Holistic education approach risks being mired in targets

22 August 2008

"Every Child Matters with its current emphasis on blunt and predetermined outcomes may become – or risk being seen as – another means for governing children, parents and the children's workforce." : Every Child Matters and the Concept of Education

The government's Every Child Matters agenda (ECM), intended as a holistic approach to education, may fail because of too much emphasis on predetermined outcomes, warns a new report.

This may lead educators to focus on narrow objectives at the expense of promoting the general well-being and development of children, says the paper, from the Institute of Education.

Every Child Matters and the Concept of Education proposes "education-in- its-broadest-sense", where all services for children, not just schools, are sites for education, and all members of the children's workforce can be educators. This is in contrast to "education-in-a-narrower-sense", which concentrates on schooling, subjects, targets and tests.

The report asks several questions including:

  • What are the boundaries of education – should services such as childcare, social care and play be included?
  • Should children be included in decisions about the aims and methods of education?
  • Should schools focus on "education-in-its-narrower-sense" and leave "education-in-its-broadest-sense" to other services?

Co-editor Professor Peter Moss says: "We need to be asking what is the purpose of education and how it contributes to a good childhood and a democratic society."

Co-editor Dr Graham Haydon adds: "As a society we are rather confused about how we see the place of formal education in relation to society's overall responsibilities for children's upbringing and welfare."

Every Child Matters and the Concept of Education is published by the Institute of Education, London.

Notes for editors

Every Child Matters and the Concept of Education costs £5.00 and is available from the Institute of Education, +44 (0)20 7612 6050, orders@hammicks.co.uk.

Further information from Helen Green, press officer, +44 (0)20 7612 6459, h.green@ioe.ac.uk

This paper is the result of discussions of an Institute of Education working group set up as part of the Institute's response to ECM.

The government's paper spells out the holistic approach: "The outcomes [in ECM] are inter-dependent. They show the relationship between educational achievement and well-being. Children and young people learn and thrive when they are healthy, safeguarded from harm and engaged."

Peter Moss is professor in early childhood provision in the Thomas Coram Research Unit and Graham Haydon is senior lecturer in philosophy of education in the Department of Educational Foundations and Policy Studies, both at the Institute of Education.

The Institute of Education is a college of the University of London, specialising in teaching, research and consultancy in education and related areas of social science and professional practice.