Hadow (1926)

Notes on the text
Preliminary pages Membership, Analysis, Preface, Introduction
Chapter 1 Development of post-primary education in England and Wales 1800-1918
Chapter 2 The facts of the present situation
Chapter 3 The lines of advance
Chapter 4 Curricula for Modern Schools and Senior Classes
Chapter 5 The place of 'bias' in the curriculum of Modern Schools and Senior Classes
Chapter 6 The staffing and equipment of Modern Schools and Senior Classes
Chapter 7 The admission of children to Modern Schools and Senior Schools
Chapter 8 The lengthening of school life
Chapter 9 The question of a leaving examination
Chapter 10 Administrative problems
Chapter 11 Conclusions and recommendations; Notes of reservation
Chapter 12 Suggestions on the curriculum in Modern Schools and Senior Classes
Appendix I List of witnesses
Appendix II Notes on nomenclature
Appendix III Statistics relating to Chapter 2(ii)
Appendix IV Post-primary education abroad
Appendix V List of publications
Index

London: HM Stationery Office

Chapter 4 Curricula for Modern Schools and Senior Classes
[pages 101 - 111]

102. In the previous chapter we gave some general indications of the lines upon which curricula in Post-Primary Schools should be framed, and in a later chapter on Bias [Chapter 5] we discuss the special work which might be undertaken in the latter years of the school course. Here we are concerned more specifically with the curriculum as a whole, and we offer some general suggestions based on the evidence we have received and upon the actual practice in existing Post-Primary Schools in various areas.

There appear to be two opposing schools of modern educational thought, with regard to the aims to be followed in the training of older pupils. One attaches primary importance to the individual pupils and their interests; the other emphasises the claims of society as a whole, and seeks to equip the pupils for service as workmen and citizens in its organisation. When either tendency is carried too far the result is unsatisfactory. If, on the one hand, the education of older pupils be kept too general in the supposed interests of individual development, the pupil is apt to find himself ill-equipped on leaving school to cope with the demands of modern life. If, on the other hand, undue stress be laid in the school course on the needs of later life, and the training of the pupil be made too specific, the individual man or woman may be sacrificed to the workman or citizen. A well-balanced educational system must combine these two ideals in the single conception of social individuality. The general aim should therefore be to offer the fullest possible scope to individuality, while keeping steadily in view the claims and needs of the society in which every individual citizen must live. There has, in our view, been too great a tendency in some quarters to regard the school as an isolated unit, and education as something apart from the main stream of life. The complaint made by many of our witnesses that the curriculum for older children has too frequently been divorced from real life, and that many pupils, in consequence, lose interest and merely 'mark time' in their last years at school is, so far as it is well founded, an inevitable result of the tendency to regard the education of older children as an end in itself. The system of education in vogue in any highly civilised community at any given time is only one aspect of the national life, and is conditioned and influenced at every point by contemporary social and economic factors. Further, the school is only one of many forces that go to mould the intellectual, moral and physical character. The home, the general social environment, the churches, the State and the voluntary organisations, all have a share in the process.

103. The provision of curricula for the older children in Elementary Schools, where even in a single school may be found a wide range of types of mind and of conditions of environment, is not a simple matter; and uniform schemes of instruction are out of the question if the best that is in the children is to be brought out. We have had much evidence indicating that schools have planned special curricula with a large measure of success, and that this has not only given the children greater powers of adaptability in the occupations which they afterwards take up, but has also raised the standard of their intellectual attainments. The suggestions which we make are accordingly for the further development of this tendency rather than for the breaking of new ground. Indeed in our educational system, as in our other institutions, evolution rather than revolution is in the long run the swiftest and most effective method of progress. Nor should these suggestions be regarded as being of universal application, since both the extension of new methods in education and the varieties of local social conditions and environment render it necessary to frame curricula with strict reference to the conditions of each individual Modern School or group of Senior Classes.

104. For our purpose, however, there are three main types of post-primary work:

(i) that carried on in selective Modern Schools;
(ii) that carried on in non-selective Modern Schools;
(iii) that carried on in the specially organised upper sections of elementary schools.

In all these three types children over the age of 11 should be classified as a unit distinct in the matter of instruction from those under that age. This will, of course, take place automatically when the older children are taught in a separate building, but even when they are within the same building as the younger pupils they should be treated as a separate unit, and separate provision should be made for them. The differentiation between the work of the older pupils and that of the children under the age of 11 will show itself in several ways. There will be a greater amount of specialisation on the part of the teachers; the lesson periods will be of longer duration; notebooks will be increasingly used; there will be less formal instruction, and more individual study and written work. In practical instruction this differentiation is already apparent. Incidentally, we think that, wherever possible, the rooms for practical work should form an integral part of the school buildings, in view of the importance of securing that the children's education in its various aspects is properly considered as a whole, and that the work itself should be under the control of the head teacher. (1)

105. The extent to which specialisation is carried will largely depend upon the number, qualifications and tastes of the staff. It is clear, for example, that a much wider range of special interests will be found among the teachers in Modern Schools than among those of the senior classes of an elementary school, which necessarily form a smaller unit. While it is of vital importance to maintain the close personal contact with pupils which can be gained by teachers in schools where little specialisation is practised, and while much may be said against excessive specialisation, it requires a teacher of exceptional personality and of unusual sympathy with children to arouse the same enthusiasm and interest in a subject as can be aroused by the teacher who has made a special study of it. On the other hand, if specialisation is introduced, it is essential that children should be aided to regard the work which they undertake as a unity, and to avoid the illusion that the world of knowledge consists of a series of separate and unrelated subjects. It should be added that the coherence of the various branches of the curriculum, and the continuity of the work from one promotion period to another, may be secured not only by the appointment of specialist teachers, but also by conferences of the whole staff (such as are already held in many schools from time to time), at which the schemes of work in the various subjects can be thoroughly discussed. Such conferences give each teacher an opportunity of understanding the significance of the whole course of instruction to which he is contributing his share, and also offer ample opportunities for criticisms leading to improvements and readjustments. But it must be remembered that, with the extension of the bounds of knowledge in each of the several subjects, the attitude of mind acquired by the pupil towards it, and his ability to search for further information from satisfactory sources, become at least as important as the information he actually obtains; and for this purpose a teacher with special knowledge is dearly the best guide.

106. We believe that three requirements should be kept steadily in mind by all who are responsible for planning curricula for Modern Schools and Senior Classes. We would state them in the following terms:

(1) The curriculum should be planned as a whole in order to avoid overcrowding;
(2) it should be planned with a view to arousing interest and at the same time ensuring a proper degree of accuracy;
(3) it should be planned with a due regard to local conditions, and to the desirability of stimulating the pupils' capacities through a liberal provision of opportunities for practical work.

107. For many years teachers have been aware of the difficulties created by the large number of separate subjects in the framing of a school timetable; and the tendency now, in many schools, is to regard the curriculum as a whole, and to make fewer subdivisions. This is a principle which we would recommend to the consideration of all teachers. Its most important effect is to secure due proportion in the time allotted to, and in the treatment of, the different subjects. Beyond this, however, the observance of such a principle has many other advantages. There are subjects which share together an area of common ground. In mathematics and science, for example, calculation is often a common feature. If the teachers concerned adopt the same methods in the use of mathematical processes, much time is saved and confusion in the mind of the pupil is avoided. In history and geography, again, a more extended treatment, going beyond brief oral lessons, encourages work in written English. Similarly in science and geography some of the work is common, and covers the same ground. The recognition of this fact means a definite economy of time. For this reason, and in order to ensure that, wherever possible, the teaching of one subject shall throw light on another, some head teachers supply every member of the staff with copies of all the syllabuses planned by the teachers responsible in the different subjects and in use throughout the school.

108. This process of unifying the curriculum extends also to the subjects themselves. Thus the terms English literature (prose and verse), composition and grammar are replaced in the school timetable simply by English; mathematics, too, is used to cover arithmetic, mensuration, algebra, geometry and, to some extent, geometrical drawing. Although there is a danger that on this plan a disproportionate amount of time may be given by individual teachers to one aspect or another, it should not be difficult to guard against this; and indeed in mathematics the various branches are already being taught together as a single subject. On the other hand, the gains of such an arrangement are many. It brings the various sides of a subject into proper relationship with one another, and in this way encourages understanding and intelligent appreciation. It enables the teacher, when dealing with one branch, to make considerable excursions into others, whenever such excursions are necessary to a clear understanding of the matter under consideration. It also enables him to vary the length of time devoted to any particular phase of a subject in order to meet the changing needs both of his class as a whole and of individual pupils. The total effect of all these arrangements is that much time is gained, overlapping is avoided, the work runs more easily, and pressure from the overcrowding of the curriculum is relieved.

109. The second requirement which we have suggested should be kept in mind in planning curricula concerns more especially the individual subjects. The best results cannot be attained if the content of the curriculum is unsuitable, or badly planned, or if its presentation is uninspiring. The argument which we have urged in favour of viewing the curriculum as a whole applies in a similar way to the planning of the syllabus of work in each subject. We regard it as essential that each syllabus should be constructed as a whole before the distribution of its parts over the successive years of school life is taken in hand. The presentation of each of the successive parts should be constantly made to serve the general unfolding of the subject. In mathematics it is scarcely possible to do otherwise, because each stage calls into play the work of previous stages. But in subjects such as history and geography attention to this principle is not readily secured. Definite provision should therefore be made in the compilation of the syllabus. To this end it is desirable to consider what kind of training may be given and what permanent ideas may be fostered by each subject, with due regard to difference of tastes among the children concerned, the general conditions affecting their outlook, and the possibility of some continuation of study in the years after leaving school. The content of the syllabus should be such as will secure this training and the formation of these ideas. The number of the ideas which it is essential to grasp in the study of any subject is not large, and the matter of cardinal importance is that the teacher should help his pupils to grasp them. The danger which confronts a teacher (and it is a danger which may even increase, in proportion to his zeal and industry) is that he should 'condescend upon particulars' to an extent which bewilders the mind that he seeks to enlighten.

110. Some plan of this kind ensures that the work set out shall be (i) in accordance with the pupils' capacities, (ii) reasonable in amount, (iii) firm and clear in texture, and (iv) such as will secure something more than a passing interest. We attach much importance to this last point. An interest which stimulates the pupil's curiosity, and urges him to put forth serious efforts to acquire further knowledge, obviously leads to a steady advance in the standard of attainment and an increasing degree of accuracy and thoroughness. Once the pupil's interest is genuinely aroused, nothing but the best, according to his insight and his capacities, will satisfy his aspirations. There are few teachers who have not seen, in one connection or another, the remarkable excellence of the work which is done by pupils when the subject has gripped their imagination and aroused their interest and enthusiasm. But we would not be understood to suggest the possibility of interesting every pupil in every subject in all its aspects, or to imply that there is no drudgery to be undertaken. On the contrary we would urge the recognition of differing interests. Pupils should be encouraged to follow, within reasonable limits, any special bent which they may possess. Thus in geography one pupil may be specially interested in map work and the relation between configuration and lines of communication, another in travel and exploration, and another in meteorological observations; in history, heraldry captivates some, methods of warfare others, and changes in dress or in manners and customs others; in art one is inclined to architectural drawing, another to decorative design, and a third to sketching scenes from nature and natural objects. These excursions into different phases of a subject, so far from interfering with any essential grasp of the whole, add a stimulus and an enlightenment which bring in their train a fuller comprehension and a higher standard of attainment, together with a degree of accuracy, care and thoroughness which is to be welcomed. Moreover, the pooling of such efforts opens up endless possibilities, and, in addition to its great moral value, leads to the production of work of the highest quality.

111. The need of bringing the curriculum into relation with local conditions is being more and more felt. This is partly because, with a general lengthening of the period of schooling, it is now possible to give the instruction of older pupils a useful trend towards the occupations which await them; partly - and more fundamentally - because the nature of the educational process is better and more widely understood. Sound teaching, it is recognised, must be based upon the pupil's interests; and these, though they may in time reach out to the end of the world, begin at home in the attraction and challenge of things around him. Where this truth is neglected, a child's study of science and mathematics, of geography and history, and even of literature, may often be little better than a sterile commerce with abstractions; but where it is intelligently and skilfully applied, it may affect deeply and permanently the growth of his mind and character. Accordingly, we welcome the increasing tendency in schools of all kinds to develop differences in curriculum corresponding to the special character of the natural and social environment; and in this connection we desire particularly to call attention to the valuable memoranda which the Board has recently published with the purpose of helping country teachers to work out a type of education founded upon the occupations and natural setting of rural life.

At the same time we must stress the point that though a child's education should be based largely upon what he sees in his parish it ought not to be parochial. It may, indeed, be maintained with much truth that he is sent to school in order that his knowledge and sympathies may not be confined within local bounds, but may be widened and enriched by intercourse with a larger world. While, then, a teacher may rightly use his pupils' studies of their surroundings to enlighten their natural affection for familiar things and to fit them to fill usefully a place in the local life, he should not stop here. These studies should be made gateways by which the pupil's understanding may pass to some comprehension of the world's variety, and of movements and achievements of the human spirit that are universal in their significance.

112. We regard it as most important that the new Modern Schools and Senior Classes should not become inferior 'secondary' schools or offer merely a vague continuation of primary education. We have already explained how the work of the older boys and girls in the ordinary school subjects will normally differ from the work of children at the primary stage, and have urged (what we now desire to reinforce) that the natural capacities and interests of the pupils, their social and natural environment, and the external incentives to study, should all exercise a definite influence upon the curriculum.

113. There is no question that among the pupils of the new post-primary schools the desire and the ability to do and to make, to learn from concrete things and situations, will be more widely diffused than the desire and the ability to acquire book knowledge and to master generalisations and abstract ideas. Accordingly 'practical work' in its several forms must fill a large place in the curriculum. But this does not mean that the pupils' intellectual training is to be regarded as of secondary importance. It has been amply shown that for many children the attainment of skill in some form of practical work in science, handwork or the domestic arts may be a stimulus to higher intellectual effort. In other words, the child's predilections being towards things practical, his intellectual activities are most strongly stimulated when they are directed to practical ends. Moreover, apart from the question of stimulus, boys and girls with the type of interests we have in view can grasp concepts through practical work much more easily than by devoting long periods to the abstract study of ideas. The abundant practical work which we wish to see provided in the new schools is thus to be regarded partly as a means of intellectual training specially suitable to the interests and capacities of the majority of the pupils. We must, however, add that the attainment of a reasonable standard of practical skill is in itself an object of importance in a Modern School, particularly if it leads to mastery of one or more of the simple arts and crafts whose educational value we emphasise elsewhere. (2)

114. We desire next to develop a little further the thesis that the general character of the teaching should take account of the pupils' natural and social environment. It is sometimes assumed that if every school could be equipped with the same supply of books and apparatus the same standard of attainment might be reached. But this does not necessarily follow. The child's power of acquiring knowledge depends largely upon his experiences. The more limited these are in number and variety, the more difficult is it to acquire a real knowledge from books. The experiences of many children are largely confined to the locality in which they live, and their studies should start from these conditions and gradually extend them. In such an arrangement the curriculum will not consist merely of a simplified edition of ordinary scholastic studies, but will be different in content and treatment, inasmuch as it will be more closely connected with the pupil's environment. If this is done, the child goes forward with a clearer mind and in the end makes quicker progress than he would by pursuing a course of more formal studies.

It should be possible in the case of certain staple industries, such as agriculture, mining, the textile trades and transport, to give the children some knowledge of these industries, and of their significance in the national life. In addition, of course, every effort should be made to enlarge the range of the children's experiences beyond the limits of the area in which they live.

115. We come now to external incentives. In the last years of a pupil's school life, especially when he is nearing the leaving age, both his own attitude towards school work and that of his parents are strongly influenced by consideration of his future occupation. To disregard this influence is to lose one of the strongest motives for the continuance of the pupil's education. If the curriculum can be so shaped as to give pupil and parent some assurance that valuable results will be obtained, then the cooperation of both is assured. For instance, if a boy is aware that skill in drawing or knowledge of chemistry or of mathematics will be needed in his chosen occupation, he will generally reach through technical drawing and design, through applied chemistry or practical mathematics, a standard higher than he would attain, if the subjects were taught in a more academic way. The same considerations apply to work bearing on commerce, where a higher standard in written English, in the foreign language taken, in arithmetical calculations, and, generally, in ability to make use of appropriate works of reference, may be attained by similar methods. Nor does the specialisation of a pupil's studies in these directions necessarily mean a sacrifice of his general education. It is a mistake to suppose that any form of work inclining towards industry is necessarily opposed to true educational development. So long as it is not too specialised and is carried on in conjunction with an adequate measure of cultural studies it often tends to raise rather than lower the standard of what we commonly call general education. Such work in a school has the additional advantage that it enables the teachers to bring out the relation between general studies and occupations - between life and livelihood.

116. Finally, we would urge the desirability of generating from the school studies interests which will continue through after-life and will enlarge the opportunities for a fuller enjoyment of leisure. Among these we attach much importance to interest in those arts and crafts whose practice demands only a relatively easy technique, but which provide boys and girls with a valuable means of self-expression and cultivate in them an appreciation of simple beauty and sound workmanship in house-fittings, dress, and other things in common use. Several of our witnesses stated that one of the weak points in courses for older children at the present time was that the pupils talked about things instead of doing them, and assimilated information without acquiring interests; it was said that this criticism applied especially to some of the science teaching. It was not sufficient, they argued, to read a number of books, unless the habit of reading for pleasure and information was formed; it was not enough to teach scientific principles unless a scientific and critical interest in the world around was created. We think that if the teaching of elementary science with practical illustrations drawn from the pupil's environment could be closely linked up with the courses in handwork and drawing, much might be done to create and foster interests that would continue through life. English literature also is clearly a subject of great importance from this point of view, and much indeed will have been effected if the pupils can be trained to appreciate good general literature, or, if they are interested in such subjects as gardening or engineering, to read publications bearing on them. Similar considerations apply to history, geography, music, physical exercises and games, which, if taken on lines similar to those which we indicate in the following chapters, may arouse permanent interests in those pupils who have a natural aptitude and taste for any of these branches of the curriculum. We believe that teachers will be glad to do what they can to secure the further development of such interests by making known the means of continued cultural and vocational education provided in the locality for those who have left school, and by urging their pupils to make use of them.

Note. On the various subjects of the curriculum see the suggestions contained in Chapter 11(b). Particular attention may perhaps be directed to the suggestions on the teaching of science, and to the section on the various forms of practical instruction. But the whole of that part of our Report is an essential complement to the general considerations contained in this and the next chapter; and it contains our detailed views on the question, remitted to us in the terms of reference, of 'the curriculum of courses of study suitable for children who will remain in full-time attendance at schools other than Secondary Schools up to the age of 15+.'

Footnotes

(1) We recognise that at the present time domestic and handwork centres are often separate from the school buildings, serve several schools, and are under a separate head. This cannot be altered at once; but we think it desirable that such centres should, wherever possible, be attached to a school, which should be the Modern School of the area in question. cf. Chapter 11(b) Section 252, The various forms of practical instruction, para. 2

(2) See Chapter 11(b) Section 252, The various forms of practical instruction, para. 2