New festival debates education today

Battle of Ideas, a weekend festival of debates and discussions which takes place at the Royal College of Art in London on the weekend of 29-30 October 2005. The festival aims to create a stimulating interdisciplinary event at which hundreds of people will have the opportunity to get to grips with and discuss the key ideas of our time. Specifically, there is 'The Battle for Education' which is one of the themed strands. You and your colleagues might find the discussions of the role of education in the community and the relevance of a 20th century curriculum to the modern world particularly interesting. At a time when education is changin grapidly the "Battle for education" will explore the rise of new methodologies in education and the attitude government might/should take towards them. Speakers in this strand will include: Professor John White, Emeritus Professor of Philosophy of Education at the Institute of Education, Professor Piers Hellawell, Chair of Composition at Queen's University of Belfast, Dr Kathryn Ecclestone of the School of Education and Lifelong Learning, University of Exeter, and Carol Adams, chief executive of the General Teaching Council of England (GTCE). The full programme can be found at www.battleofideas.co.uk