Early years education: Sweden versus the UK Part 3 (of 3)
If someone tried to implement the Swedish preschool model in the UK or USA, how would you respond – praise them as a pioneer or accuse them of being an anarchist? Yet a typical, bog-standard Swedish preschool produces confident, happy children who, despite their comparitively low literacy levels are so eager to learn that by the time they are 10 years old, they have overtaken their British counterparts and go on to excel both in higher education and in their careers. Contrast that with UK and US school children. How happy, confident and eager to learn are they? Our children are the ones who suffer most from the burden of sats, who are constrained most by the demands of the national curriculum. They have to face long, boring days in woefully underfunded schools. Teachers and support staff do their best and know what’s needed but they cannot win this fight alone. We all need to join in demanding radical change. The film’s narrator asks, “Can we afford to invest as much as the Swedes do in preschool education?” It’s your tax money and your vote. Let them know what you think. Visit www.teachers.tv and register (for free) to download a higher quality version of this film and to see other excellent films about education.