Faculty of Education - Theses
Permanent URI for this collection
Search Results
1 - 6 of 6
-
ItemA.S. Neill and the Russells : theory and practice in English progressive education( 1990)This essay examines the theory and practice of both Summerhill and Beacon Hill within the context of the Progressive Movement in education in England during the inter-war period. It attempts to see both schools as the manifestation of all influences which had culminated in the development of educational theory as expressed by A.S. Neill and Bertrand Russell, before and while these schools were in operation. Evidence is used to demonstrate that while these two schools were widely regarded as being on the extreme libertarian wing of the progressive movement, and in fact shared many features, they were in fact quite fundamentally different in their aims and in the practical manifestation of them.
-
ItemThe nature and organization of secondary "method" programmes in teacher education : a comparison between selected institutions in Australia and England( 1977)Although Method of Teaching courses are conducted in all institutions preparing secondary teachers in Victoria, South Australia and England (the regions examined in this thesis), little research has been conducted in this field. Programmes tend to be derived from a combination of factors: personal teaching experience, intuitive judgements about student needs, the practice of colleagues and their comments on the lecturer's own course, and folklore. Whilst the survey on which this thesis is based revealed that instruction in teaching techniques and curriculum design and the provision of information about resources are given high priority in Method courses, this seems to be the result of a pragmatic rather than a coherently developed theoretical approach to the problem of what should be included in such courses. There is a lack of agreement among the lecturers responsible for this aspect of teacher education on the most effective way of building Method of Teaching into the administrative structures. The existing patterns - either including Method in academic subject departments or incorporating Method in a School or Department of Education - have their advantages and disadvantages. It would seem that historical and political rather than strictly educational reasons account for the particular format chosen in each institution. The survey showed that the staff who plan and teach courses in Method are either part-time practising teachers or have taught in schools in recent years, and the majority have less experience in tertiary education than other colleagues in the institution. This may explain why their status is relatively low and why they have rarely managed to develop structures which could enhance their group identity. In this thesis, some possible ways of developing both such a sense of identity and a more informed awareness of the major aims of courses in Method have been examined, and some new approaches to course review and development have been suggested.
-
ItemHenry Sidgwick and reform at Cambridge, 1859 to 1900( 1990)Henry Sidgwick was the epitome of a 'Victorian Don'. He first went up to Cambridge in 1857, was elected to a trinity Fellowship in 1859, and lived and worked at the University until his death in 1900. On the rare occasions that he receives acknowledgement for his academic and reforming achievements there is a tendency for authors to depict him as a rather unfulfilled intellectual, hidden in the 'ivory tower' atmosphere of Cambridge University, writing dull uninteresting treatises on moral philosophy. This picture is untrue and is more a reflection of twentieth century perception of the Victorian Era than of reality. Henry Sidgwick was an attractive vital man who translated this vitality into joining the reform movement at Cambridge. He lived out his life at Cambridge, from the age of seventeen years until his death, as an active reformer of university education, and man fully aware of the worldly scene. Sidgwick mixed with and was related to some of the most influential men in England. His sister's husband, Edward Benson, became Archbishop of Canterbury, and his wife's brother, Arthur Balfour, the Earl of Balfour, was an active politician who became Prime Minister of Great Britain after Henry's death. Henry Sidgwick took a vigorous interest in many aspects of life, the role of the Church, politics, theology, psychic phenomena, as well as academic reform; he was never trapped in an ivory tower. He was a gregarious individual whose presence enhanced any social gathering, a sturdy don who, when instructed by his doctor to get more exercise, ran through the streets of Cambridge daily, his gown billowing in the wind: A man singularly lacking in vanity, he neither sought or expected recognition and although considered by some as the author of the most important contribution by an Englishman to moral philosophy, he is not well-known. He has not received due recognition for his efforts, mainly successful, to reform education at Cambridge. The aim of this thesis is to shed some further light on the personality and reforming achievements of this enlightened and just man, without whom Cambridge and higher education would have been the poorer.
-
ItemChanges in educational governance in England and Wales, 1978 to 1988( 1990)This thesis describes the changes in educational governance that took place in England and Wales from 1978 to 1988. The methodology used is the 'snapshot' approach which examines official policy documents combined with an analysis of relevant newspaper articles. The method facilitates the construction of 'Involvement Maps' which describe the governance structures and allows for a comparison of the involvement of interest groups in the decision making process. The thesis finds that during the ten year period, responsibility for educational processes was devolved, but that control was centralised. Also the direction of policy change, development and implementation were seen to be unaffected by a change from Socialist to Conservative central governments.
-
ItemA study of A. S. Neill with attention to his perception of the relation between freedom and authority in an educational institution( 1978)In this work an attempt has been made to study the early years and later life and educational activities of A. S. Neill. The earlier conditioning and its effects are analysed and an attempt made to show how these influences produced in Neill a profound change and conversion from Calvinistic religious dogma and forms to atheism. A parallel between this and Jung’s phenomenon of enantiodromia is posited. The theory and practice of Summerhill and the influence of Homer Lane and the congruence of his ideas concerning authority, freedom and the nature of children with those of his disciple, Neill, are discussed. Finally, it is shown that the power of early conditioning is exceedingly strong and that Neill himself did not escape from it entirely, even at the end of a long and fruitful life. Neill’s relevance to the modern educational scene is mentioned and significance of his ideas as a counter to modern technological ‘depersonalization’ is noted.
-
ItemA comparative analysis: 'English' in the Newbolt report (1921) and in the Bullock report (1974)( 1983)This thesis argues the legitimacy and usefulness, within the field of Comparative Education, of studies which focus on the comparative description and analysis of a complex concept or subject-model, as established in two Reports, separated widely in time. What is contrasted and analysed is the substantive definition of 'English' emerging from the Reports of Committees of Inquiry, appointed by the Ministers responsible for Education in England in 1919 and 1972, and chaired respectively by Sir Henry Newbolt and Sir Alan Bullock. The opening chapter demonstrates, in identifying the location of such studies within Comparative Education, that the comparison of documentary sources is a study valid, both at a theoretical and a descriptive level, in contemporary studies in this field. In particular it argues, that especially as comparisons of this type focus on 'change' and 'reform' within the educational curriculum, such studies are fruitful and illuminating in a heuristic sense, and capable of generating explanatory views of how the curriculum of a particular subject comes to be what it is. Chapter 2 provides an analysis, useful for comparative purposes, of the membership and identity of each Committee of Inquiry. In turn, this analysis is used to illuminate the nature and content of each Report, and in particular to provide a framework appropriate for evaluating the extent to which each definition or model of 'English' was a reflection of the lives and times of the particular individuals appointed to each Committee. Although, in total, more than forty persons composed the Newbolt and Bullock Committees, and although the amount of detailed biographical information available varies greatly from person to person, it emerges that there were clearly identifiable groups, representing or even, in a sense, incarnating - particular interests, which pushed the findings and recommendations of the Inquiries in particular directions. Clues are also thus provided about each Committee's motives for and emphases in prescribing the nature, purpose, and content of 'English' in the ways it did. After establishing this background and context, in terms useful for comparative analysis, the concept or model of 'English' as each Committee understood it within the generic categories of 'Language' and 'Literature', is examined. The nature, place, and role of each of the constituent parts of 'English' are compared and contrasted, and within the framework of this comparative approach, key elements in each constituent part are scrutinised, assessed and related to the 'identity' of the Committees which produced them. This process of comparative analysis clearly demonstrates that each Committee was, for its time and place, fulfilling a highly significant role related to educational change and reform, as well as to the definition of 'English' in England in 1921 and 1974. Insights thus emerge which are useful in producing an understanding of the processes of curriculum definition and development. This thesis indicates the extent to which, in England both in 1921 and 1974, the formulation of the aims of 'English' and of its content and teaching, reflected and emerged from 'interests' collaborated in Committees set up by the Government of the day to carry out processes of review and reform. In so doing, it confirms the legitimacy, as well as heuristic value, of studies of this type within the field of Comparative Education.