The Unfinished Revolution: Learning, Human Behaviour,Community and Political Paradox (Visions of Education S.) - Hardcover

Abbott, John; Ryan, Terence

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1855390671 ISBN 13: 9781855390676

Publisher: Network Educational Press Ltd, 2000

Synopsis

Drawing on evidence from the past, this important book shows how shifting attitudes in society and politics have shaped Western education systems into those we are familiar with today. Authors John Abbott and Terry Ryan argue that instead of continuing to tinker with outdated conventions rooted in an industrial heritage, what is now needed is a fresh approach tailored to evidence of how children actually learn. Research into the developing brain suggests that children get off to the best start by being taught in small groups at an early age, boosting their collaborative skills, while older children benefit from gradually being weaned off intensive teacher-led tuition and encouraged to be the kind of autonomous and inventive thinkers and learners that employers in the 21st Century are crying out for. This is essential reading not only for those involved in education and policy making, but also anyone who has looked at the difficulties schools - and the communities around them - face in the modern world and thought, "There must be a better way."

About this title

About the Author

John Abbott is president of the 21st Century Learning Initiative, a transnational association of educational researchers and practitioners. Following a long career as a teacher and headteacher in England, Abbott became director of Education 2000, spearheading nine community-wide education projects in the UK. In his current role he has lectured around the world on new understandings about learning. He spent four years in Washington DC and now lives with his family in Bath, England. Abbott's previous books include Learning Makes Sense (1994) and The Child is Father of the Man: How Humans Learn and Why (1999). Terry Ryan is senior researcher for the 21st Century Learning Initiative. After receiving his Masters Degree in political economy in 1994, he worked with educational reformers and students in Poland, and co-authored a book on Polish history, The Shadows of the Past (2000), with former Solidarity leader Wiktor Kulerski. Ryan lives in Virginia, USA, with his wife and baby daughter.

From the Inside Flap

The Unfinished Revolution is essential reading not only for educators and policymakers, but for anyone who has looked at the difficulties faced by schools and the communities around them and thought, "There must be a better way." The authors argue that the cumbersome industrial model of education still followed in the West is out of step with the needs of modern businesses and society, and that a radical re-think is required based on evidence of how children actually learn. Drawing on a vast body of evidence and relevant research, the book covers:
How humans learn, and why our innate talents for learning through community involvement clash with current school systems.
The historical reasons for the demise of learning within the community and the rapid ascent of mass education.
The impact changing economies and working practices have had on family life, and on our expectations of schools.
The English experience, showing how difficult it has proved over the past 50 years to move away from entrenched systems of education.
How educational practices need to change in order to promote lifelong learning.
Abbott and Ryan believe that education should be about far more than teaching the basics and improving test scores, and offer up their own compelling vision of how and what children should learn in the 21st century.

Edition details

• Publisher: Network Educational Press Ltd
• Publication date: 2000
• ISBN 10: 1855390671
• ISBN 13: 9781855390676
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 282
• Editor: Varley Wendy