The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development aims to analyse pupils’ attitudes towards ‘cultural diversity’ for the first time.
Fifteen-year-olds will be asked about their understanding of global issues such as migration alongside separate tests in reading, maths and science.
Gosh! How will teachers cope
with more work?
The ‘global competence’ assessments are proposed for the 2018 round of PISA (the Programme for International Student Assessment), which is run by the OECD.
Children from about 80 countries including England are expected to participate.
Ah. My bet is they'll find time for it after all...
Pupils completing the PISA questionnaires will be asked about topics such as immigration and whether they enjoy unfamiliar food.
Under the plans, they will be asked whether their teachers ‘talk in a respectful way’ and are ‘open to personal contact’ with people from ‘all cultural or ethnic groups’.
Other potential questions focus on whether staff ‘have lower academic expectations’ for students from some ethnic groups and ‘apply the same criteria’ to grading and disciplining children ‘irrespective of their cultural origin or ethnic group’.
Oh, yes. This is propaganda, plain and simple.
Andreas Schleicher, director for education and skills at the OECD, said it was vital to measure pupils’ perceptions of their teachers’ attitudes to different cultures and ethnicities.
He told the Times Educational Supplement: ‘We are looking at what students perceive to be teachers’ attitudes.
‘We believe that perception will shape and will frame the way in which students learn about global competencies.
‘For example, if you have a teacher who says: “The textbook says I have to teach you about the diversity of cultures, but I think it’s complete nonsense” – in an environment like this a student is not going to engage themselves. But imagine a teacher who confronts them with the difficulties refugees face in England in getting integrated, and then I think you would probably get a very different stance from pupils.’
And the teachers will lap it up....
‘For example, if you have a teacher who says: “The textbook says I have to teach you about the diversity of cultures, but I think it’s complete nonsense”
ReplyDeleteWho on Earth thinks that cultures aren't diverse?
That's precisely the problem, some are so diverse from each other that there is no way for them to get along in a single country without conflict or oppression.
ReplyDeleteFifteen year olds have opinions. Whether anyone should be setting any store by them is another matter.
They have no experience of the world and should be focusing on their exam work.
I was going to comment on this, but, frankly... What can I say?
ReplyDeleteThis also appears to be a neat way to identify teachers who don't toe the multi-culti line. Or, at the very least, encourage those teachers to fall into lockstep to keep their jobs.
ReplyDeleteThere is at least one valid point to this, among the BS.
ReplyDeleteTeachers who decide based on race or culture what a student's achievement is likely to be are going to bring that into their teaching. It's only natural that you don't strive with those that you already regard as failures.
It becomes a self-defeating circle. Students with not great attitudes are reinforced by teachers who think that group is not worth their time. And they bring their kids up to think school is useless. There's communities of white people in this cycle too -- it's not just race.
If you actually want your sink estate kids and immigrants to stay uneducated then, sure, don't worry about teacher bias. I'm sure things will work out fine leaving them the way they are.
I'm not sure why you think teachers will want students to have the chance to effectively say they are racist. I would think they would prefer such things did not get published internationally. This is an example of how teachers are actually prepared to face criticism (I can imagine nurses' unions not liking the equivalent thing, for example). How many other professions allow their performance to be compared directly with other countries?
And the "teachers having time" for PISA is a bullshit criticism. PISA only takes a small sample for each country, and the tests for English, Science and Maths are important. The time component lost to teaching is beyond trivial.
This will all be an excellent measure of state indoctrination.
ReplyDeleteThose who don't think right will undoubtedly receive further education. And maybe a visit from the police for their parents.
Better still such self admitting bigots could be relocated to a settlement in north Scotland to work the land there and aquir proper thought.
Their teachers could follow them.
“The textbook says I have to teach you about the diversity of cultures, but I think it’s complete nonsense..."
ReplyDelete"...that I should have to 'teach' something so blindingly obvious. Now let's stop wasting time and get back to some proper work in a real subject."
Sounds perfectly reasonable to me.
The diversity paper will, of course, be published in 98 languages.
ReplyDeleteJust a minor point teaching isn't a profession, it is a 'white collar' job but it isn't a profession, to be a profession it must be regulated by the Privy Council and there is no equivalent body to sit on the Privy Council. The Builders have one, the C.I.o.B. and the Surveyors and Architects but not teachers. Hence teachers are not a profession.
ReplyDelete"Who on Earth thinks that cultures aren't diverse? "
ReplyDeletePeople who love the idea of 'diversity' of shape and colour and language, but can't handle those with diverse views!
"...but, frankly... What can I say?"
Quite!
"...a neat way to identify teachers who don't toe the multi-culti line."
And, soon, pupils..?
"It becomes a self-defeating circle. Students with not great attitudes are reinforced by teachers who think that group is not worth their time. "
Maybe they have a point?
"This is an example of how teachers are actually prepared to face criticism.."
Is it? We'll see.
"The diversity paper will, of course, be published in 98 languages."
ReplyDeleteHeh!
"Just a minor point teaching isn't a profession, it is a 'white collar' job but it isn't a profession..."
The 'Guardian' doesn't care for minor distinctions like this!