Debate Mate

Anastasia De Waal, 11 January 2011

Aoife O’Donnell, a Debate Mate mentor, writes about the value of debating – for all.

Recognising the many benefits associated with debating, Margaret McCabe saw debating as a means of addressing many of the social issues associated with areas of deprivation and a way of promoting educational achievement and social mobility. As such she founded ‘Debate Mate’ – a venture which uses debating to develop the verbal intelligence of young people in disadvantaged areas. The programme develops skills identified by the CBI as ‘missing’ in mainstream education namely communication, teamwork and leadership. Debating is a statutory requirement of the National Curriculum and serves as an invaluable learning tool in the classroom. Yet it is not routinely available in state sector education. Debate Mate is the only organisation that runs debate clubs and trains teachers to use debating in the classroom.

Given that debating, as well as developing critical thinking, also leads to improved academic achievement through enhanced language skills, research skills and subject knowledge, why does this debating deficit exist?

The American Urban Debate League has been operating since 1985 and its success has been recognised internationally. In ten years, 40,000 students have competed in UDLs from urban school districts with approximately 87% minority and 78% low-income student populations. Multiple studies have shown Urban Debate Leagues to have increased traditional measures of academic success: literacy score increases of 25%, grade-point average increases of around 10%, and high school graduation rates increasing to nearly 100%. Other positive benefits have been documented in attendance rates. In addition, preparation for debate tournaments has been found to motivate students to conduct extensive research and to develop organised and complex spoken and written communication skills. What is more, the intellectual and interpersonal benefits of participating on a debate team are equipping a new generation of students with the skills, motivation, confidence and ambition to pursue a wide variety of careers. School debating clubs help to grant students with the advocacy skills to empower them to be the architects of their own futures.