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Plowden (1967) Notes on the text Volume 2 Preliminary pages Foreword and Contents
The 1964 National Survey: Appendix 3 1964 National Survey
Appendix 8 Social services and primary education
Report (full text) about Plowden |
The Plowden Report (1967)
A Report of the Central Advisory Council for Education (England) London: Her Majesty's Stationery Office 1967
Volume 2 Appendix 5
Sources of Data 1. Information about the schools, staff and children was supplied by heads, class teachers, and by HMIs, who filled in a series of questionnaires which can be found Annexes to Appendix 7. Schedule A, completed by the head teacher, was concerned primarily with school organisation. Supplementary information about the arrangements made for admission of children to infants and junior mixed and infant schools, and transfer to junior schools, was provided by heads. Heads were also responsible for returning details about their staffing both on Schedule A and on a staffing form. HMIs made some assessments of the schools and their staff on Schedule C. They also provided information on the relationships between primary schools and the home, and between infant schools and junior schools. Class teachers filled in questionnaires about individual pupils whose parents were interviewed. (Schedule B.) 2. Much of this information is summarised here in terms of the schools, the staff and the children. Information about staggering of entry to schools, part-time entry, early and late transfer to secondary schools and arrangements for ensuring continuity between schools was also used for the main Report (Volume 1) but is not repeated here.
The schools The sample 3. There were 171 schools in the sample, 139 of which were county and controlled (81 per cent) and the rest were aided. Schools were grouped in this way because there seemed likely to be more similarity between county and controlled than between voluntary controlled and aided schools. Of the 171 schools, 49 (29 per cent) were junior mixed and infants (JMI), 56 (33 per cent) were junior, and 66 (38 per cent) were infant. The larger number of infant schools is explained by the fact that junior schools, which often contain larger age groups than infant schools, drew into the sample the infant schools which contributed to them. Table 1 shows the status of schools in the various age ranges. Aided schools, whose child population may be geographically scattered, often provide for the whole primary age range. Table 1 Age range of school by status Zoning 4. Over half the schools (58 per cent) were not zoned. A large proportion of aided schools, whose admissions are controlled by their managers, were not zoned. Other schools not zoned officially must have been so placed geographically that parents had little choice of school. Zoned schools were about evenly divided between strict and broad zoning. Table 2 Zoning arrangements according to the status of the school Parent-teacher relations 5. A number of questions were asked about parent-teacher relations in the schools. Seventeen per cent of the schools had a PTA, a percentage identical with that found in the NCDS sample (see Appendix 10). Sixty-three per cent arranged meetings for parents on educational matters (arrangement by school or association); 66 per cent arranged social functions for parents - carol concerts, sports days and so forth; and in 62 per cent of schools parents were said to have provided substantial help in money, kind or labour each year. These figures are rather higher than in the NCDS sample. Table 3 shows the average number of occasions, for the whole sample, when parents could meet various teachers to discuss their child, school policy or both. Table 3 Opportunities for parents to meet teachers (figures given are means) Points of interest in this table are the relatively few occasions when parents can discuss school policy and practice, and when parents can meet class teachers as contrasted with head teachers. It is also of interest that more opportunities were provided for parents to visit the schools when the father is probably working than when he is available. 6. Opportunities for parents to visit the schools were examined in relation to the age range, status and social composition of the schools. It is noteworthy that infant schools provide substantially fewer occasions when fathers are likely to be available (4.6 occasions when father probably working, 1.8 when father available). There was little variation in the pattern of visits arranged for county and controlled, and aided schools, save that aided schools provided somewhat fewer occasions. The pattern of visits was also examined according to the estimated percentage of parents in professional/managerial and semiskilled/unskilled occupations. There was one major difference. Schools where more than 16 per cent of fathers belonged to professional/managerial occupations were alone in arranging more occasions for parents to visit when the father was likely to be available than when he was working. The higher the proportion of semi-skilled and unskilled workers, the less likely were parents' meetings to be arranged at times when fathers could visit the school: there was also a slight decline in the total number of meetings arranged as the proportion of semi-skilled and unskilled workers rose. Yet it seems probable that it is particularly important for schools to gain collaboration in children's education of parents in semi-skilled and unskilled occupations. It is of some interest that the Social Survey interviews showed no relationship between social class and the provision of opportunities for parents to visit schools. On social class, the data from the Social Survey is likely to be more reliable: the number of meetings provided by schools is probably more reliably reported by the schools than by parents. The Social Survey interviews showed that manual workers were less likely to attend meetings arranged at the school. Schools with relatively high proportions of semi-skilled and unskilled workers may become discouraged in efforts to gain cooperation from parents. 7. The median scores of parental interest in, and knowledge of, children's work, a variable which was shown to be of importance by the regression analyses, were studied in relation to socio-economic class (divided into three broad bands), and the number of parents' meetings provided by the school at a time when the father was available (according to the school data). Table 4 shows the median scores. A low score means a high level of parental interest. Table 4 Median scores of level of parental interest in and knowledge of child's work at school, according to number of parents' meetings provided at a time when fathers are probably available Parental interest increases according to the number of parents' meetings arranged by the school, which can be attended by fathers. However the variables deriving from the number of meetings often failed to reach significance in the regression analyses. Sizes and organisation of schools 8. Information was also collected about the size and organisation of schools, and the sizes of schools were related to HMI ratings of all-round quality and of modern trends in the school. As can be seen from Table 5 schools of 201-350 were more often thought average or above average than smaller or larger schools. No clear relationship emerged between the school's acceptance of modern trends and numbers on roll, average size of class or social composition of school. HMI, in assessing the overall quality of schools, tended to make little use of the extreme categories. Rather more use was made of them in assessing acceptance of modern trends: the distribution was slightly skewed to the below average. Table 5 Rating of schools according to size of school Table 6 Rating of schools' acceptance of modern educational trends 9. Schools were asked how children were classified. Forty-five per cent placed children in their classes by age only, 35 per cent by age and achievement, and two per cent used other means. Some heads may have described schools as being classified by age only, when the great majority of children - as distinct from all children - were allocated to classes in this way. Table 7 shows the percentages of schools in different age ranges which classified children by age only or by age and achievement. Junior schools were much more likely than the others to be streamed; three fifths of JMI schools were also streamed, however. Table 8 shows that, as might be expected, rather more of the larger schools were streamed. Table 7 Methods of classification according to age range of school Table 8 Methods of classification according to size of school Books in schools 10. Table 9 collates information provided about books, other than text books, in the sample schools. Table 9 Books in the schools Though the average expenditure per head on books was only 5.88 shillings [29p], one school spent more than 37 shillings [£1.85] per head. The amount spent on books tended to increase as the percentage of fathers in semi-skilled and unskilled occupations increased. Sixty-five per cent of children were allowed to take school library books home, a figure that is compatible with the replies of parents to Social Survey interviewers that 52 per cent of children took books home.
The teachers Turnover 11. Heads provided information about staff turnover from September 1961 to June 1964 (for men and women staff separately). This data on staff turnover can be examined in two ways - amount of movement of all teachers in the sample schools during the given period, and average establishment and turnover. Tables 10 and 11 show the proportion of those teachers still on staff and those who have left the staff expressed as percentages of all teachers in the schools during the period. The important cells are the upper left hand, the stayers, and the lower right hand, those who came to and left a school during the period. Only 40 per cent of the women compared to 51 per cent of the men were in the schools to which they had been appointed two years nine months earlier. Six per cent of the men and 13 per cent of the women had joined and left the schools during the period. Table 10 Turnover of staff (all schools: men staff) Table 11 Turnover of staff (all schools: women staff) When staff turnover was examined in relationship to the age range of schools, it was apparent that the infant schools were worse off. Table 12 shows that teachers appointed up to September 1961 amounted to no more than 34 per cent of the staff who had taught in schools between September 1961 and June 1964. Table 12 Turnover of staff (infant schools) The staff of aided schools stayed rather longer than those in county and controlled schools. 12. Tables 13, 14 and 15 are based on the same data, expressed as mean figures per school. Table 13 shows the overall figures for all 171 schools. On average, each school had just over eight teachers in September 1961 and in June 1964. Five teachers stayed on the staff throughout the period. The other three teachers left some time during the period and were replaced. 1.5 of these new teachers also left and were in turn replaced. Tables 14 and 15 give the data for junior mixed and infant and junior schools, and for infants' schools. The establishment for the average junior mixed and infant, and junior school stayed at just over nine teachers at the beginning and end of the period. Six teachers stayed throughout, and three left. Of the new teachers, one place had to be refilled during the period. Infants' schools were different in several respects. On average they had a smaller establishment of teachers, but the size of staff increased slightly over the period, from just under to just over seven. Four teachers stayed and nearly three left. The actual number of staff leaving after 1 September 1961 was the same as for the other schools, but they were a larger proportion of the total establishment, and two out of three places had to be filled twice during the period. Table 13 Average staff turnover (all schools) Table 14 Average staff turnover (JMI and junior) Table 15 Average staff turnover (infants) Teachers' qualifications 13. Much additional information about the teachers was available from staffing forms. The particulars of 1,555 teachers were included; 317 (20 per cent) were men and 1,238 (80 per cent) women. Eighty-two per cent of the men and 58 per cent of the women were married. Table 16 shows the qualifications held by men and women. It is noteworthy that more men than women were graduates and that more women than men were unqualified. As can be seen from the following table there were more unqualified teachers in infant schools than in other schools and fewest unqualified teachers in junior schools. There were no differences in qualifications between teachers in county and controlled, and aided schools. Table 16 Qualifications of teachers (men and women separately) Table 17 Qualifications of teachers in schools of different age ranges 14. Although only one in five of the staff in the sample were men, more than half held posts of responsibility as head, deputy or a holder of a graded post, whereas less than one quarter of the women were in similar positions. It is particularly noteworthy that 24 per cent of the men held headships as contrasted with eight per cent of the women. Table 18 Teachers' status in school according to sex In-service training 15. A great deal of information was collected on the in-service training taken by teachers in the sample during the previous three years, because there was little information on this extremely important subject other than that deriving from impression. In the period under review 26 per cent of all teachers attended a mathematical course, 21 per cent a physical education course, 17 per cent an English course, 17 per cent an art and craft course and seven per cent a science course. Only nine per cent attended a general primary course, three per cent a junior school course and nine per cent a general infant course. 16. We have reproduced our own data in some detail here. Men and women are grouped together since the proportion of men is too small for useful separate analysis. The estimates of time spent in courses are bound to be generous because the length of courses could not be assessed with precision. Thus two sessions* counted as a day and a three session day as a day and a half. A one hour or two hour session could not be differentiated from three hours: therefore each was assessed as a half day. Table 19 shows the distribution of the 2,504 courses taken by the sample of 1,555 teachers, according to length of course and sponsor of course. More courses were sponsored by local authorities than by other bodies and most lasted less than a week, nearly a half only one or two days. *A session is normally reckoned as half a day. 17. In Table 20 the courses are divided into those lasting one - seven days, 8 - 29 days and over 29 days, and distributed according to subject and sponsor. In the largest group, those lasting one - seven days, 21 per cent were on mathematics, 16 per cent on physical education, 13 per cent on English and 11 per cent on arts and crafts. When courses were considered according to sponsor, the proportions changed. Of local authority courses, 21 per cent were on physical education, 19 per cent on mathematics, 13 per cent on arts and crafts and 11 per cent on English. Institutes of education and other bodies provided higher proportions of mathematics courses (22 per cent and 25 per cent respectively) and English courses (21 per cent and 15 per cent). In the small numbers of courses lasting more than eight days, there was a fairly high proportion (nearly a quarter) of arts and crafts courses. Table 19 Numbers of courses attended according to length and sponsor of course Table 20 Number of courses attended according to subject, sponsor and length 18. Table 20A is an expansion of the third part of Table 20, that is, courses lasting 29 days and longer. It shows the total number of days spent, distributed according to subject and sponsor of the course. Several interesting points emerge from this table: although the number of courses involved (68) was only 2.7 per cent of the total attended (Table 20) the total of days spent on these courses was over a third (37 per cent) of the total time given. (Table 21) Department of Education courses and institute of education courses tended to be longer than those of the other sponsoring bodies. Teachers took courses lasting a year (given as 150 days) or longer in teaching of handicapped children (two of 150 days, one 200 days, one 250 days), general primary education (two 150 days, one 180 days), music (one 180 days, one 200 days), Diploma in Education (one 150 days, one 300 days), religious education (one 450 days), and one 150, one 180 and one 200 days on other subjects not individually identified. Table 20A Days spent on individual courses lasting 29 days and longer, according to subject and sponsor of course 19. Table 21 shows the numbers of teachers attending courses and the numbers of days spent at courses according to subject and sponsor. These tables are so drawn up that each teacher is recorded once only in any 'number of staff' cell, even though he may have contributed more than once to the associated 'number of days' cell. Thus the contribution to the total of a teacher who went to many short courses on one subject is indistinguishable from that of a teacher who went to one long course. Sixty-six per cent of teachers went to at least one course during the three years previous to the enquiry. On average they spent 13 days on in-service training. The average time spent varied according to the sponsor of the course: teachers who went to courses provided by local education authorities spent an average of eight days at them; on courses provided by other bodies they spent nine days; teachers who went to institute of education courses spent 14 days at them. Those who attended Department of Education courses spent 23 days at them. It must be recalled that this number of days may have been - and in most cases probably was - spent at more than one course. Table 21 Numbers of staff attending courses according to sponsor and subject of course, and number of days given to each subject Non-attenders 20. An analysis (Tables 22-25) was made of teachers who did not attend any courses in the three years 1961-64. It showed proportions very little different from the main sample. Sixty-five per cent were married as compared with 60 per cent in the sample. Twenty-seven per cent were in the age group 20-29 as compared with 24 per cent of teachers in the total sample. Thirty-seven per cent of the group were in infant schools, as compared with 34 per cent in the main sample. Whereas 32 per cent of the main sample were heads, deputy heads or holders of graded posts, only 15 per cent of those who did not attend courses held such posts. It is perhaps disconcerting that even this number failed to attend any in-service training. Tables 22 - 26 Teachers who did not attend courses June 1961 - June 1964 (main sample percentages given for comparison) 21. The largest numbers of teachers in the group who attended courses went, as can be seen from Table 21, to mathematics and physical education courses, but the average number of days spent per person were only three and four respectively. The largest total number of days were spent at arts and crafts courses with an average of seven days per person. The next largest totals were for mathematics and physical education which also involved large numbers of teachers and therefore low average lengths of stay. English courses involved a fairly large number of teachers and of days spent; the average per person was four. On average, those teachers who went to courses on general primary education, French, and handicapped children spent more time on them. The duration of local authority courses was on average three to four days, but that of institute of education courses on the same subjects varied from three to 20 days, probably reflecting the policy of different institutes. 22. Tables 27 and 28 show courses distributed according to the age range of the teachers' schools. The average number of days spent varied from 17 for JMI teachers, to 15 for junior teachers and nine for infant teachers. In JMI schools, most time in total was given to arts and crafts, with an average of eight days. Next was general primary education, but with many fewer staff involved, giving on average 13 days. Similarly, a small number of staff attended courses on teaching handicapped children, but the average time spent was 52 days. Most teachers went to courses on mathematics, arts and crafts, physical education and English. In junior schools as well, most days were given to arts and crafts with an average of seven days per teacher, then to physical education, English and mathematics. Infant schools show a rather different pattern. Most time was given to RE, particularly to courses arranged by bodies other than local education authorities; these courses were attended by few teachers, but for an average of 17 days per teacher. Next came mathematics and general courses on infant teaching, physical education and English: all these involved a large number of teachers, and the average number of days therefore are low (three, four, two and three). It is interesting that in this group more teachers were involved in music courses than in those on arts and crafts. 23. When attendance by teachers at courses was analysed according to status of school, the main difference was that teachers at aided schools spent less time than those at county and controlled schools on general primary courses, as compared with subject courses. When teachers were divided according to their ages, a distinctive pattern appeared. Table 29 shows that the group of teachers aged 30-39 spent much more time, on average, on courses than any others, particularly on courses provided by the Department of Education and by institutes of education on teaching of handicapped children, Diploma of Education courses and general primary school work. Moreover, they spent more days, in total, on a different group of subjects from the overall pattern. They spent more time on general courses on primary teaching, then religious education, then teaching of handicapped children and finally music, with averages respectively of 25, 47, 31 and 15 days per teacher. These teachers are striving to equip themselves for promotion already won or sought. They concentrate on general primary work, and on fields in which the class teacher often needs help. Comment 24. It is difficult to distinguish between supply of courses and demand for them. Have teachers attended courses because these were the only ones provided for them, or the only ones to which they could gain admission? Have courses been provided on certain subjects because teachers asked for them? The total numbers of courses conceal great variations between localities. 25. Some facts emerging from the survey are satisfactory. Even if the time spent on courses was somewhat inflated by the way it was measured, it is creditable that two thirds of all teachers had attended a course during the past three years, and that these teachers spent on average 13 days at courses during the period. Most courses are, however, very short and their impact may on this account be diminished. It is also satisfactory that large numbers in the age group 30-39 attend courses, and that they are concerned both to develop their general understanding of primary education and to study aspects of the curriculum in which there are known weaknesses in the schools. But one third of all teachers have not attended a course in the past three years. Table 27 Attendance at courses: junior school teachers Table 28 Attendance at courses: infant school teachers Table 29 Attendance at courses: teachers aged 30-39 26. There is some ground for concern about the distribution of courses. It was to be expected that a large number of teachers would be found to have attended mathematics courses, and the results of this in-service training have been described in Volume 1. The large number of courses - and days spent on courses - on physical education seem to be having rather less impact in the schools. It may be that these courses have become something of a routine and that their content needs to be re-examined. The relatively small amount of time spent on science courses (although it is now probably increasing) and the small amount of time and number of teachers involved in courses in history, geography and environmental study are disturbing. These aspects of the curriculum may appear in general courses on primary education. But the numbers of teachers who attended general courses, whether on the whole primary age range, on infant or on junior education, were less than those attending courses on either mathematics or physical education. 27. From the account given both of the schools and the teachers, the infants fare worst. They have more unqualified teachers and their staffs change more quickly. The teachers are also less experienced, and attend fewer courses than do teachers in other types of primary school. Teaching competence 28. Those teachers in charge of the children in the main sample were assessed for teaching competence on a five point scale. The proportion of men and women in these sub-samples corresponded to that in the main sample of teachers. Men teachers were rated slightly higher than women as can be seen from Table 30. Table 30 Assessment of teaching competence Men teachers are on the whole more experienced than women teachers and an analysis of teaching marks according to years of experience showed that no teachers with less than five years experience were rated A, rather fewer were rated B+ and more were rated B- than the average. Of teachers graded A and B+, nearly half held some post of special responsibility; this is well above the overall sample value (32 per cent). No significant differences were found when teachers' marks were analysed according to the status and age range of schools save that JMI schools had rather more teachers rated B- rather than B, compared with infant and junior schools. 29. Table 31 shows the total time spent on in-service training during the previous three years by teachers given teaching marks. Teachers with a poorer teaching mark were less likely to have had any in-service training, and the courses they did attend generally totalled less than 10 days. Table 31 Total days spent on in-service training according to teaching mark
The children 30. For the purposes of the regression analysis, children were assessed by objective tests and, for the analysis within schools, by rank order. Table 32 shows boys' and girls' mean scores. Except for Test 1, the Watts-Vernon reading test, and for Test 4, NFER picture intelligence test, the girls did better than the boys within the age group. The differences between boys and girls may be due partly to different rates of development and partly to bias in tests. Teachers were also asked to assess whether boys or girls were 'all rounders' or markedly better or worse linguistically, mathematically, in painting or modelling or in physical skill. Table 33 shows that most children were thought to have all-round ability; about the same percentage were markedly better as were markedly worse in linguistic and mathematic ability. In painting and modelling, and in physical skill only two per cent were markedly better and three or four times as many were worse. Perhaps these figures reflect the teachers' difficulties in helping children who are clumsy or lack ability to paint. Table 32 Mean scores of regression groups for each test taken Table 33 Ability in special field compared with overall ability (percentages) 31. Teachers of fourth year juniors were asked if children had shown marked improvement during the past three years. About 21 per cent had improved markedly, and they included slightly more girls than boys. Surprisingly only one per cent were thought to have deteriorated. 32. Improvement was examined according to the socio-economic group of the pupils and the sex of teachers and pupils. Tables 34 and 35 show that boys appear to do slightly better with women teachers and girls substantially better. It is difficult to know whether these results reflect a more optimistic viewpoint on the part of the women teachers than on the part of the men. 33. Finally, absence was examined. Four per cent of primary children in the sample were considered by their teacher to be absent from school for unsatisfactory reasons. Table 34 Boys' improvement or deterioration according to socio-economic class and sex of teachers Table 35 Girls' improvement or deterioration according to socio-economic class and sex of teachers 
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