Social issues are increasingly making their way into the school curriculum, a new report has found.
According to the study by the Prince's Teaching Institute, education is shifting away from academic teaching to a more social agenda, in news that might be of interest to staff in teaching jobs.
The report, which came out of a seminar attended by secondary head teachers throughout the country to discuss educational issues, said that there has been too much encroachment of politics into education.
As a result, schools are being expected to solve social problems, including drug use and obesity, which takes away from more academic subjects.
Commenting on the findings, professor Michael Young, from the London Knowledge Lab at the Institute of Education, said that it is wrong for schools to be expected to tackle social issues.
"Time spent on discussions about obesity, drug use [and] teenage pregnancy can certainly deny pupils opportunities for what only schools can provide," he said.
He stressed, however, that these are important issues than can be addressed in places such as youth clubs, communities, families and churches.
Posted by Tim Colman
Published On 28/05/2010