Knowledge or Skills?
In his recent speech to the Education World Forum, Nick Gibb strongly advocated for a move away from ‘child-centred’ pedagogies towards ‘teacher-led education’. In this speech, he questions the validity of a child-centred approach, suggesting that there is a “…focus on eliciting and developing ethereal and often poorly-defined skills in pupils.” He goes on to say that “In too many countries – including Britain – educationalists have argued against knowledge and in favour of skills. I believe this has been deeply damaging to millions of children, particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds.”