Contrasting the way chimps and young children learn gives an insight into a stage, most noticeable about the time children start school, when earlier ‘success’ is followed by ‘failure’ at the same tasks. When success comes again, it is a huge jump ahead of the best a chimpanzee can manage. Junior school maths, physics and language ...

New Zealanders, self-satisfied, pat themselves on the back for their excellent teaching of reading. One of the long-time reading gurus, Frank Smith, has written this thoughtful, if opinionated, account of how continued success can be achieved.

A letter to the editor of the Times Educational Supplement. Donnelly makes a point in the debate about ‘real books’ and ‘phonics’ in a dramatic way.

There are a small number of children who can sound out every word and make it all sound sensible, but who understand very little of what they have ‘read’. Theoretical conclusions and help for teachers.

Some titles have colons in them, some don’t. Is there something in this? Do colons point to better articles? Better research? Is this a subject worth studying? Shock! Horror! Pomposity probes pomposity! 

Some textbooks are dreadfully dull. Researchers tried out the same facts written by different authors and discovered that the way in which the facts are written makes a big difference to how much is remembered.

Television nowadays often blends the ingredients of different genres into one programme, notably documentary (fact) and drama (fiction). Research in Britain confirms that children have difficulty in separating ‘fact’ from ‘opinion’ in such programmes. Faction cannot be dis-invented, so teachers have a job on their hands. 

Quite small children recognise the problem some schools have in keeping staff. What makes for a satisfied, stable, teaching force? What can principals and administrators do?

New subjects and courses to interest and benefit senior secondary students who do not plan to go on to higher education have been introduced. This research studied two different courses which provide diversity, involvement and success.

Transition from school to work is pretty haphazard in Australia and New Zealand; in Japan it is highly organised. We have young people unemployed, exams of doubtful educational worth, and a system of entry into tertiary study that is hardly fair to minorities. So it is worthwhile examining a very different system.