akademisi.net-Education and democracy are intertwined in the idea of freedom and equal opportunity for all. If we are serious about combatting poverty, and ensuring that all our citizens have the opportunity to live up to their potential, then we must look beyond the preoccupation with the material in our public life to an understanding of people’s needs and aspirations.
We must take seriously our growing inequality, and the damage that a dysfunctional economic system is doing to our economy, our values and our way of life. More broadly, the pursuit of equal opportunity – and the attainment of shared prosperity – has not come at the expense of equal opportunities in life, and a range of material aspirations. We must recognise the strength of feelings about the common good in all our communities. This too is a social agenda.
Inequalities of wealth and opportunity are, of course, symptomatic of broader problems in our society – the way in which the economy works, the institutions that underpin it, the culture and attitudes that underpin it and, more widely, the relationship between politics and the economy.
So in a practical way, the most important policy issue for educational policy is to ensure that all our children receive a good education, and can receive it at the right time in their lives – that is, early in their schooling and in preparation for life after school. This means making the most of the huge and growing expenditure on early years and education, so that every child in our schools has the opportunity to thrive. Not every child will have the same educational opportunities – nor will every child always be prepared to thrive.
However, we must recognise the strength of feelings about the common good in all our communities. This too is a social agenda.
In the 1970s, there were many campaigners who called for equality of opportunity for all and for a fundamental change in the relationship between the education system, the labour market, and society. They wanted education to be accountable, they wanted the school curriculum to be about giving all children a broad education to help them develop their talents, they wanted equality of opportunity in the workplace – and they wanted an end to education as a privilege. This was a revolution, and it has taken a long time to come to fruition.
However, we have come a long way, and now we must achieve the aim of a world class education system, not simply to educate the skilled workers we need, but also to build a more diverse and just society. We must redouble our efforts to ensure that we are making the best use of the millions of hours our children spend at school every year.
We should seek to give them more high quality time with the teachers and other staff, and more time for their play and leisure, but also for those important opportunities that come with exams.
