Four sessions on UK education and skills policy in the context of global mega-trends will be delivered in late October and early November at Capital Normal University, Beijing.

 

(click on the session titles for the initial drafts of the PPTs) 

 

Session 1: Global models of education and China - responses to 21st-century megatrends 

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An exploration of major educational traditions and policy models globally, examining how different societies balance economic competitiveness, social cohesion, cultural transmission and human development, with particular comparison between the UK and China.

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Session 2: Understanding UK education policy and reform - historical and comparative lenses

 

A historical analysis of educational reform in England and the wider UK, showing how contemporary systems have evolved through changing relationships between the state, markets, institutions and civil society, and why the UK should be understood as a family of education systems rather than a single national model.

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Session 3: The education policy and skills reform agenda of the UK Labour Government (2024-present)

 

An examination of recent policy developments in England, focusing on curriculum reform, inclusion, skills and devolution , social mobility and educational opportunity, and considering how far these the policies of the UK Labour Government signal the emergence of a new educational settlement.

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Session 4: Generative AI and a new educational paradigm - policy debates in the UK and China.

 

A discussion of how generative artificial intelligence is challenging established assumptions about knowledge, teaching and assessment, and whether education is entering a new phase in which human intelligence and machine intelligence increasingly work in partnership to support learning, creativity and problem-solving.  This session will compare and contrast current UK and Chinese thinking.