The Early Years Podcast Episode 004
Featuring Jessica Holme, December 2015In the fourth episode of the Early Years Podcast, we’re joined by Jessica Holme to discuss her research paper on “democracy in education”.
This one is a bit of a departure from the norm.
Jessica is a primary school teacher and her research – part of her MA – focuses on primary and secondary education. However, there are themes that cross over.
Government policy on education obviously has a direct impact on teachers of all ages. Those who are trained and experienced feel that their view on what is important should be valued, justifiably so. If that’s not the case, I think it’s fair to say there’s a problem.
Sadly, that is what Jess’s paper confirms.
We cover:
- key findings of Jessica’s paper: A critical enquiry into democratic policymaking: assessing the need for, and benefits of, a democratic policymaking system for Britain.
- potential solutions for involving education professionals more in policy decisions
- what lessons their might be for the early years sector
- limitations of the data and Jessica’s quest to expand the study!
I want to say a huge thank you to Jess for filling in at very short notice and giving us plenty to think about despite a lack of preparation time. I hope our line of questioning did the paper justice, but I guess you’ll be the judge of that. Have a listen, share it with your friends and colleagues and let us know what you think.
As always, we hope you enjoy it.