Help with reading and writing increases the probability of receiving the Disability Support Pension by about 20%.
Dilapidating infrastructure and poorly trained teachers are just some of the problems plaguing Nigeria’s education system.
RTI International/Ruth McDowall
Most parents know how important it is to read to their child, but not as many know the importance of helping them learn emotional skills. And it’s the emotional skills teachers find most important.
The complexity of student experiences can be lost in larger groups.
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Grade 4 student Charlene seemed chronically off-task – until an educator noticed she was, in fact, the sole student pursuing the question, ‘Was the oil boom bad for our wildlife?’
Private tutoring services seem to be getting more prominent.
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Some parents did speak of tutoring as a way of securing entry into a specific school. But they were in the minority. Most spoke of using it to help fix academic problems, temporary and ongoing.
Street art can complement formal classroom learning. Here, ‘No more pipelines’ mural by the artist Swarm in Montréal.
(Anna Augosto Rodrigues)
Street art promotes public dialogue on social justice issues and can lead to opportunities for learning outside of formal schooling.
Focusing on narrow PISA measures may increase skill levels but cause students to miss out on the kinds of learning that generates higher-order thinking.
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There are many reasons to be skeptical about PISA rankings, and their use to compare student achievement or to identify best practices or solutions for educational problems.
Children who love reading generally score higher on literacy tests than those who are ambivalent about it.
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It would be wiser to spend money on policies that allow teachers to teach in ways that nurture children’s sense of belonging and making sure children are not hungry when they are trying to learn.
Large-scale literacy testing has not kept pace with how literacy is practiced in classooms, assessed by teachers and mandated by curriculum.
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The role of the school library has evolved. Today’s school library goes beyond providing books. It must include teaching children digital literacy and how to critically evaluate information online.
Children from minority groups rarely see themselves reflected in the books they read. This can negatively impact their sense of identity and their literacy levels.
Librarians are qualified to help struggling readers enjoy and improve at reading.
Peter Rae/AAP
Girls are encouraged more often to read, despite performing better in reading assessments nationally and internationally. Here’s how parents and educators can help connect boys with books.
Professor, Canada Research Chair in Determinants of Child Development, Owerko Centre at the Alberta Children’s Hospital Research Institute, University of Calgary