Like the economy, Britain’s education system is directing its resources to the wrong objectives.
In Britain, education is the most politicised of all activities. The government decides what millions of children learn, and how they learn it, based on its view of how the economy works.
Children learn to conform, to do routine tasks, to meet specified requirements and targets, and to compete in a structured way, because that is what the economic system rewards. Children who do not learn in this way are routinely failed by the system.
Like work, however, education is at its best when it meets children’s specific talent and capacities, nurtures their creativity, encourages their autonomy and imparts a strong sense of purpose and usefulness.
For education to be most effective, to produce the best outcomes for all young people and to empower them to contribute to society in the best way they can, the relationship between education and the economy needs to be turned on its head.