Improving the curriculum

A huge 65% of adults believe that education could be improved by providing financial studies to children and 64% think schooling should spend more time teaching about job prospects. This is nearly double the amount of people who feel that teaching around sex education (34%) needs to be improved in secondary schools.

Other areas where Brits felt teaching should be developed were…

  • University options/courses – 31%
  • College prospects – 29%
  • Crime prevention – 27%

Less than half (43%) believe subjects such as sex education, college prospects and university options are sufficiently covered in secondary school, which could be leaving children unprepared for the future.

Although many see schools as a positive environment for children (45%), the majority believe that education, tests and exams centre on just learning the textbooks rather than actually knowing an area well (62%).

23% of us believe that schools actually inhibit creativity and 44% feel we should move away from a standard curriculum and look more towards building on individual traits and skills.

Further, 45% agreed with the perspective that schools are actually inhibiting critical thinking.

Experiences of Education

Positively, 84% of adults feel as though they received a good education during their primary and secondary school years and 83% of parents feel as though their child enjoys school now.

It seems men favoured the following subjects when in school:

  • Maths – 20%
  • English – 18%
  • Science – 16%

Whereas English (28%) came on top for women, followed by Maths (14%) and History (14%).

Although schooling is essential, of the people who are currently working, only 37% felt that they are in a job relating to the subjects they enjoyed whilst in school.

Private Schooling

The North West (53%) are much more likely to send their child into private education if given the chance compared to other regions, such as the East Midlands where only just over a quarter of parents would (26%).

Following on from this, looking at all regions, of parents who don’t currently send their child to a private school, only 37% said they would if money was no object.

When asked why these parents wouldn’t send their child to a private school, a number of themes were found:

‘Normal’ education in the ‘real world’

When parents were asked why private schooling wasn’t appealing to them it seems many hold a view that state schools keep children grounded in “real life”:

“A state school is more representable of normal life”

“A child needs to learn about life in a real normal environment”

“They need to understand the real world”

“I would rather them learn in the ‘real world’”

Broader mix of people

Additionally, it arose that parents view state schools as giving children a wider understanding of people:

“There is a broader sense of life, people and personalities within a state schools.”

“I want my child to mix with all sorts of people from different backgrounds”

No benefit

There was also a common theme raised by parents that there is actually no benefit to enrolling in a private school:

“I had a state education and do not necessarily believe that by going to state school you are any worse of. Those children who work hard will be rewarded rather than through being taught exam answers through their parent’s money”

“State schools can provide just as good an education”

So, how do YOU think teaching could be improved? Let us know! @onepoll