Showing papers on "Compulsory education published in 1988"

Schools in Southampton: a quantitative approach to school location, closure and staffing

Abstract: Between 1965 and 1976 the number of children born in the UK decreased by about one third. The fall in the number of births was followed by a fall in the number of children on roll in compulsory education, which resulted in many schools being closed. This paper examines the dynamics of falling rolls in the city of Southampton. Multidimensional scaling techniques are used to explore the social characteristics of the schools proposed for closure. The paper examines also the consequences of the exercise of parental choice of school. It is shown that social dynamics and staffing rules based on constant pupil/teacher ratios remove resources from the schools that are most in need of them.

Starting school at four

Abstract: The subject of this paper is the early admission of children to school in England and Wales. Evidence from other countries is presented which suggests that the statutory age of admission to school in the United Kingdom is already amongst the lowest in Europe and in the United States of America. Research findings by the National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER) demonstrate that there is a trend in England and Wales towards admitting children to school at a younger age. Data provided by 90 local education authorities (LEAs) in 1986 show that annual admission at the beginning of the school year of the child's fifth birthday has become the predominant mode of entry to school. The implications of annual admission are examined in detail, and reference is made to recent official publications concerning the admission of children to school at four years of age. Current provision for young children in infant classes appears to fall short of that recommended by a recent Parliamentary Select Commit...

The Reproduction of Privilege in Australian Education

Abstract: This paper examines changes in the dimensions and sources of educational inequality in Australia. Data from a sample of the urban population is used, and divided into three education (rather than birth or age) cohorts in order to assess the effects of educational expansion over time. The results show that there has been some decline in the effect of social background on years of basic schooling and total years of education, and some increase in the effects of ability. However, the impact of social background remains important, while gender differences in qualifications and tertiary attainments are mostly undiminished. This suggests that while basic schooling has become more meritocratic with the expansion of educational opportunities, higher attainments still reflect and perpetuate systematic inequalities within the broader society. For some years now, the dimensions of educational inequality in advanced societies have been well documented, and there has been much discussion and debate about their sources. In part, inequalities have been attributed to variations within education systems which stratify the process of schooling and favour particular sections of the population in their quest for training and credentials. ' Further, access to education has been pinpointed as an important factor which, in the past, was constrained by limited educational provisions. This meant that in many countries participation in higher education, even in higher levels of secondary education, remained very much the prerogative of privilege and wealth well into the twentieth century. In part, too, a number of other factors have contributed to differences in attainments. Gender and race, and home and school environments, have all been identified as important sources of educational inequality, and all have helped to perpetuate systematic inequalities in attainments independently of individual ability or merit.2 The British Journal of Sociology Volume XXXIX Number 3 This content downloaded from 157.55.39.212 on Thu, 09 Jun 2016 06:25:19 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms Privilege in Australian education 359 In more recent years, concerted policy efforts have been directed towards redressing imbalances in education systems and to dissolving entrenched privileges and constraints. In the post-war years in particular, various policies have been enacted with a view to lengthening the period of compulsory education, and expanding opportunities for participation in tertiary study. The latter has been achieved by increasing educational provisions, encouraging adult reeducation, and by providing financial assistance to students.3 In short, the aim has been to make education a right rather than a privilege, and to divorce educational outcomes from the constraints of social background. As a result of these efforts, there has been a substantial upgrading of educational attainments over recent decades. Between 1950 and 1965, for example, participation rates in college education more than doubled in countries such as Britain, Canada, the USA and Australia, while participation in tertiary education increased at an even higher rate.4 Such gains lent some credence to meritocratic explanations for educational outcomes. These suggest that the provision of educational opportunities resolves problems of inequality by allowing people to find their own level within the education process, and by enabling them to succeed to the best of their abilities. If true, ability and aspiration should now be the exclusive determinants of educational outcomes. Despite increases in attainments and the optimism of the meritocratic view, most research suggests that efforts to eradicate inequalities in educational opportunity, that is, to detach attainments from the influence of social origins, have not been entirely successful. Class, family wealth and other dimensions of social background are still important determinants of educational outcomes, and account for about half its explained variance.5 Although it is clear that educational inequalities persist, it is not so clear whether their sources have changed in response to the growth of more equitable participation in the education process. In particular, it is unclear to what extent the constraints of social background and class differences may have declined. In the USA, Bowles and Gintis6 suggest that while legislative changes have narrowed the gap in educational attainments, individual achievements still depend as much on social background as they did in the past. In contrast, Hauser and Featherman7 find some evidence of a decline in the influence of social background on the educational attainments of men, but less so for those with poorly educated fathers and those from large families. In Britain, Halsey et al.8 observe that prolonging the period of compulsory education by legislation has indeed enhanced the level of attainments throughout society, but at the expense of creating further inequalities at later stages of the education process. In France, Garnier and RaflalovichS conclude that educational expansion has This content downloaded from 157.55.39.212 on Thu, 09 Jun 2016 06:25:19 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms

The National Integration of European Working Classes (1871–1914)

Abstract: Seven factors that may have contributed to the national integration of the working classes in Britain, France, Germany, Italy, and Russia 1871–1914 are explored: the national process of capital accumulation, the international prestige of the nation, the coming of interregional connections, compulsory education, suffrage, the role of the army, and the introduction of social insurance systems. The (provisional) results of this exploration show a clustering of integration-promoting factors in Britain, Germany and France, which is to a certain extent lacking in Italy and Russia.

Australian Education in Cross‐national Perspective: a comparative analysis with France

Abstract: (1988). Australian Education in Cross‐national Perspective: a comparative analysis with France. Comparative Education: Vol. 24, No. 3, pp. 305-316.

Provision for Non-Compulsory Education in Southampton

Abstract: In 1986, Hampshire Local Education Authority reviewed its provision of non-compulsory education in Southampton and proposed the closure of a sixth-form college. The reason given for the closure was an expected fall in rolls, but the review appears to have been motivated primarily by financial pressures. This paper re-examines the evidence put forward by the LEA to forecast rolls. It is found that outdated methods, inadequate data sources and superficial analyses were used to produce the forecast. An alternative analysis shows that the proposed closure, if implemented, would run counter to the objectives of the reorganization. It is argued that the LEA chose to consult on the wrong problem, and that the real issue was a lack of funds in the education budget.

Interpreting Vocationalism as Applied Academics.

Abstract: Vocational education was largely established on the principle of nontransferability. However, vocational education and academic education have many similarities. Indeed, the difference between basic and academic skills has often been defined in terms of rigor. Basic skills are those concrete skills that are generally taught at the elementary level, whereas academic skills are those that require an understanding of laws, principles, and phenomena. If most people learn best by moving from the concrete to the abstract, then a society that promotes compulsory education must acknowledge the value of vocational education as a method of educating students in concrete knowledge that can extend as far as possible into abstract thought. Vocationalism often reinforces academic concepts, and in some instances, vocational educators teach academics (especially basic skills) in order to teach a vocational skill. Studies indicate that little collaboration exists between vocational and academic teachers. In view of the technological and information booms that are underway and increasing skills demands placed on entry workers, vocational and academic teachers must increase their understanding of what each other teaches, with vocational teachers assuming the role of a reinforcer who acknowledges and respects the value of other subject areas. (MN) *********************************************************************** Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. ***********************************************************************

John Locke and the Freedom of Belief

Abstract: In 1686 William Penn gave John Locke a copy of Penn's "Frame of Government for Pennsylvania," a constitution he had drafted hoping to establish Pennsylvania as a Christian utopia, but which the residents of the commonwealth had rejected four years earlier, to Penn's consternation. Locke did not find much to like in it either. One intriguing proposal it contained was a provision to "erect and order all public schools." Although Locke was interested in education—indeed during that very year he was advising friends on how to educate their son, advice he would later publish as popular thoughts on the subject—his reaction to that proposal could not have been more negative. Public education, he wrote in his journal, is the "surest check upon liberty of conscience, suppressing all displeasing opinions in the bud."1 Today this sentiment probably seems absurd to many, especially considering the educational system in the United States. Public education is an important means for acquiring skills necessary not only for participation in our society but also for practicing true freedom of belief, since such freedom is hindered by ignorance and superstition, or so it is often thought. Aside from the question of whether public schools typically replace some superstitions with others, this author suggests there is reason to question the claim that the United States' form of funding education, in which so-called "public" schools enjoy a nearly exclusive control over public funds earmarked for education, is necessary, or even the best means, to achieve the ends for which compulsory education does seem necessary. The harm principle can be invoked to justify compulsory education. It requires further argument, however, to show that the United States' system of funding public education is the best and most just. In the United States, one public school system serves each educational district, funded by government at various levels, which is supposed to be sufficient for everyone regardless of race, religion, or creed;

Compulsory Education and Failure to Go to School

Abstract: Legally enforceable education developed gradually in the 19th and early 20th centuries The Elementary Education Act of 1870 created school boards and encouraged them to get local bylaws passed to compel attendance at school and set a school-leaving age Following this Act, some authorities complied, but many did not School boards and school attendance committees were created and officials were appointed whose job it was to ensure that children went to school They were known as board men or attendance officers Parliamentary statutes that followed the 1870 Act gradually created a national legal framework for compulsory education By the turn of the century there was an Act of Parliament setting the school-leaving age at 12 However, it was only after the Education Act of 1918 that all children in the country from age 5 to 14 had to be educated in an approved manner