The best years of their lives ? : pupils' experiences of school

Based on structured research and interviews with pupils in years 10 and 11 (15 ^DDS 16 years old) about their views of the purpose of school and their own future employment and the way the two connect, this book offers a blistering critique of the purpose of education and its ability to prepare children for the world of work. The issues raised include: the purpose of school, the nature and quality of the curriculum, whether their time was well spent, whether what they learned was relevant, who influenced them, their views of industry and the world outside. Out of the mouths of babes, the truth comes tumbling and the result is a shocking indictment of an educational system that fails to deliver what it sets out to achieve. Book Cover......Page 1 Title......Page 2 Dedication......Page 3 Copyright......Page 4 Contents......Page 5 Preface......Page 9 The idea of a school......Page 12 Concepts of childhood......Page 14 Policies or practice......Page 15 The ethos of policy......Page 18 What children bring to school......Page 19 Complexities of real experience......Page 20 School as societies?......Page 22 The sample and method......Page 25 Ethical issues with pupils......Page 27 Informed consent?......Page 28 Listening to children......Page 30 Institutionalizing ethics......Page 31 Prescriptive versus descriptive approaches......Page 32 Real consent......Page 34 The role of the researcher......Page 35 The boundaries of confidentiality......Page 36 Responsibility, accountability and democratic control......Page 37 Conclusions......Page 39 Formative stages?......Page 47 Finding the positives......Page 48 Rites of passage of a kind......Page 49 The demands of school......Page 50 Control and disorder......Page 53 The routine of school......Page 55 What purpose?......Page 59 The social context......Page 61 Outcomes or judgements?......Page 63 Reasons for being in school?......Page 65 From work in school to paid work......Page 69 The past is another country?......Page 73 Looking back on experiences......Page 75 Regrets, personal and institutional......Page 80 The central part of life......Page 83 Happier days?......Page 85 The National Curriculum as a necessity......Page 88 The given core......Page 90 Subjects and knowledge......Page 93 Usefulness and utility......Page 95 The monument of knowledge......Page 97 What should be learnt?......Page 99 Formal and personal skills......Page 101 What are ‘key’ skills?......Page 103 Skills of schools and skills of living......Page 105 The most essential skill......Page 108 The essential learning......Page 112 The anti-social undercurrents of schools......Page 114 The social atmosphere of learning......Page 116 Waiting for something to happen......Page 118 All that remains unnoticed......Page 120 The seeking of challenges......Page 122 The half-hidden malaise of school......Page 124 Culpable witness......Page 126 The role of teachers......Page 130 The dominance of being taught......Page 134 The psychological absence of teachers......Page 136 Fairness and unfairness......Page 138 The inner curriculum of teaching......Page 141 Teacher dependency......Page 144 Teachers as roles, teachers as people......Page 146 Teaching styles and learning styles......Page 149 Groups, gangs and tribes......Page 152 Learning to survive......Page 154 Working together or in competition......Page 156 The temptations of groups......Page 159 Avoiding routines......Page 160 The pleasures of collaboration......Page 162 Conclusions......Page 166 Rites of passage......Page 168 Do schools connect?......Page 172 School as employment......Page 174 The ambivalent security of school......Page 176 The exposure to the job market......Page 178 Conclusions......Page 182 11 The social context of school......Page 183 Conclusions......Page 203 References......Page 218 Index......Page 225 Based on structured interviews with pupils about their views of the purpose of school, their own future employment and the way the two interconnect, this book offers a blistering critique of the purpose of education and its ability to prepare children for the world beyond. The results of the research provide a true statement of a deep-seated problem, but also give an insight into the resilience of the pupils themselves as they put up with what is happening to them and try hard not to complain.As Professor Cullingford shows, the world of school as experienced by pupils is very different from the assumptions made by politicians and those operating the system. Out of the mouths of children the truth comes tumbling, and the result is a shocking indictment of an education system that all too often fails to deliver what it sets out to achieve. Based on research and interviews with pupils in years 10 and 11 (15 and 16 years old) about their views of the purpose of school and their own future employment and the way the two connect, this book offers a critique of the purpose of education and

Based on research and interviews with 15 and 16 year old students about their views of the purpose of school and their own future employment and the way the two connect, this book offers a critique of the purpose of education.