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Health & Lifestyle » Education

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The role of education often falls into a larger framework of institutions found in society including family, religion, politics, economics and health – among others. As such, education is constantly adapting – with varying degrees of success. Our interviews and book recommendations pertaining to education cover a diverse range of factors influencing education such as: inequality, globalisation, economic development, gender and information.

Teaching is a complex personal and social achievement. The work of teachers is endowed with personal meaning – as such, we have a broad range of interviews with experts that explore the varied roles of teaching and achievement – covering everything from happiness to educational tests, leadership to philosophy, teaching maths and the idea of success.

Jacqueline Leighton, professor of Educational Psychology at the University of Alberta chooses her best books on Educational Testing, as does André Rupp, research director at the Educational Testing Service (ETS) in Princeton, New Jersey. Les Back, professor of sociology at Goldsmiths’, University of London chooses his best books on Academia, and discusses what he values about universities and how he sees them being threatened.
Alf Coles chooses his best books on teaching maths and Jonathan Zimmerman, professor of Education and History at NYU, chooses his best books on sex education and discusses the complexities of teaching that subject. Pulitzer Prize winning journalist, Peg Tyre, chooses the best books on educating your child and Michelle Rhee, the former chancellor of Washington DC’s public school system, chooses the best books on American education.

Frank Furedi, professor of sociology at the University of Kent, choose his best books on the crisis in education. He argues that, far from needing to be relevant, the purpose of education is “precisely to engage you people with issues that do not arise out of their immediate experience.”

    The Best Boarding School Novels, recommended by Anbara Salam

  • Read
    The Best Boarding School Novels - Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro

    1

    Never Let Me Go
    by Kazuo Ishiguro

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    The Best Boarding School Novels - Akata Witch by Nnedi Okorafor

    2

    Akata Witch
    by Nnedi Okorafor

  • Read
    The Best Boarding School Novels - Prep: A Novel by Curtis Sittenfeld

    3

    Prep: A Novel
    by Curtis Sittenfeld

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    The Best Boarding School Novels - The New Girls by Beth Gutcheon

    4

    The New Girls
    by Beth Gutcheon

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    The Best Boarding School Novels - My Dark Vanessa: A Novel by Kate Elizabeth Russell

    5

    My Dark Vanessa: A Novel
    by Kate Elizabeth Russell

The Best Boarding School Novels, recommended by Anbara Salam

Boarding schools make great settings for novels, says Anbara Salam, author of coming-of-age drama Belladonna. The combination of immense privilege with the claustrophobia of a closed society can create an intense pressure cooker atmosphere in which characters might be forged.

    The best books on Educational Testing, recommended by Jacqueline Leighton

  • Read
    The best books on Educational Testing - Measuring the Mind: Conceptual Issues in Contemporary Psychometrics by Denny Borsboom

    1

    Measuring the Mind: Conceptual Issues in Contemporary Psychometrics
    by Denny Borsboom

  • Read
    The best books on Educational Testing - Protocol Analysis: Verbal Reports as Data by Ericsson and Simon

    2

    Protocol Analysis: Verbal Reports as Data
    by Ericsson and Simon

  • Read
    The best books on Educational Testing - Knowing What Students Know: The Science and Design of Educational Assessment by Pellegrino and Chudowsky and Glaser (eds)

    3

    Knowing What Students Know: The Science and Design of Educational Assessment
    by Pellegrino and Chudowsky and Glaser (eds)

  • Read
    The best books on Educational Testing - How Children Fail by John Holt

    4

    How Children Fail
    by John Holt

  • Read
    The best books on Educational Testing - Freedom to Learn by Carl Rogers

    5

    Freedom to Learn
    by Carl Rogers

The best books on Educational Testing, recommended by Jacqueline Leighton

At school, children get tested a lot. How do those tests impact their learning? How can tests be made fairer? Educational psychologist Jacqueline Leighton introduces the best books in the evolving field of educational testing.

    The best books on Educational Testing, recommended by André Rupp

  • Read
    The best books on Educational Testing - Handbook of Item Response Theory (3-volume series) by Wim van der Linden (editor)

    1

    Handbook of Item Response Theory (3-volume series)
    by Wim van der Linden (editor)

  • Read
    The best books on Educational Testing - Principles and Practice of Structural Equation Modeling by Rex Kline

    2

    Principles and Practice of Structural Equation Modeling
    by Rex Kline

  • Read
    The best books on Educational Testing - Handbook of Test Development by Mark Raymond and Thomas Haladyna (Editors) & Suzanne Lane

    3

    Handbook of Test Development
    by Mark Raymond and Thomas Haladyna (Editors) & Suzanne Lane

  • Read
    The best books on Educational Testing - The Skilled Facilitator: A Comprehensive Resource for Consultants, Facilitators, Coaches, and Trainers by Roger Schwarz

    4

    The Skilled Facilitator: A Comprehensive Resource for Consultants, Facilitators, Coaches, and Trainers
    by Roger Schwarz

  • Read
    The best books on Educational Testing - Hamilton: The Revolution by Jeremy McCarter & Lin-Manuel Miranda

    5

    Hamilton: The Revolution
    by Jeremy McCarter & Lin-Manuel Miranda

The best books on Educational Testing, recommended by André Rupp

Nearly everyone has had to sit a standardised test at some point in their lives and felt the grip it might hold over their future—and not always in a good way. André Rupp, research director at ETS, the nonprofit company that runs some of the most well-known tests, talks us through what’s going on at the forefront of research and the new kinds of tests that are being developed.

    The best books on Academia, recommended by Les Back

  • Read
    The best books on Academia - Killing Thinking: The Death of the Universities by Mary Evans

    1

    Killing Thinking: The Death of the Universities
    by Mary Evans

  • Read
    The best books on Academia - Representations of the Intellectual: The 1993 Reith Lectures by Edward Said

    2

    Representations of the Intellectual: The 1993 Reith Lectures
    by Edward Said

  • Read
    The best books on Academia - The Great University Gamble: Money, Markets and the Future of Higher Education by Andrew McGettigan

    3

    The Great University Gamble: Money, Markets and the Future of Higher Education
    by Andrew McGettigan

  • Read
    The best books on Academia - Faculty Towers: The Academic Novel and Its Discontents by Elaine Showalter

    4

    Faculty Towers: The Academic Novel and Its Discontents
    by Elaine Showalter

  • Read
    The best books on Academia - Teaching to Transgress: Education as the Practice of Freedom by bell hooks

    5

    Teaching to Transgress: Education as the Practice of Freedom
    by bell hooks

The best books on Academia, recommended by Les Back

Current UK higher education policies, which treat students as consumers, are not only killing thinking but also likely to lead to a financial crisis. And yet, academia is a beautiful vocation, with the power to transform lives year in, year out. University of London professor, Les Back, picks the best books on academia.

    The best books on Sex Education, recommended by Jonathan Zimmerman

  • Read
    The best books on Sex Education - Spring Awakening by Frank Wedekind

    1

    Spring Awakening
    by Frank Wedekind

  • Read
    The best books on Sex Education - Coming of Age in Samoa by Margaret Mead

    2

    Coming of Age in Samoa
    by Margaret Mead

  • Read
    The best books on Sex Education - Sex and Society in Sweden by Birgitta Linner

    3

    Sex and Society in Sweden
    by Birgitta Linner

  • Read
    The best books on Sex Education - The Means of Reproduction by Michelle Goldberg

    4

    The Means of Reproduction
    by Michelle Goldberg

  • Read
    The best books on Sex Education - Not Under My Roof: Parents, Teens, and the Culture of Sex by Amy Schalet

    5

    Not Under My Roof: Parents, Teens, and the Culture of Sex
    by Amy Schalet

The best books on Sex Education, recommended by Jonathan Zimmerman

A one-size-fits-all approach to sex education cannot function in a globalised world, says professor of education and history, Jonathan Zimmerman. He picks the best books on sex education.

    The best books on Teaching Maths, recommended by Alf Coles

  • Read
    The best books on Teaching Maths - Proofs and Refutations: The Logic of Mathematical Discovery by Imre Lakatos

    1

    Proofs and Refutations: The Logic of Mathematical Discovery
    by Imre Lakatos

  • Read
    The best books on Teaching Maths - The Common Sense of Teaching Mathematics by Caleb Gattegno

    2

    The Common Sense of Teaching Mathematics
    by Caleb Gattegno

  • Read
    The best books on Teaching Maths - Calculus by and for Young People by Donald Cohen

    3

    Calculus by and for Young People
    by Donald Cohen

  • Read
    The best books on Teaching Maths - Teaching Mathematics: Towards a Sound Alternative by Brent Davis

    4

    Teaching Mathematics: Towards a Sound Alternative
    by Brent Davis

  • Read
    The best books on Teaching Maths - Starting Points for Teaching Mathematics in Middle and Secondary Schools by Banwell & Saunders and Tahta

    5

    Starting Points for Teaching Mathematics in Middle and Secondary Schools
    by Banwell & Saunders and Tahta

The best books on Teaching Maths, recommended by Alf Coles

What is the best way to teach maths? Maths teacher and author Alf Coles recommends books that offer some clues.

    The best books on Educating Your Child, recommended by Peg Tyre

  • Read
    The best books on Educating Your Child - Proust and the Squid by Maryanne Wolf

    1

    Proust and the Squid
    by Maryanne Wolf

  • Read
    The best books on Educating Your Child - The Number Sense by Stanislas Dehaene

    2

    The Number Sense
    by Stanislas Dehaene

  • Read
    The best books on Educating Your Child - Cultural Literacy by ED Hirsch Jr

    3

    Cultural Literacy
    by ED Hirsch Jr

  • Read
    The best books on Educating Your Child - Mindset: The New Psychology of Success by Carol Dweck

    4

    Mindset: The New Psychology of Success
    by Carol Dweck

  • Read
    The best books on Educating Your Child - The Price of Privilege by Madeline Levine

    5

    The Price of Privilege
    by Madeline Levine

The best books on Educating Your Child, recommended by Peg Tyre

Education writer Peg Tyre says many parents don’t understand how children learn and so don’t know what to look for in a school. She recommends five books to bring parents up to speed.

    The best books on American Education, recommended by Michelle Rhee

  • Read
    The best books on American Education - A Hope in the Unseen by Ron Suskind

    1

    A Hope in the Unseen
    by Ron Suskind

  • Read
    The best books on American Education - Other People’s Children by Lisa Delpit

    2

    Other People’s Children
    by Lisa Delpit

  • Read
    The best books on American Education - Why Boys Fail by Richard Whitmire

    3

    Why Boys Fail
    by Richard Whitmire

  • Read
    The best books on American Education - Understanding by Design by Grant Wiggins and Jay McTighe

    4

    Understanding by Design
    by Grant Wiggins and Jay McTighe

  • Read
    The best books on American Education - Special Interest by Terry Moe

    5

    Special Interest
    by Terry Moe

The best books on American Education, recommended by Michelle Rhee

The educationalist tells us about her experience as head of Washington DC’s public school system and explains how poorly performing children, and institutions, can be helped to improve

    The best books on The Crisis in Education, recommended by Frank Furedi

  • Read
    The best books on The Crisis in Education - Bringing Knowledge Back In by Michael F D Young

    1

    Bringing Knowledge Back In
    by Michael F D Young

  • Read
    The best books on The Crisis in Education - The Dangerous Rise of Therapeutic Education by Kathryn Ecclestone and Dennis Hayes

    2

    The Dangerous Rise of Therapeutic Education
    by Kathryn Ecclestone and Dennis Hayes

  • Read
    The best books on The Crisis in Education - Left Back by Diane Ravitch

    3

    Left Back
    by Diane Ravitch

  • Read
    The best books on The Crisis in Education - Freedom and Authority in Education by G H Bantock

    4

    Freedom and Authority in Education
    by G H Bantock

  • Read
    The best books on The Crisis in Education - Between Past and Future by Hannah Arendt

    5

    Between Past and Future
    by Hannah Arendt

The best books on The Crisis in Education, recommended by Frank Furedi

The sociology professor and blogger at spiked-online.com says when society is faced with problems like homophobia, healthy eating or integration, for example, then we try to

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We ask experts to recommend the five best books in their subject and explain their selection in an interview.

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