ABSTRACT
There is a need for systemic changes in educational policy and practices so as to address the needs of children growing up in modem society and to make these compatible with, but not dominated by, the economic needs of that society. This chapter offers some exploratory ideas around which a shared agenda for educational renewal might be constructed. The key issues between the government and its educators are structured as: What is it that teachers want their students to learn? When and where and under what circumstances do teachers envisage that learning will occur? and What purposes and whose purposes ought to be served by the educational system? The two pressures – external control of teachers' practices and an emphasis on autonomy and self-reflection – appear to be somewhat difficult to reconcile. Parents and teachers alike need to guard against being seen by pupils as mounting a 'conspiracy of elders' and must encourage and support pupil voice and agency.
