Age 5 too young to start school: review
Source: Agencies |
October 17, 2009, Saturday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
CHILDREN should delay the start of formal schooling to the age of six, a year later than at present, the largest review of primary education in England for 40 years recommended yesterday.
The 608-page Cambridge University study said introducing children at the age of five into the constraint and discipline of a classroom -- a throwback to Victorian days -- provided little benefit and could even be harmful.
"They are not going to learn to read, write and add up if you have alienated children by the age of four and five," said Gillian Pugh, chairwoman of the Cambridge Primary Review's advisory committee.
"That's the stage at which we are tuning children into learning ... If they are already failing by the time they are five, then it's going to be quite difficult to get them back into the system again," she added.
Although the authors of the report stopped short of recommending a rise in the starting age of compulsory schooling from five, they called for an "open debate" on the issue.
They said children up to the age of six should instead be given the more informal, play-based education typically found in nurseries.
It said England's tradition of starting school at five, shared in Europe only by Wales, Scotland and the Netherlands, dated from the requirements of Victorian factory owners in the 1870 Elementary Education Act.
"Five was picked not for education or child-development reasons, but in an attempt to service the demands of industry ... Clearly the earlier children started, the sooner they would finish."
Schooling starts at the age of six in 20 out of 34 European countries, with eight nations, including Sweden, waiting until children are seven.
The Cambridge review, based on three years' research and 31 interim reports, found that primary schools in England were "in good heart and in general doing a good job."
But it found that more than a decade of central policy initiatives under three successive Labour governments had created a "state theory of learning."
The study called for ministers to step back from trying to control classrooms from Whitehall.
The study called for a review of the way primary schools are staffed, saying that the model of having a generalist teacher in charge of each class was another hangover from the Victorian era when it was seen as the cheapest way of instructing children.
The 608-page Cambridge University study said introducing children at the age of five into the constraint and discipline of a classroom -- a throwback to Victorian days -- provided little benefit and could even be harmful.
"They are not going to learn to read, write and add up if you have alienated children by the age of four and five," said Gillian Pugh, chairwoman of the Cambridge Primary Review's advisory committee.
"That's the stage at which we are tuning children into learning ... If they are already failing by the time they are five, then it's going to be quite difficult to get them back into the system again," she added.
Although the authors of the report stopped short of recommending a rise in the starting age of compulsory schooling from five, they called for an "open debate" on the issue.
They said children up to the age of six should instead be given the more informal, play-based education typically found in nurseries.
It said England's tradition of starting school at five, shared in Europe only by Wales, Scotland and the Netherlands, dated from the requirements of Victorian factory owners in the 1870 Elementary Education Act.
"Five was picked not for education or child-development reasons, but in an attempt to service the demands of industry ... Clearly the earlier children started, the sooner they would finish."
Schooling starts at the age of six in 20 out of 34 European countries, with eight nations, including Sweden, waiting until children are seven.
The Cambridge review, based on three years' research and 31 interim reports, found that primary schools in England were "in good heart and in general doing a good job."
But it found that more than a decade of central policy initiatives under three successive Labour governments had created a "state theory of learning."
The study called for ministers to step back from trying to control classrooms from Whitehall.
The study called for a review of the way primary schools are staffed, saying that the model of having a generalist teacher in charge of each class was another hangover from the Victorian era when it was seen as the cheapest way of instructing children.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
