Europe/United Kingdom/26.06.18/By Charles Parker/Source: www.telegraph.co.uk.
On an almost daily basis we hear from educators, politicians and commentators on what needs to change in education. But we rarely hear from parents, despite the fact they have a clear perspective on the outcomes. It’s their children that the system teaches and they see first hand whether it’s working.
Recent research from the Baker Dearing Educational Trust shows that 80 per cent of parents think the current education system needs to change to reflect 21st century Britain, which suggests they have concerns.
The research surveyed 1,000 parents with teenagers at mainstream schools and their responses were compared with 450 parents whose children attend University Technical Colleges (UTCs), technical schools for 14-18 year olds.
The results found that for two thirds (66 per cent) of parents their biggest fear is that their child will not find a job when they leave education and nearly half (48.1 per cent) of parents said they felt stressed about their child’s education.
It is completely understandable that parents are concerned about the future and whether their children will secure the careers they deserve.
Parents are hearing about high youth unemployment and graduates not being able to find jobs. Their children are staying at home longer and finding it harder to rent, let alone buy, their own homes.
Futurist, Rohit Talwar says that youngsters need to be ready to have 40 jobs during their career and work, potentially, up to the age of 100.
Although no one really knows what’s in store it’s clear that the way we’ve been working and living is going to change greatly. So for UTC parents it must be reassuring to know that their child is confident and has a clear understanding of the industry they want to work in.
Nearly two thirds (64 per cent) of mainstream school parents surveyed said they wanted a greater variety of choice in the type of school for their child and 69 per cent said they wanted the option to select a technical education if it reflected their child’s talents.
It’s really hard for schools to keep pace with the modern world of work, where the skills requirements are changing all the time. In order to cope with these changes, young people will need to be well grounded in basic behaviour, social skills, communication and teamwork. They will need to have the ability to adapt, learn new skills and master technologies that haven’t even been conceived yet.
Recently, Nicky Morgan showed she had been listening to working parents when she offered them the right to request childcare from their school that reflects a full working day.
I agree that it is important that schools align themselves with the working day for three reasons. First, it helps children in their transition between school and work. Second, parents will be pleased that children remain in school where they are safe and supervised to do their homework and extra-curricular activities.
But finally it makes sense on a social level for everyone’s quality of life. It keeps learning and homework within the working day rather than dragging into the evening when parents and children are too tired to concentrate.
UTCs are ahead of the curve on this as they have been operating on a working day since the first one opened.
Schools are working hard to deliver the talent employers need but employers need to change too. They need to take a long-term view of their skills requirements and integrate better with the education system.
In Europe, collaboration is normal, but in the UK the worlds of education and employment are largely separate.
Employers and the university control the governing bodies of UTCs. This means they are required to understand more about education and it helps the senior leaders of the school to better understand the needs of employers. It’s testing for both sides, but it seems to be paying off.
The research showed that about eight out of 10 parents believed the UTC was preparing their child for the world of work compared to just over 6 out of 10 parents with children at mainstream schools.
The skills challenge we face will not be solved by one single system or education program. This is not just a problem for the Government, educators or industry. Our research show parents have clear ideas and should play a larger role in engineering future solutions.
Source of the notice: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/educationopinion/11960332/Parents-have-clear-views-on-the-education-system-its-time-they-were-heard.html
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