Michael Lawrence and Dr. Fabio D'Agostin | Creating Schools…
Creating Schools Where Students and Teachers Want To Be.
From The Age newspaper:
New Book Explores What We Can Learn From Finland’s Education System
Lawrence’s book is a lot more than just an indictment of Australia’s current education system (including issues relating to standardisation, teacher status, funding – which is given due prominence – and student wellbeing). It is a well-researched “call to arms” for the current system to change and a brief history of how Finland’s education system produced “the world’s most literate citizens”.
Wade Zaglas – In The Classroom
Book of the Month: Feb 2021
This is an excellent, balanced exploration of how Australia’s education system has become broken, inefficient and needs changing. Michael Lawrence explores how and why our test driven standardisation system is causing a significant teacher exodus and a flatlining of student performance and an increase in student anxiety and teacher disillusionment. He has spent time in Finland and seen one of the most innovative effective systems in the world.
NAPLAN has failed miserably and our curriculums are now tied to endless testing that is comparative rather than focusing on improving an individual student-based system that better meets the unique needs of students.
Teachers have been disrespected professionally and decisions made by politicians, bureaucrats and administers without consultation with academics and those in schools actually teaching students have lead to the decline in Australian education standards. Thank you Michael. I am standing beside you supporting your call for change.
Maggie Dent
Author, Parenting & Resilience Educator
Loud Mouth
The book is a salutary reminder of the cost of an education system, such as we have in Australia, which is based on standardised testing – that one size fits all approach which, as he points out, makes testers a fortune, produces pretty flowcharts, and provides parents with ‘data’ to assist in their school choice for offspring, but ultimately has very little to do with student learning.
Mandy Stefanakis
More Endorsements
“I can safely say that Michael Lawrence has captured the essence of the Finnish education philosophy in Testing 3,2,1. His thoroughly researched insights on relevant issues in comparing the Finnish educational system with the Australian make this book an essential read for our Education students and staff alike at Tampere University.”
Mikko Turunen, lecturer in Education Pedagogy, Tampere University of Applied Sciences and Professional Teacher Education, Tampere, Finland.
“I have given away a few copies of Testing 3,2,1 to those interested in the Aussie perspective to the issue. I also included it in the new edition of my Finnish Lessons 3.0.
“ I would love to hear what people here say about your great book.”
Pasi Sahlberg is a Finnish educator and scholar. He is former Director General at the Finnish Ministry of Education and Culture in Helsinki and former visiting professor at Harvard University’s Graduate School of Education.
‘Part memoir, part investigative journalism, part call-to-action, this easy-to-read and highly compelling plea for an improved education system can’t be ignored…Lawrence reminds us that we can (and must) do better.’
Jared Cooney Horvath PhD, Educational Neuroscientist, Melbourne Graduate School of Education, University of Melbourne and author.
“This is a must read for all teachers who find themselves blindly having to follow compliance regulations and for those seeking clarity on what is going wrong in our classrooms.”
“This book promises to be an important addition to the growing movement for educational change, the return to more classroom autonomy and reduction in high stakes testing.”
Robin Nagy, Educational Consultant at Effort Tracking.
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Michael Lawrence and Dr. Fabio D'Agostin | Creating Schools... 