In their book, ‘Great Mistakes in Education Policy – And how to avoid them in the future’, Ruth Lupton (University of Manchester) and Debra Hayes (University of Sydney) argue that despite decades of repeated political claims that education policies will achieve greater equality of opportunity and greater social mobility, evidence is mounting that schooling systems in both England and Australia have become increasingly unfair in terms of access, opportunities, experiences and outcomes.
The authors throw down joint challenges to their educational researcher colleagues and policy makers to build a new consensus for real positive change by setting aside prejudices and longstanding antagonisms and build a common ground through shared collective aspirations for children’s and young people’s wellbeing and success.
The webinar provides a forum for educational researchers to debate strategies for influencing educational policy change in the post-pandemic context. The authors invite debate about their own strategy of dismantling oppositional critique and replacing it with an interdisciplinary synthesis of evidence aimed at speaking directly to policy makers and a general audience.
A panel of respected peers from England and Australia will assess the merits of this strategy and its potential to contribute to policy change, and stimulate discussion of other ways in which educational research could be brought more fully to bear in influencing policy decisions.