Thanks for this article. The current landscape reminds me of the quote "never let a crisis go to waste"(Churchill?)It's much easier to give the appearance of doing something by laying blame and responsibility on teachers, schools, training institutions rather than address the much broader social and economic issues. The trickle down effect is then increasing reliance on magical commercial programs and rising levels of micro management all in an effort to appear to be doing something. Not to mention the amplification of the message "teachers don't know what they're doing so we the *experts* will tell them.We must keep up these conversations of going back to the big picture and ideologies.
Thank you for the encouragement and contributing your thoughts on what you see happening. It's quite sad really isn't it. Holding back truth to save face. Though more difficult, there exists a much larger possibility for real change when the reality is placed on the table.
On this, I actually recently heard a rumour surrounding the apparent failure of Australia's Tutor Learning Initiative (TLI) following COVID.
As the story goes, the original report showed the success of the program but this was later scrapped in favour of one that placed blame on teachers and schools for their "poor" implementation of the initiative, when in reality (apparently) there was no money left to keep funding the program.
No doubt this will lead to more alternative commercial programs to facilitate support for students that are having difficulty with literacy and numeracy.
Hard to verify though, considering the reports are all hidden behind exemptions for FOI.
Wanted to foreground this bit: “The idea that problems have a local explanation and therefore need a local solution is often wrong, despite being widespread. Examples abound.”
It’s a mental grappling hook for me. I first read this piece a few days ago and paused right at that quote — then got distracted and didn’t come back until it resurfaced in my LinkedIn feed. Now it’s pulled me back in.
Another thread that’s been looping in my mind is how the “problems of/in education” might not be our fault — and how that idea keeps finding space in my brain to ruminate.
This may just be one of those Substacks I need to come back to again and again. Thanks for the share.
I find myself needing to constant wrestle with the tension in teaching where although there may be cases where due to the limitations of the system we may only be able to make a small difference to many, but there still exists the possibility to make a huge difference for a few.
A collective responsibility for not only education, but the health of society is gravely needed. I hope that our post helps you to feel content in the difference you're making despite the global challenges we currently face in education.
Oh, yes, sorry! I read most of the articles, and it was very interesting, albeit mostly confirming existing preconceptions ... But really nice to see some data.
I think, when you talk about existing ideologies not being based in data, and then recommend your own interpretation, it's nice to see some of the data you are relying on.
I am not a teacher, but speak a lot to some teachers, and your article really captured some of the frustrations I see in their daily life. The focus on teacher training in policy, rather then an honest discussion about how class behavior has changed over time. Our institutions seem to be terrible at even gathering bottom-up teacher feedback (and forget about reflecting and acting on it). Even peer-to-peer support and knowledge sharing is not encouraged afaict: too much emphasis on comparing teachers instead. Looking from the outside in, it's really shocking imo.
I believe that on the whole there is a general disposition towards sharing in education. However, I don't think we can disregard the impact of competition ideologies upon the practices of teachers and schools more broadly.
If the vast majority openly share (especially those that are well set up), wouldn't we not have NFP entities (such as OCHRE) or state education departments developing centralised resources?
Although there are many teachers who are open to sharing, I have had many experiences with school leaders unwilling to share resources.
Thanks for the response Sam! Although I have of late been trying to make this blog accessible by not pushing too much on academic references, I do aim to ensure that what I present is based on a professional perspective of the evidence I have gathered over my time (even if not explicitly stated).
That being said, my claims are just as ideological as the next, so my perspective needs to be taken with the same critical lens as I apply to others out there. Up to you to make the judgement on how you respond to it!
Great to hear the insights you're getting from your interactions with the teachers around you. Yes, the knowledge sharing in our now market-based education system is really interesting. High-performing schools are often reluctant to share resources for seemingly fear of losing the edge over other schools, forgetting that we're all supposed to be (at least in my view) in this thing together!
I love this perspective, it makes a ton of sense to me. But what evidence do we really have that these particular global trends are causing the decline? (And what would such evidence even look like?)
Hi Sam, appreciate you reaching out. Great to hear that what we're talking about resonates with you. Would be interested to hear what you're thinking following Ben's evidence. Do you think there's a case there? Great questions mate, keep asking them!
Thanks for this article. The current landscape reminds me of the quote "never let a crisis go to waste"(Churchill?)It's much easier to give the appearance of doing something by laying blame and responsibility on teachers, schools, training institutions rather than address the much broader social and economic issues. The trickle down effect is then increasing reliance on magical commercial programs and rising levels of micro management all in an effort to appear to be doing something. Not to mention the amplification of the message "teachers don't know what they're doing so we the *experts* will tell them.We must keep up these conversations of going back to the big picture and ideologies.
Thank you for the encouragement and contributing your thoughts on what you see happening. It's quite sad really isn't it. Holding back truth to save face. Though more difficult, there exists a much larger possibility for real change when the reality is placed on the table.
On this, I actually recently heard a rumour surrounding the apparent failure of Australia's Tutor Learning Initiative (TLI) following COVID.
As the story goes, the original report showed the success of the program but this was later scrapped in favour of one that placed blame on teachers and schools for their "poor" implementation of the initiative, when in reality (apparently) there was no money left to keep funding the program.
No doubt this will lead to more alternative commercial programs to facilitate support for students that are having difficulty with literacy and numeracy.
Hard to verify though, considering the reports are all hidden behind exemptions for FOI.
Wanted to foreground this bit: “The idea that problems have a local explanation and therefore need a local solution is often wrong, despite being widespread. Examples abound.”
It’s a mental grappling hook for me. I first read this piece a few days ago and paused right at that quote — then got distracted and didn’t come back until it resurfaced in my LinkedIn feed. Now it’s pulled me back in.
Another thread that’s been looping in my mind is how the “problems of/in education” might not be our fault — and how that idea keeps finding space in my brain to ruminate.
This may just be one of those Substacks I need to come back to again and again. Thanks for the share.
Thank you for the kind words here Margaret.
I find myself needing to constant wrestle with the tension in teaching where although there may be cases where due to the limitations of the system we may only be able to make a small difference to many, but there still exists the possibility to make a huge difference for a few.
A collective responsibility for not only education, but the health of society is gravely needed. I hope that our post helps you to feel content in the difference you're making despite the global challenges we currently face in education.
Keep up the podcasting and writing!
Oh, yes, sorry! I read most of the articles, and it was very interesting, albeit mostly confirming existing preconceptions ... But really nice to see some data.
I think, when you talk about existing ideologies not being based in data, and then recommend your own interpretation, it's nice to see some of the data you are relying on.
I am not a teacher, but speak a lot to some teachers, and your article really captured some of the frustrations I see in their daily life. The focus on teacher training in policy, rather then an honest discussion about how class behavior has changed over time. Our institutions seem to be terrible at even gathering bottom-up teacher feedback (and forget about reflecting and acting on it). Even peer-to-peer support and knowledge sharing is not encouraged afaict: too much emphasis on comparing teachers instead. Looking from the outside in, it's really shocking imo.
i'm on the inside… Classroom teacher and teacher trainer... the claim that sharing is discouraged is not true.
One of the great things about being in education is that the vast majority openly share.
I believe that on the whole there is a general disposition towards sharing in education. However, I don't think we can disregard the impact of competition ideologies upon the practices of teachers and schools more broadly.
If the vast majority openly share (especially those that are well set up), wouldn't we not have NFP entities (such as OCHRE) or state education departments developing centralised resources?
Although there are many teachers who are open to sharing, I have had many experiences with school leaders unwilling to share resources.
If everyone shares wouldn't we not have organisations that provide resources? Sorry, that doesn't seem to follow.
I donate lots to charity. But taxes are still a thing. 😬
Thanks for the response Sam! Although I have of late been trying to make this blog accessible by not pushing too much on academic references, I do aim to ensure that what I present is based on a professional perspective of the evidence I have gathered over my time (even if not explicitly stated).
That being said, my claims are just as ideological as the next, so my perspective needs to be taken with the same critical lens as I apply to others out there. Up to you to make the judgement on how you respond to it!
Great to hear the insights you're getting from your interactions with the teachers around you. Yes, the knowledge sharing in our now market-based education system is really interesting. High-performing schools are often reluctant to share resources for seemingly fear of losing the edge over other schools, forgetting that we're all supposed to be (at least in my view) in this thing together!
I love this perspective, it makes a ton of sense to me. But what evidence do we really have that these particular global trends are causing the decline? (And what would such evidence even look like?)
The ICT use connection argument has been made loudly a lot recently.
https://www.scientificamerican.com/blog/observations/is-smart-technology-making-us-dumb/
https://www.vice.com/en/article/ai-is-making-us-dumber-shocker/?
https://www.forbes.com/sites/dimitarmixmihov/2025/02/11/ai-is-making-you-dumber-microsoft-researchers-say/
The wellbeing decline is also very well documented:
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2025/mar/03/youth-mental-health-crisis-happiness-un-uk-us-australia
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11790661/
https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/adolescent-mental-health
And the connection between wellbeing and academic achievement:
https://theconversation.com/concerned-about-student-mental-health-how-wellness-is-related-to-academic-achievement-220360
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9976597/
All very uncool.
Hi Sam, appreciate you reaching out. Great to hear that what we're talking about resonates with you. Would be interested to hear what you're thinking following Ben's evidence. Do you think there's a case there? Great questions mate, keep asking them!