In preparation for this module please read the following article available online:

McCulloch, G. (2006) Cyril Norwood and the English tradition of education’ Oxford Review of Education 32 (1) pp.55-69. The essential reading for week 1 in the reading pack can be read following the lecture.

 

You can find this article in the stack in the library or online by going to the library catalogue and typing in Oxford Review of Education in to the book search. Then follow the links to volume 32 issue 1. Where you see the article listed click on Text (pdf) and that will take you to the full text of the article which you can either print or read online.  

 

This article will give you an introduction to the changing culture and different ideologies which formed the context of the 1944 Act. (You first assignment also asks you to look at a piece of a report chaired by Cyril Norwood on curriculum and examinations)

 

Although this module focuses on the 1944 and 1988 Education Acts for England and Wales it raises much broader issues that questions what drives education policy-making in general.  It reflects on the historical, cultural and political backgrounds to the Acts, investigates the ideologies which lay behind the Acts, and considers the influence of, and reaction to, them amongst various groups. The ideology inherent in any education policy is related to the wider social and political context in which they originate.

 

Two of the sessions focus specifically around the provision of nursery education and the contextualisation of Early Years within the state system.

 

The sessions will consist of approximately one hour lead lecture followed by a more informal workshop session discussing the readings and context of primary documents relevant to the earlier lecture. These will give you an opportunity to explore in more depth the changing nature of the debates over education during the twentieth century which laid the foundation for the system today. These workshops will help you to develop skills which you will use on a number of modules throughout the course as well as preparing you for the module assignments.

 

The module is intended to introduce you to some of the complex issues which face us in the creation of education policy today. An understanding of how some of these have developed historically can shed light on some apparently strange attitudes to education today in England and Wales. For example – how do schools build their reputation in a neighbourhood?  Where does the reputation of being a ‘good’ ‘bad’ ‘failing’ ‘successful’ school come from – is it only from their recent results or does it stem from the schools’ history and a reputation built over years?

 

The module provides a chronological overview of the development of the education system in England and Wales against which you can identify how ideologies of social class, gender and religion are reflected in the formal education system.

 

We may use England and Wales as a case study but the issues are pertinent for the development of formal education systems more generally.

 

Most importantly – this is not a ‘stand alone’ history module; these themes will variously inform other modules you will take in your subsequent years in Education Studies, and so can begin to provide you with an overall context to the programme.

 

The primary text for assignment one is included in the reading pack. All the books from which the extracts in the reading pack are taken are available in the library.

 

Learning Outcomes

a)     Demonstrate engagement with texts and ideas relevant to the ideologies underpinning the formation of the 1944 and 1988 Education Acts

b)    Demonstrate reflection on experiences and the wider contexts in which they take place

c)     Communicate experiences of texts and ideas within and/or beyond education as appropriate

d)    Show knowledge and understanding of specialist terminology

e)     Demonstrate requisite research skills in gathering, summarizing and presenting evidence including proficiency in referencing and academic conventions

 

Module Structure

 

Weeks 1-5

The 1944 Act

Weeks 6-7

Progressive Education

Weeks 8-12

The 1988 Act

Assessment

There are two forms of assessment for the module. The assessments are equally weighted.

Assessment 1 analysis of a historical document (based on material in weeks 1-5)

Extract from Board of Education (1943) Curriculum and Examinations in Secondary Schools (The Norwood Report), London: HMSO (in the reading packs).

Discuss the proposals for secondary education which are raised in this extract and reflect on your own educational experience in the light of this analysis. (The essay should be 1500-2000 words and the second part should not be longer than 500 words)

 

Due end of week 6, return week 9

 

Assessment 2 ) Two hour exam, which is held during the assessment period (based on material in weeks 7-11)

 

Module Outline

Week 1  16^th January

Introduction: The growth of compulsory secondary education in Britain and the Second World War.

Week 2  23^rd January

Education, Ideology and Competing Interests

Week 3 30^th January

Tripartite System: selection and the reproduction of social class and gender inequalities

Week 4 6^th February

Postwar education, Failing the ordinary child

Week 5 13^th February

Comprehensive Education

Week 6 20^th February

Primary Education 1) Progressive ideals

Week 7 27^th February

Primary Education 2) The Plowden Report

Week 8 5^th March

The Black Papers and The Great Debate

Week 9  12^th March

Aspects of the 1988 Education Reform Act (I)

Week 10  19^th March

Aspects of the 1988 Education Reform Act (II)

Week 11 26^th March

A case study:  The politics of History in the National Curriculum

Week 12 2^nd April

Revision session and exam clinic

 

 

Week 1

Introduction: The growth of compulsory secondary education in Britain and the Second World War

Session aims:

·        Consider the significance of the history of education and the use of historical documents.

·        Introduce key terms we will be using in the module

·        Introduce concepts of class and gender

·        Discuss the background to the making of the 1944 Education Act

 

Essential Reading:

 

Simon, B. (1994) ‘The History of Education: Its Importance for Understanding’, in The State and Educational Change, London: Lawrence and Wishart, pp.3-19

 

Simon, B. (1998) ‘Teaching in Manchester and Salford, 1945-50’, in A Life in Education, London: Lawrence and Wishart, pp.46-63

                            

Week 2

Education, Ideology and Competing Interests

 

Session Aims:

·        To consider the notion of ideology

·        To identify different interests in education

·        To consider the main competing interests which have been institutionalised in educational policy

·        To discuss how these interests may have played a part in our own schooling

 

Essential Reading

McCulloch, G. (1998) Failing the Ordinary Child, Buckingham: Open University Press, pp.45-56

Newsom, J. (1948) The Education of Girls, London: Faber, pp. 11-21

An extract from Terry Eagleton  (1991) Ideology: an introduction (London:Verso ) 1-2

http://www.autodidactproject.org/other/ideo4.html

 

Week 3

Tripartite System: selection and the reproduction of social class and gender inequalities

 

Session aims:

·        To identify the key points of change brought by the 1944 Education Act

·        To identify the key ideologies at work in the 1944 Act

·        To consider the relationship of ‘intelligence’ and the reproduction of social inequalities

·        To consider the relationship between tripartism and social inequality

 

Essential Reading

Burt, C. (1962) Mental and Scholastic Tests, London: Staples Press, pp 1-3

McCulloch, G.(1994) Educational Reconstruction: the 1944 Education Act and the 21st century, Essex: Woburn Press, pp. 72-92

 

Week 4  Post War Education, Failing the Ordinary Child

 

Session aims  

·        To examine the legacy of the 1944 Education Act

·        To consider the experience of education in the 1950s

·        To identify the expectations of the ‘ordinary child’

·        To discuss the nature of secondary ‘modern’ provision

 

Essential Reading

Vernon, P. (1960) Intelligence and Attainment Tests, London: University of London Presss, pp.126-129, 135

Spencer, S. (2004) ‘Reflections on the site of struggle’ Girls experience of secondary education in the 1950s,  History of Education 33 (4) 437-449

 

Week 5 Comprehensive Education

 

Session aims

·        To examine the notions of ‘equality’ and ‘equality of opportunity’

·        To consider the ideals of comprehensive education

·        To explore the diversity of comprehensive provision

·        To discuss the experience of comprehensive education since 1944

 

Essential Reading

Pedley, R. (1963) The Comprehensive School, London: Pelican, 11-31.

 

Week 6  Primary Education 1) Progressive Ideals

 

Session aims:

·        To consider the history of progressive education

·        To examine the ideology of  progressivism in early years and secondary education

·        To explore the relationship between primary and secondary education

 

Essential Reading

Moss, P. and Penn, H. 'A historical perspective on nursery education'  (1996) Transforming Nursery Education London: Paul Chapman Publishing, Ch.5.

 

Week 7 The Plowden Report

 

Session aims

·        To reflect at this half way stage on the links between the 1944 and 1988 Act

·        To consider how the ideology of progressivism was articulated in the Plowden report

·        To explore the effect of Plowden on the provision of primary education

 

Essential Reading

D.E.S.(1967) Children and Their Primary Schools, London:HMSO, pp. 266-283

 

 

Week 8: The Black Papers and the Great Debate

 

Session Aims

·        Outline the educational critiques offered from the Left and the Right

·        Identify key writings and people

·        Highlight emerging themes which link to the 1988 ERA

 

Essential Reading

Lawton, D. (1992) ‘Politics, Ideology and Education’ Education and Politics in the 1990s: Conflict or Consensus? London: Falmer, Ch. 1

 

Week 9

Aspects of the 1988 Education Reform Act (I)

 

Session Aims

·        Examine the major reforms initiated by the 1988 Act

·        Identify key ideologies informing the 1988 Act

Standards

Entitlement

Free market

 

Essential Reading

Bash, L. (1989) ‘Education Goes to Market’ in Bash, L. and Coulby, D. (eds) The Education Reform Act: Competition and Control London: Cassell, Ch. 2

Lawton, D. (1989) ‘The National Curriculum’ in Lawton, D. (ed) The Education Reform Act: Choice and Control L

London: Hodder and Stoughton, Ch. 2

 

Week 10

Aspects of the 1988 Education Reform Act II

 

Session aims

·        Examine the 1988 ERA as a site of ideological and political struggle

·        Identify the inherent contradiction of the 1988 Act

·        Explore the implications of the 1988 Act for educational practice

 

Essential Reading

Lawton, D. (1992) ‘The Growth of Ideological Conflicts: The Educational Reform Act (1988) Education and Politics in the 1990s: Conflict or Consensus? London: Falmer, Ch. 4

Cox, B.& Dyson, A. (eds.) (1971) The Black Papers on Education, London: Davis Poynter, pp.9-34 & 101-117.

 

Week 11

A case study:  The politics of History in the National Curriculum

 

Week 12

Conclusions and Exam Clinic

 

Session Aims

·        To reflect on the issues raised in the module

·        To revisit the key concepts examined during the module

·        To consider the role of ideology in educational theory, policy and practice

 

Essential Reading

As preparation for this week’s session you should review the essential reading from week 7 onwards.

 

Sources for history of education

Useful websites

Keep up to date with the latest journal articles – especially relevant for this module

History of Education

Oxford Review of Education

Paedagogica Historica

http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals/

 

Publishers Taylor and Francis / Routledge have a website ‘Education Arena’ that keeps you up to date with the latest publications and news  http://educationarena.com/

 

History of Education Society UK – the website includes a useful bibliographic database for history of education Exelibris  www.historyofeducation.co.uk

 

History of Education England – an excellent site – lots of primary documents including Norwood and Plowden in full (and of course the 44 and 88 Acts!)