theme 2 - education and widening opportunities Flashcards
education before 1918
provided by local education authorities (LEAs)
1918 Education Act
raised school leaving age to 14
introduced county colleges that provided vocational training for people up to age 18
- didn’t always happen due to cost
divided curriculum between ‘practical institution’ and ‘advanced institution’
school funding centralised
- better salaries, govt hoped this would improve school standards
what were the recommendations from the 1926 Hadow Committee?
abolish elementary schools, divide into primary and secondary with transfer age of 11
raise leaving age to 15
recommendations not adopted due to cost
how accessible was secondary education?
secondary schools educated children up to 16
generally for middle-class children
1939: only 13% of working-class children aged 13+ were still in school
1931: 5.5 mill in elementary, 600,000 in secondary, 30,000 in university
what was the impact of WW2
1942 Beveridge Report - one of the evils was ignorance
required educated troops due to growing technological complexity of modern warfare
required educated civilian workforce
1944 Education Act
extended working-class children’s access to education
state secondary schools centralised by government - no longer charged fees
compulsory education extended to 15
however, the tripartite system it created still reflected the rigid class structure
what was the tripartite system?
grammar schools
- academic curriculum available to children who could pass the eleven-plus
- provided greater opportunity for working-class children
secondary modern schools
- lower middle-class and working-class children
- received fewer resources and less qualified teachers
- innovative curricula
- students could transfer to vocational courses
- 75% of children in post-war period
technical schools
- scientific or engineering work
- aimed to create a technocratic class who could help the country adapt in an age of high technology
- few built due to cost
- intake never more than 3% of secondary school students
what was the impact of the 1944 Education Act
millions of working-class children had free, compulsory secondary education
girls were able tatted secondary education
enabling so many children to become educated contributed to social change in 60s and 70s
how did the government view the tripartite system?
Conservatives and right of Labour saw is as effective for providing for the economy’s needs
left of Labour saw it as socially divisive - hoped for comprehensive schools
- 1964: Wilson’s government tackled elitism by creating ‘grammar schools for all’
early comprehensives in the 50s
1954: first opened at Kidbrooke
grew during 50s, but in Labour local authorities
some believed they could offer equality of educational opportunity
it was found that the 11+ was a poor predictor of future potential
flexibility and greater number of pupils meant comprehensive schools would be able to offer a variety of courses
The Crowther Report
1959
looked at education for ages 15-19
recommended:
- raising leaving age to 16
- creating county colleges for post-16 education
- more technical colleges
- better teaching quality for 6th form
- widening number of 6th form courses
- preparing highly able students for uni while not treating others as second-best
- facilitate a large influx of teachers to bring these changes into action
Newson Report
1963
looked at provision of education for average or less able children aged 13-16
found failings in the provision of education in poorer areas
recommendations:
- research teaching methods to help struggling children
- teach personal and social development to deprived children
- establish a working party to examine links between deprivation and poor educational attainment
- more practical subjects for lower ability students
- students shouldn’t be made to sit an exam if inappropriate
Comprehensives under Heath
both parties abolished grammar schools and created comprehensives, though many Conservatives opposed it
Thatcher increased funding of grant schools and supported the right to choose private education
- however, she authorised 3,286/3,612 comprehensive merges (1970-74), more than any other secretary
number of comprehensives increased from 195 (1964) to 30% of secondary schools (1970) to 62% (1974)
1976 Education Act
Wilson proposed ending funding for grant schools to make them comprehensives
- however, when they lost their funding they had to charge fees and become private, which low-income students could no longer afford
demands for LEAs to submit proposals for making schools comprehensives, but didn’t compel them to act
growth of comprehensives under Wilson
by 1979, they were the main form of secondary education in much of England and Wales
Plowden Report
1967
recommendations:
- banning corporal punishment
- giving children more freedom in the classroom
- encouraging teachers to help and advise rather than lecture
what was progressive education?
change from rote learning to child-centred learning
informed by 1967 Plowden Report
believed more welcoming schools would result in improved educational attainment
had mixed results in practice, and the press publicised the most extreme examples of failings
what was the Rank and File group?
radical left-wing teachers saw progressive education as an opportunity to undermine the class system
The Black Papers
published in 1969 by Brian Cox and Tony Dyson
criticised the decline in teachers’ authority in the classroom
- but didn’t advocate returning to strict and repetitive learning of the 50s
Yellow Book
1976
suggested progressive education was damaging to teaching
states that:
- school discipline had declined
- many school curricula didn’t prepare students to take up productive roles in the economy
- the government and the public had too little say over what happened in schools
what was the Ruskin speech (1976)?
speech given by Callaghan based on the findings from the Yellow Book
suggested:
- progressive education could be beneficial in the hands of skilled teachers, but failed when applied incorrectly
- didn’t want to return to rote learning
- there should be a national curriculum
- teachers should be more closely scrutinised
what was the impact of the Ruskin speech?
initiated a ‘great debate’ on education
- some felt comprehensives were too large and impersonal and had failed too many students
- progressive education was criticised
- many spoke on a greater need for control over the curriculum and methods of teaching
- set a path for educational reforms
universities in the interwar period
Oxford and Cambridge remained for the privileged but other unis took on more middle and working-class students
higher education seen as valuable for enabling a better future
1919: became funded by government
1920s: some unis appealed to government for increased funding, but this also came with greater scrutiny as the government looked at how well the unis were managed
how did WW2 impact universities?
demonstrated the need for large numbers of science graduates
Attlee government believed universities should become centres for science and engineering
