Here at the University of Edinburgh, freshers’ week has just seen a new cohort of students moving into the city. As older students jostled through freebie-stuffed stalls scrabbling for the newcomers’ attention…
According to a new pamphlet issued by the Social Market Foundation, “the Tories’ student loan system that finances our universities, voted through by the Lib Dems, is a timebomb waiting to go off”. The…
In the current rush to achieve the highest student satisfaction and best positions on university league tables we are at significant risk of dumbing down what’s being taught at universities. At both traditional…
You’ve got your A Level results and things are not how you imagined they would be. Maybe you didn’t do as well as you thought you would. Or maybe you didn’t think you wanted to go to university but now…
Sweaty-palmed and reciting facts over and over in their heads, the hordes of university and school students sitting down to exams this month will have precious little time to think about how their exam…
When it comes to debating the rights and wrongs of public policies, economists have always held a privileged position. While citizens and less respected social scientists must strive to get their voices…
The public response to a recent article in the Guardian on a campaign for more children to study art history at school left me thinking about what more we can do to shrug off stereotypical views of the…
Starting first year at university can be a daunting experience and a big adjustment for new students. Some adjust easily and thrive. As many as one third do not and think about leaving. If first year goes…
A number of years ago as a PhD student, I was told that you must “publish or perish”. The advice was clear: teaching should be secondary in any considerations. Instead, I should prioritise producing as…
With a Coalition government in power, the issue of student political activism is firmly back on the agenda. Education minister Christopher Pyne has stated that he would like to make the current compulsory…
I was shocked when the local preschool teacher asked me when my son was coming to preschool… I had no idea he was even permitted to attend the local preschool. Those are not the words of a mother during…
The latest results from National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) tests show Year 5 Indigenous students have made real improvements in their reading scores. The national report of NAPLAN…
A few years ago a group of psychologists from two North American universities ran a fascinating experiment designed to see whether the quality of light in a room influenced people’s willingness to cheat…
A couple of years ago, early one morning, I received an SMS advising “resadents to stay indoors because of a nearby insadent”. I was shocked by the spelling, as much as the message. Surely, I thought…
The use of drugs to improve academic performance goes by a number of names – “academic doping”, “cosmetic neurology”, “neuroenhancement”. A recent survey suggested that Australian university students are…
The next generation will be the ones to feel the increasing effects of climate change. But how much do they really know about it? After all, it’s one thing to say: yes, I believe in climate change. But…