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МЕНЮ
| Education in BritainEducation in BritainMOSCOW STATE TEACHER`S TRAINING UNIVERSITY COURSE PAPER Education in the United Kingdom Written by Isaeva Tatiana group 301 Checked by Makhmuryan K. MOSCOW 2001 PLAN
1. Primary and secondary education 1. The story of British schools 1. Arguments aboout the purpose of education 1. Changing political control 1. The public system of education (a table) 1. The private sector 1. Further and higher education 1. Conclusion (Education under Labour) 10.Questions Introduction E ducation in England is not as perfect as we, foreigners think. There are
plenty of stereotypes, which make us think, that British education is only Primary and secondary education S
chooling is compulsory for 12 years, for all children aged five to 16. Two public academic examinations are set, one on completion of the
compulsory cycle of education at the age of 16, and one on completion of
the two voluntary years. At 16 pupils take the General Certificate of A new qualification was introduced in 1992 for pupils who are skills,
rather than academically, orientated, the General National Vocational The academic year begins in late summer, usually in September, and is
divided into three terms, with holidays for Christmas, Easter and for the
month of August, although the exact dates vary slightly from area to area. The story of British schools F or largely historical reasons, the schools system is complicated, inconsistent and highly varied. Most of the oldest schools, of which the most famous are Eton, Harrow, Winchester and Westminster, are today independent, fee-paying, public schools for boys. Most of these were established to create a body of literate men to fulfil the administrative, political, legal and religious requirements of the late Middle Ages. From the sixteenth century onwards, many 'grammar' schools were established, often with large grants of money from wealthy men, in order to provide a local educational facility. From the 1870s local authorities were required to establish elementary schools, paid for by the local community, and to compel attendance by all boys and girls up to the age of 1 3. By 1900 almost total attendance had been achieved. Each authority, with its locally elected councillors, was responsible for the curriculum. Although a general consensus developed concerning the major part of the school curriculum, a strong feeling of local control continued and interference by central government was resented. A number of secondary schools were also established by local authorities, modelled on the public schools. The 1944 Education Act introduced free compulsory secondary education. By the 1960s there was increasing criticism of this streaming of
ability, particularly by the political Left. It was recognised that many
children performed inconsistently, and that those who failed the 11 plus
examination were denied the chance to do better later. Early selection also
reinforced the divisions of social class, and was wasteful of human
potential. A government report in 1968 produced evidence that an
expectation of failure became increasingly fulfilled, with secondary modern
pupils aged 14 doing significantly worse than they had at the age of eight. One unforeseen but damaging result was the refusal of many grammar
schools to join the comprehensive experiment. Of the 174 direct-grant
grammar schools, 119 decided to leave the state system rather than become
comprehensive, and duly became independent fee-paying establishments. This
had two effects. Grammar schools had provided an opportunity for children
from all social backgrounds to excel academically at the same level as
those attending fee-paying independent public schools. The loss of these
schools had a demoralising effect on the comprehensive experiment and
damaged its chances of success, but led to a revival of independent schools
at a time when they seemed to be slowly shrinking. The introduction of
comprehensive schools thus unintentionally reinforced an educational elite
which only the children of wealthier parents could hope to join. Alongside the introduction of comprehensives there was a move away
from traditional teaching and discipline towards what was called From the 1960s there was also greater emphasis on education and training than ever before, with many colleges of further education established to provide technical or vocational training. However, British education remained too academic for the less able, and technical studies stayed weak, with the result that a large number of less academically able pupils left school without any skills or qualifications at all. The expansion of education led to increased expenditure. The
proportion of the gross national product devoted to education doubled, from I. Arguments about the purpose of education. There is a feeling that the schools are not succeeding - that
standards are too low, that schools are not preparing young people with the
skills, knowledge and personal qualities which are necessary for the world
of work, and that schools have failed to instil the right social values. However, the criticisms take different forms. First, there are those
who believe that standards have fallen, especially in the areas of literacy
and numeracy - and, indeed, unfavourable comparisons are made with the
other countries as a result of international surveys. For example, the
recent Third International Mathematics and Science Survey (TIMSS) placed in Second, there are those who argue for a rather traditional curriculum
which is divided into «subjects» and which calls upon those cultural
standards which previous generations have known - the study of literary
classics ( Shakespeare, Keats, Wordsworth) rather than popular multi-
cultural history, classical music rather than popular music, and so on. Third, there are those who question deeply the idea of a curriculum
based on these traditional subjects. Many employers, for instance, think
that such a curriculum by itself ill - serves the country economically. The
curriculum ought to be more relevant to the world of work, providing those
skills, such as computer, numeracy and literacy skills, personal qualities A very important speech which expressed those concerns and which is
seen as a watershed in government policy was that of Prime Minister «Preparing future generations for life» was the theme and he pointed
to the need for greater relevance in education on four fronts: In what follows I give details of the different contexts in which this concern for change was discussed. a) Economic Context It is generally assumed that there is a close connection between economic performance and the quality and context of education and training, and that therefore the country’s poor performance economically since the second world war (compared with some other countries) is due to irrelevant and poor quality education. During the thirty years from the end of the Second World War not enough pupils stayed on beyond the compulsory school leaving age. There were too many unskilled and semi-skilled people for a much more sophisticated economy. Standards of literacy and numeracy were too low for a modern economy. There was not enough practical and technical know-how being taught. As a result, it was argued that there must be much closer links between school and industry, with pupils spending time in industry, with industrialists participating in the governance of schools, and with subjects and activities on the curriculum which relate much more closely to the world of work. Furthermore, there should be a different attitudes to learning. So quickly is the economy that people constantly have to update their knowledge and skills. There is a need for a «learning society» and for the acquisition of «generic» or «transferable» skills in communication, numeracy, problem-solving, computer technology, etc. b) Social Context There are anxieties not just about the future economy but also about the future of society. Preparing young people for adult life was what the Ruskin speech was about, and there is much more to adult life than economic success - for example, living the life of a good citizen, of a father or mother, of involvement in social and political activity. Therefore, schools are required to prepare young people for a multicultural society, to encourage tolerance between different ethnic groups, to promote social responsibility, to encourage respect for the law and democratic institutions, to develop sensibilities towards the disadvantaged and to ensure girls enjoy equal opportunities with boys. And schools have. Indeed, responded with programs of social education, citizenship, and parenthood. Moreover, they have often done this in practical ways such as organizing projects. c) Standards The need for educational change arises partly from a concern about academic standards. The sense that Britain is declining has been reinforced by statements from employers. According to them, Britain’s workforce is under-educated, under-trained and under-qualified! These criticisms of standards are pitched at different levels. First, there are worries about low standards of literacy and numeracy. Second, international comparisons give weight to misgivings about the performance of British schoolchildren in mathematics and science. And, therefore, the subsequent changes have tried to define standards much more precisely, and o have regular assessment of children’s performance against these standards. II. Changing Political Control a) After 1944 The key educational legislation, until recently, was the 1944 The 1944 Education Act required the Secretary of State to promote the education of the people of England and Wales and the progressive development of institutions devoted to that purpose and to secure the effective execution by local authorities, under his control and direction, of the national policy for providing a varied and comprehensive educational service in every area. In the decades following the Act, «promotion» was perceived in very general terms - ensuring that there were resources adequate for all children to receive an education according to «age, ability and aptitude», providing the broad legal framework and regulations within which education should be provided (for example, the length of the school year or the division of education into primary and secondary phases), and initiating major reports on such important matters as language and mathematics teaching. Within this framework, the LEA organized the schools. The LEA raised money through local taxation to provide education from primary right through to further and indeed higher education, and made sure that the schools and colleges were working efficiently. They employed and paid the teachers. And ultimately they had responsibility for the quality of teaching within those schools. The Churches were key partners because historically they (particularly the Church of England) had provided a large proportion of elementary education and owned many of the schools. The 1944 Act had to establish a new partnership between state, LEAs and the church schools. b)After 1980 However, the changing economic, social and cultural conditions outlined in the previous section caused the government to reexamine the nature and the composition of that partnership. The questions being asked during the 1980’s included the following: Has central government the power to make the system respond to the changing context? Are the local authorities too local for administrating a national system and too distant for supporting local, especially parental, involvement in school? Have the parents been genuine partners in the system that affects the future welfare of their children? And what place, if any, in the partnership has been allocated to the employers, who believe they have a contribution to make to the preparation of young people for the future? 1) New governing bodies Various Acts of Parliament since 1980 have made schools more
accountable. The government has looked for ways of exercising greater influence
over what is taught in schools. New legislation gave the government powers
to exercise detailed control over the organization and content of
education. The 1988 Education Act legislated a National Curriculum and a
system of National Assessment. In addition, significant changes were
enacted to make possible the central financing and thus control of schools
through creating a new kind of school outside LEA control (first, the
provision of City Technology Colleges 9CTC), and, second, the creation of Страницы: 1, 2 |
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