英國 教育出口大國的教育問題

Pedagogy is a difficult word, and not just in terms of pronunciation.

教育學(Pedagogy)是一個比較難的單詞，不僅難在發音方面。

The quality of classroom teaching is the most important aspect of any plan to improve education standards.

課堂教學的質量是旨在提高教育水平的任何計劃的最重要方面。

But, in the UK at least, it has been the hardest factor to prioritise.

但至少在英國，教育已成爲最難優先考慮的因素。

Data released on Tuesday by the OECD, the Paris-based club of mostly rich nations, revealed that the performance of the UK’s schools is flat in a changing world.

總部位於巴黎、成員多爲富裕國家的經合組織(OECD)近日發佈的數據顯示，英國學校的表現在一個不斷變遷的世界中無明顯提升。

The Pisa survey shows there has been little change in the UK’s ranking during the three years since the last international test results were published,

國際學生評估項目(Pisa)此次調查顯示出，在上次國際測試結果公佈之後的三年間，英國的排名幾乎沒有變化。

which are taken at age 15 in order to compare standards across the world in reading, maths and science.

該測試的對象是15歲的學生，目的是比較世界各國學生在閱讀、數學和科學方面的水平。

In science, the UK managed to improve, climbing from 21st to 15th place in the table of 70 participating nations, but stagnated at 22nd for reading, and 27th for maths is disappointing for a nation with a successful education exports industry (think of the overseas students sent both the UK universities and private schools, swelling the coffers of both).

英國在科學方面的排名有所提升，在70個參與調查的國家中從第21位升至第15位，但其閱讀和數學排名仍分別停留在第22位和第27位，對於一個擁有成功教育出口產業的國家（想一想那些被送到英國大學和私立學校、給這些學府帶來大量收入的海外留學生）來說，這着實令人沮喪。

School standards are rarely out of the headlines and each incoming set of ministers says it is determined for a renewed zeal for improvement.

學校教育水平幾乎一直是頭條新聞，所有新任大臣都表示，政府決意再下大力氣進行提升。

So why does each successive effort fail? Part of the answer lies in a UK score that masks serious differences between schools in England and those in Scotland and Wales, where education policy is devolved and standards have actually been falling.

那爲什麼這些努力都相繼失敗了呢？部分答案在於，整個英國的評分掩蓋了英格蘭的學校與蘇格蘭和威爾士的學校之間的極大不同，後兩者在教育政策被下放後，教育水平實際上在下滑。

In England, meanwhile, the emphasis on testing and inspection introduced by the Labour government in the 2000s seems to have contributed at least to preventing a serious drop-off in achievement.

與此同時，在英格蘭，工黨政府在本世紀頭十年引入的對考試和督查的注重，似乎至少幫助防止了學校教育水平的嚴重下滑。

But Russell Hobby, leader of a headteachers’ association, accuses successive administrations of an obsession with structural change at the expense of focusing on classroom teaching.

但中小學校長聯合會負責人羅素.霍比(Russell Hobby)指責歷屆政府癡迷學校結構改革，卻忽視對課堂教學關注。

Theresa May’s government wishes to expand grammars, the academically selective secondary schools, and faith schools, in spite of controversies about social segregation that attach to both.

特里薩.梅(Theresa May)政府希望擴大文法學校（擇優錄用的中學）和宗教學校的數量，儘管對於這兩類學校會造成社會分化存在爭議。

Before that, former prime minister David Cameron’s government bribed most secondaries out of local government control to make them into autonomous academies, started a new category of parent and charity-led free schools, and wanted to force the academy model on all schools, including primaries (this plan has now been dropped).

在此以前，前首相戴維.卡梅倫(David Cameron)政府藉助實際利益促使多數中學脫離地方政府控制，使它們轉型爲獨立學院，並開啓一個新的類別：由家長、慈善機構主導的自由學校，還希望將這種學院模式應用於所有學校，包括小學（該計劃已被取消）。

And before that, Labour began the academies programme in government and the current war of attrition against local education departments.

在此之前，工黨在執政期間啓動學院項目，引發了當下這場與地方政府教育部門的消耗戰。

These schemes have been devised against a background of recruitment and retention problems in the teaching profession that has now become serious enough to be called a crisis.

出臺這些改革努力的背景是，教師隊伍的招募和保留如今已經嚴重到了足以被稱爲危機的程度。

Andreas Schleicher, education director at the OECD, today said teacher shortages were seen as a major bottleneck in the attempt to raise standards.

經合組織教育主管安德烈亞斯.施萊歇(Andreas Schleicher)表示，教師短缺是提高教育水平的一個主要瓶頸。

So Mr Hobby’s point should be accepted even by ministers seeking to put the best possible gloss on the survey’s findings.

因此，即便是那些尋求粉飾調查結果的教育官員，也應該接受中小學校長聯合會的霍比的觀點。

Plausible solutions include building on the success of Teach First, the groundbreaking operation to recruit the highest-achieving young graduates into the classroom, which went nationwide just over a year ago.

可信的解決方案包括在Teach First（先教書吧）成功的基礎上繼續推進，該項目開創性地將最優秀的年輕畢業生招募到教室，在一年前推廣至全國。

The Financial Times’ Lucy Kellaway, for example, has started Now Teach, a programme to get later-life career changers into on-the-job training for shortage subjects including maths and languages.

例如，英國《金融時報》的露西.凱拉韋(Lucy Kellaway)發起了名爲Now Teach的項目，旨在鼓勵中年改行的職場人士接受在職培訓，以便教一些師資短缺的學科，如數學和語言。

Experts also see continuous professional development for teachers as key, with well-understood, merit-based pathways to promotion.

專家們也認爲，面向教師的持續職業發展是關鍵，要具備大家都懂、任人唯賢的晉升渠道。

More imaginative measures to retain teachers would also help — for example, with housing costs — as well adoption of better pedagogy where it is backed by evidence.

留住教師的更具想象力的措施也會有所幫助——如住房費用補貼，或者採用有證據支持的更優秀的教學法。

For instance, it has been effective to encourage England’s schools to adopt maths mastery techniques modelled on schools in the Asian countries that regularly top the Pisa tables.

例如，鼓勵英格蘭的學校採用效仿亞洲的掌握數學方法就很有效果，亞洲國家的學校總是在Pisa榜單上名列前茅。

But a culture war still rages between ministers who believe in testing knowledge, and experts who believe the jobs of the future demand more skills-based education.

但是，在信奉用考試檢驗知識的部長級官員與認爲未來就業需要更多技能教育的專家之間，一場文化論戰仍在激烈進行。

While this continues, the UK can expect to continue to tread water.

只要這種論戰持續，英國很可能將繼續原地踏步。