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Primary Education (1959) (page numbers in brackets) Notes on the text
Part 1 Historical
Part 2 The Primary Schools
Part 3 The Fields of Learning
Part 4 The Special Problems of Wales
Index (331-334) |
Primary Education (1959)
Suggestions for the consideration of teachers and others concerned with the work of primary schools London: Her Majesty's Stationery Office 1959
[page 111] [page 113] (i) History and content of the curriculum The curriculum of the primary school derives from that of the public elementary school. It sprang from the first purpose of popular education - to create as cheaply as possible a literate population, literacy being interpreted as reading, writing and arithmetic. In addition there was religious instruction for all and 'plain needlework' for girls. From 1870 'drill' and singing were encouraged, and with the Code of 1880 the list of optional 'class subjects' was extended to include any others 'which could be reasonably accepted as special branches of elementary instruction and properly treated in reading books'. Eight years later, the Cross Commission, set up for the purpose, recommended that the essential subjects of the curriculum should be the 'Three Rs', with needlework for girls and 'linear drawing' for boys, together with English (grammar mainly, but literature also), history, geography, and 'lessons on common objects in the lower standards and elementary science in the higher standards'. As far as the education of young children is concerned these 'subjects' have in some sense formed the basis of the curriculum through Edwardian times to our own day. The primary school curriculum, taken crudely as meaning the names of subjects which might appear in the school's timetable, is therefore founded on tradition, and has gradually been enriched and liberalised as more generous and enlightened views have prevailed and as conditions have made a fuller and better education of children possible. Public opinion has now accepted the principle that education should be concerned with the all-round development of each child according to his age and capacity and that this education should aim at making him a better member of the community, spiritually, morally, physically and intellectually. The traditional curriculum is therefore very differently interpreted from the way in which it was originally conceived. [page 114] Because tradition is so strong, and because the process of education in this country has always been a slow evolution, not subject to sudden change, and because teachers as a body are in close touch with each other and with others concerned in the education of children, the curriculum is fundamentally the same in all primary schools, though no directive is given to Heads on this matter, except concerning religious instruction. Names that might appear in the timetable, the arrangement of the day and the emphasis given to different aspects of the work, and especially the ways of teaching, differ from school to school, but in every primary school the children's education includes, besides religious instruction, education in the mother tongue - in speaking, listening to, reading and writing it - and in enjoying stories and poetry. Everywhere the children use speech, reading and writing for a wide variety of purposes. Arithmetic (or in a growing number of schools, mathematics) is always an important subject, and history, geography, and nature study always have a place, of a kind and in a measure according to the children's ages and capacities and the school's opportunities. In all schools the children draw and paint and make things from many kinds of materials; they sing and make music and listen to it; and everywhere they use and exercise their bodies in diverse movement and dance and in a variety of games. Generally speaking, parents and public have come to expect that this is the field the education of their children will cover, and there would be some surprise and consternation if any part were omitted. In nursery and infant schools many of the names of subjects as such do not appear as separate items in the day's proceedings. As has been shown in Part 2, the children's learning is for the most part undifferentiated: reading and writing and early mathematical experience go on together; stories and reading matter and practical inquiry and observation cover what may be the beginnings of literature, history, geography and science; and music, movement, poetry, painting and the making of things might be part of any of the day's activities. This kind of largely unclassified education continues in the early part of many junior schools; but in most, by the time the children are about nine, learning and lessons have sorted themselves out into more conventional form, though until the end of the junior school period the children may undertake projects and inquiries which cut across and utilise knowledge and skills from [page 115] many sources. The primary school curriculum in action is necessarily some distance from the clearly defined categories of the grammar school, and this is all the more so because nearly all the teachers are class teachers, not specialists. The fact that the same curriculum, in the most general terms, is in operation in all primary schools, does not mean that, even in such terms, it is regarded as final or perfect. It is constantly under review from one angle or another by teachers, administrators and members of the public; and it is always gradually changing in emphasis, in scope and in interpretation. It is, in short, responsive to the demands which fresh needs, rising aspirations, and new knowledge make upon it. One suggestion in particular is repeatedly made, that the brighter children at least should begin to learn a foreign language. There are no educational reasons why this should not be, but present conditions of staffing and accommodation often prevent its being done sufficiently well to make the time spent on it worth while.* (ii) Education in school is much more than is stated in the curriculum It is most important to emphasise that the curriculum, stated merely in terms of subjects or activities, omits what schools would regard as fundamental in the education they offer. From the nursery school upwards, education in school is concerned primarily with the development of children as persons. The achievement of each child in this or that school activity is important, and it is especially important that he should be doing his best in each; but the ultimate criterion of the quality of his education is the quality and balance of the personality which results - the child's competence and confidence in using and enjoying the knowledge and skills he has acquired, and above all, the nature of his attitudes and his behaviour towards' those with whom he works and plays. Admittedly, the school must share the responsibility for the outcome of education in this broad sense with the children's families and other influences in the environment; but even so, the teachers' responsibilities remain great. The formation of habits of cleanliness and of orderliness, acceptable behaviour in personal and social matters, considerate regard for other people, all that is meant by a sense of responsibility, self-control and cooperation - these and much more are the constant *See Chapter V, page 73, Junior Schools. [page 116] concern of teachers though no names for such topics appear as subjects in a curriculum or as items in a syllabus, nor does the establishment of standards and values, or the gradual development in children of such virtues as a sense of fair play, truthfulness, courage, kindness and industry. Concern with these things, and with much else that has been implied in the descriptions of life in primary schools in the preceding chapters in this book, is part of the texture of that life and permeates all the teaching. (iii) Interpretation of the following chapters The chapters that follow deal with learning under the headings that have become familiar in the schools. These headings are not intended as items for a timetable, but are chosen as a convenient way of considering what might be studied in the primary school. They merge and overlap. Many different groupings and combinations are possible, and different schools interpret and cover the various fields in ways best suited to their own circumstances and staffing. The content of any particular chapter should not be taken as a syllabus or scheme of work in any subject, and still less as a compendium of methods. Each chapter is intended to suggest the study, activity or procedures which might be considered by teachers as offering something of value to the children. No chapter makes any claims to completeness or to novelty. Much that teachers are already doing with success could not be included here, and there is nothing here that in some way has not been practised with success in some schools. But, as has been said repeatedly, good education cannot be merely imitative or carried out by rote, and the best suggestions are helpful only if they are adapted and used with discretion. 
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