What is education for?

By Karen J Ogilvie2015-12-22T00:00:00

Is this the right question?

Can you help the UK government answer a fundamental philosophical question? The Commons education select committee wants to know what education is for and is asking for your opinion. That’s us – humble educators, parents, pupils.

Assuming we take a broad view of the purpose of education – to inspire people to learn knowledge and skills for life – should the focus not be on trying to find out how we can do that better?

Karen J Ogilvie considers how the articles in this issue of Education in Chemistry might help us to answer this question.

Thanks for using Education in Chemistry. You can view one Education in Chemistry article per month as a visitor.

A photograph of a teacher standing in a white lab coat, speaking with a class of children in a laboratory, is superimposed on a colourful background. Text reads "Teach Chemistry means support for classroom and staff room".

Register for Teach Chemistry for free, unlimited access

Registration is open to all teachers and technicians at secondary schools, colleges and teacher training institutions in the UK and Ireland.

Get all this, plus much more:

unlimited access to resources, core practical videos and Education in Chemistry articles
teacher well-being toolkit, personal development resources and online assessments
applications for funding to support your lessons

Set up your Teach Chemistry account

Already a Teach Chemistry member? Sign in now.

Not eligible for Teach Chemistry? Sign up for a personal account instead, or you can also access all our resources with Royal Society of Chemistry membership.