure to read Robin Alexander's incisive critique of Mr Gove's attempts at curriculum reform: pleasing, but oh so disappointing that such a riposte should prove necessary.  Here's the Abstract to Alexander's Forum paper for a flavour of...

  • UN observance days – or should that be daze?

    The UN has a long list of "observance days", and weeks, and years.  It is mesmerising.  In addition to International Mother Earth Day, the International Day for Biological Diversity, World Refugee Day, World Habitat Day, and World Oceans Day, which seem ok, sort of,...

  • Let's look at probability rather than proof

    A recent Economist ran a piece on Hurricane Sandy, and the costs to come from it.  It was typically thoughtful (if you like the Economist's thinking on economics and society, as I tend to do.  If you don't, it will...

  • Another World Sustainable Development Teach-In Day

    Personally, I’d rather hoped that one might be enough, but it seems not.  Friday, 8th February is the day, and details can be seen here. This year's event has the theme "Sustainable Development: towards local solutions to a global challenge"...

  • A Sustainable Higher Education Academy? Not quite yet

    The Higher Education Academy [HEA] has an advisory group on ESD of which I am a member.  The Academy also has a new Strategic Plan (2012–2016).  Sadly, this is not all it might be.  It begins ... This is a dynamic...

  • Unfolding the Power of ESD: lessons learnt and ways forward?

    Unfolding the Power of ESD – Lessons Learned and Ways Forward reports on the conference The Power of ESD – Exploring Evidence & Promise, which took place in Gotland, Sweden, in October 2012.  The conference was organized by the Swedish...

  • Jeff Forshaw on science and politicians

    A good article in the Observer last week from Jeff Forshaw.  He's a mate of Brian Cox – Oh, and a professor of physics and astronomy at Manchester.  It begins: In an editorial for the New Statesman, my colleague at the...

  • Higher Education Funding for 2013-14

    Every January, the Higher Education Funding Council for England [HEFCE] receives a letter from whichever government department currently holding the parcel labelled “Responsibility for Higher Education”.  This sets out what government expects the Council to do for its (taxpayers’) money...

  • Implementing improved educational and school standards in Wales

    I have commented before on the problems Welsh schools have in achieving decent standards for their students, and of how ESDGC seems irrelevant to this, despite research evidence to the contrary, and the high-profile focus on sustainable development as a...

  • Ireland's the place to be for ESD

    I was alerted the other day to the Ireland International Conference on Education (IICE-2013), April 15-17, 2013, in Dublin.  The mail said: IICE is an international refereed conference dedicated 
to the advancement of the theory and practices in education. 
The...