By Darabjeet Kaur and Gowian Wright-Salmon, Functional Skills Lecturers at Sandwell College.
UK schooling is synonymous with qualifications. None more so than the General Certificate of Secondary Education, or as it is more affectionately known as, the humble GCSE. Introduced four decades ago as a means of standardisation for an ever-increasing choice of certification, how are these examinations genuinely perceived in the current teaching and learning landscape?
There is a strong case to support that GCSEs are the barometer for secondary education, receiving more emphasis and garnering more attention, than their more complex and distinguished relative, the A-level. These infamous four letters have contributed to many a sleepless night for students, teachers and parents alike. Plus, they are never more than a stone’s throw away from a government policy or a political campaign, particularly in terms of the focus on English and maths; with two words being inextricably associated with our beloved numeracy and literacy related friends: namely, ‘pass’ or ‘fail’. So, the question remains – how do we address the latter?
Communication is the bedrock of all healthy relationships; however, how much open dialogue has been shared between students and teachers during this key stage of development? Those individuals who have not achieved the elusive grade 4, often arrive in further education with a clear disconnect with the core subjects, which in some cases can manifest as anxiety-inducing responses regarding the thought of re-engaging with reading, writing or number crunching. A supportive process of confidence rebuilding then ensues, with students revealing a range of unexpected classroom anecdotes, from having an endless string of substitute teachers, to specific topics not being taught for over a year.
Surely, such notions are preposterous? Is this merely a case of disgruntled underachievers pointing an unsubstantiated finger of blame? Or, in some parallel universe, could there actually be some truth to these claims?
Perhaps, the best way to find out would be to talk.
Whether you are a staunch supporter of your fellow education professional, or you are part of the new age revolution of students, a certain level of relinquishing will need to take place in order to cultivate an environment of humility, that could ultimately lead to collaboration through clear and honest communication. Exactly what that would look like is naturally open to suggestion. A possibility would be to set up forums between teachers and students that could generate the familiar descriptors of ‘what went well’, ‘improvements’ and ‘next steps’, which would potentially lead to the creation of dossiers outlining some authentic ‘lessons learned’.
In a similar manner, there is also an opportunity to address the apparent disconnect between the qualifications facilitating the resit students’ ‘road to redemption’. Despite Functional Skills being positioned as a pre-cursor to GCSE, there are cases where the content does not adequately connect with or prepare the students for their subsequent learning. Collaboration between those who deliver each discipline could create a more realistic and useful method of transition, providing students with a clearer picture of their short, medium and long-term goals.
GCSE remains a bone of contention in the world of secondary and post-16 education, for which there are evidently no quick fixes. However, amidst the stress and uncertainty that go hand-in-hand with this oft-maligned qualification, having some straight-forward conversations, might just be a viable way of getting the journey of success, back on track.
GCSE Resits Hub Project 