A backpack full of potential – courtesy of UNICEF
UNICEF, the children’s rights arm of the United Nations, is providing backpack school kits to give children in cities Venezuela the tools to focus on their future. A new school year gives children a chance to...Read more
Federal Court of Switzerland rules against home-schooling
Parents in Switzerland do not have a constitutional right to provide school-aged children with private lessons at home, the country’s highest court has ruled. It’s a decision which reinforces the right of regions – known as...Read more
Swiss cities demand better early years education
A coalition of Swiss cities is calling for better early years learning and childcare, saying quality education ‘should not depend on where you live’. The major urban sprawls of Zurich and Geneva are among 60 cities...Read more
Increasing access to gifted programs for low-income and black & Latino children
Many of the public school gifted and talented programs that serve high-ability students don’t reflect the diversity of their communities. New York City, with roughly 1.1 million students, is an extreme example. While roughly 4 in...Read more
Boston Saves expands city cash gift to youngsters
The city of Boston is to give every child in nursery a $50 dollar nest-egg to help them and their families plan for the future. It’s an expansion of the city’s successful Boston Saves initiative, set...Read more
Maths anxiety affects ‘a third’ of young children
Anxiety about their maths ability affects around a third of young children in the UK, according to researchers. Maths anxiety is defined as a ‘negative emotional reaction to a mathematical problem’ that can affect all ages,...Read more
Schools could teach children how to be happy – but instead foster competition
Diagnoses of mental disorders and drug prescriptions among school-age children have skyrocketed over the last two decades. The World Health Organisation (WHO) reports that 20 per cent of children experience mental disorders – such as...Read more
Children who have afternoon breaks are fitter but need a supportive environment
Afternoon breaks were once a common feature of nearly all primary school timetables. But, as schools have sought to dedicate more time to teaching and learning, and limit poor behaviour, these short play times have...Read more
Detroit hopes new gifted children initiative avoids equity issues
Michelle Taylor’s first-grader had only been at Chrysler Elementary School for a few months, but already she was bored. “They didn’t have the tools to support my daughter,” Taylor said. Unsure where else to turn, she...Read more
Taking positive psychology into the classroom
It’s early morning at Heathmont College, a government high school in Melbourne’s sprawling eastern suburbs. Students are not in their individual year groups but spread across the campus in various classrooms, years seven to 12...Read more
Schoolchildren helped redesign a city to cut air pollution and climate warming
Air pollution has a particularly damaging effect on children. They’re still growing and breathe faster than adults do. They also live closer to the ground, where the most polluting gases from vehicles accumulate. Pollution from...Read more
Early years funding crisis in England affecting the poorest children
In England, new research reveals how the poorest children are being negatively affected by an early years funding shortfall. The study found almost one in five childcare providers (17%) in the most deprived areas of...Read more
Helping ‘impatient’ students stay in school
Keeping young people in school is a key element in addressing inequality. Completing school is a minimum requirement for many jobs, as well as necessary for getting access to most types of training and university...Read more
A chance to even the odds
A child’s destiny is heavily influenced by the lottery of socio-economic status and where they happen to grow up, but access to quality early learning can help even the odds for all Australian children. Each...Read more