Changes in Education 1

1
Changes in Education 1

• History of Education 1944 to 1965
• Adapted from S Moore

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Changes in Education 1944 to 1965

• Before - 1944 the school leaving age was 14
  (later increased to 15)
• State schools were under Local Education
  Authorities (known as LEAs)

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• Schools were single sex and had a gendered
  curriculum
• Grammar schools were fee paying (But
  scholarships were available)

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1944 Butlers Education ActBrought in the
tripartite system (Three parts)
Free grammar schools for the academically bright
Technical schools for the skilled/artistic
There was said to be equal opportunity for all
because entry to any school was based on the 11
( partly assessed by IQ tests) and all schools
were said to have parity of esteem
Secondary modern schools for everyone else
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Problems of tripartite system

• Grammar schools were still dominated by middle
  class children.
• Working class childrens self-esteem was damaged
  (the perceived them sevels to be failures)
• IQ tests were often culturally biased in favour
  of white middle class children

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Answer the following IQ test question

• Which of the following is the odd man
• out?
• Shakespeare
• Blake
• Dickens
• The answer is

Yes and the questions were sexist and at times
ethnocentric!
Dickens
He is the only one who did not publish poetry
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Problems with tripartite (continued)

• Not enough technical schools were built
• The system was unfair to girls. (i because too
  few girls grammar schools existed in the
  previous single sex system. ii. Girls were
  deliberately marked down in 11exam )
• Regional variations there were not enough
  grammar schools in some areas so many bright
  children were failed

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Because of the above problems

• By the mid 1950s the tripartite system was
  agreed to be a failure and waste of talent.
• This was because entrance to the different school
  broke along class (and to an extent gender) lines

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• This meant that bright working class children
  were failing the 11 because of biased
  selection
• This led to the introduction of Comprehensive
  schooling