In our latest episode of the Premiera podcast led by John Griffin, delves into the contentious ideas presented in ‘The Bell Curve’ by Charles Murray and Richard Herrnstein, examining their pervasive influence on educational practices and pedagogical perspectives. John, who has previously engaged educators in critical thought experiments, questions the acceptance of the bell curve as a natural distribution of student achievement.

By comparing educators’ resignation to a significant percentage of student failure to the hypothetical acceptance of failure rates in surgery or aviation, the webinar challenges the normalisation of failure within educational settings. It encourages educators to envision a paradigm shift away from predetermined failure rates towards a more inclusive approach where the success of all students is deemed possible. This critical examination, under John’s guidance, calls for a re-evaluation of assessment and evaluation methods, questioning the very foundation of ranking and failure in education.