Technical Education in Northern Ireland After Partition: A Case Study of the Work of a Newly‐formed Local Education Authority,County Down 1925–1933

On the partition of Ireland in 1921, the Northern Ireland Ministry of Education assumed control of the educational services which had been previously administered by four independent bodies in Dublin. The Education Act (Northern Ireland) 1923 created the county councils and county borough councils of the new devolved state the local education authorities in their areas and imposed on them certain duties for the establishment of machinery for the local administration of education. This paper considers the role of a newly‐formed single county authority in the implementation of technical education in its area. The historical background and the effects of legislation are discussed and the authority’s work relating to the transfer of schools and development and progress of this branch of education are assessed during the early years of the new administration.     

Reform Decisions of 1985: Basic Education

The power for the administration of elementary education belongs to local authorities. Except for major policies and principles and general plans that are to be determined by the central authorities, all other responsibilities and powers are to be delegated to local authorities for drawing up and implementing specific policies, rules and regulations, and plans, as well as for guiding, administering, and monitoring the work of the schools. The authorities of the provinces will define the functions and powers for administrative departments at the provincial, municipal (prefectural), county, and township levels. In addition to state appropriations, all local authorities are required to allocate a proper percentage of their respective funds for educational purposes so as to promote education in all places. Most of township revenues should be used for education. The local authorities may levy an extra tax for education, which shall be used exclusively to improve teaching facilities for elementary education. They should encourage state-owned enterprises, public organizations, and individuals to run schools and provide them with guidance. Also, they can encourage units, collective undertakings, and individuals to make financial donations to help develop education, but of their own accord, not by exaction. To ease the schools' economic burdens, fees charged to schools by various quarters must be strictly controlled.     

Policy and Power: One hundred years of Local Education Authorities in Wales

The theme of this article is that, individually and collectively, the local education authorities in Wales have a distinctive history in the 20th century. The thesis is explored mainly by means of three case studies: the reaction of the local authorities to the Education Act of 1902, which eventually escalated into a national movement dubbed 'the Welsh revolt'; the response of some local authorities, particularly in industrial Wales, to the 1932 legislation which required them to replace their free secondary school places with special places; and the attempts of some councils to resist the largely clandestine attempts of the Ministry of Education and its Welsh Department to impose a tripartite system of secondary education against their wishes after 1944. This tradition of independent action in Wales bears on contemporary patterns of power and policy. The article concludes by suggesting that, in an education power structure now radically altered by the creation of the National Assembly for Wales in 1999, the local authorities are regarded more favourably than is the case in England and vested with significantly more responsibility, so making it likely that their future course will diverge increasingly from that of their English counterparts.     

Parental experiences of dealing with disputes in Additional Support Needs in Scotland: why are parents not engaging with mediation?

Partnerships with parents, particularly in the field of education, have featured prominently in policy rhetoric for many years, but routes of redress have not had much attention until relatively recently. The development of Alternative Dispute Resolution in the UK reflects the situation in several jurisdictions (e.g. Norway, Germany, the Netherlands) where citizens can choose not to go to court to resolve administrative disputes. Under the Education (Additional Support for Learning [ASL]) (Scotland) Act 2004 local authorities must establish and publicise procedures for identifying and meeting the needs of children requiring additional support for learning. The Act and Code of Practice advocate early intervention to prevent disagreements about the provision for additional support from escalating into more serious disputes, with local authorities required to provide information about, and access to, independent mediation for parents. In Scotland the ASL Act 2004 has resulted in four routes available for redress in the area of Additional Support Needs which include both mediation and litigation type processes: ? Informal mediation

? Formal mediation

? Adjudication

? Tribunal

This article uses case study information from parents in three local authorities in Scotland to explore why independent mediation is being under-used by schools and parents, and what factors influence this. Questions are raised regarding the large numbers of parents who are unaware of mediation, the attitudes towards and use of independent mediation by local authorities and the suitability of independent mediation, particularly when the dispute is over resources.     

The Early Postwar Struggle of the Imperialist Nations to Seize World Hegemony

In November 1918, Germany accepted the armistice conditions of the Entente nations, and World War I came to an end. On January 18, 1919, the Entente victors gathered in Paris to convene the conference to ratify the peace treaty. Twenty-seven nations participated in the Paris Peace Conference, but in reality the conference was controlled by just three imperialist powers, Great Britain, France, and the United States. The leadership of the delegation of the three powers was divided among the British Prime Minister, Lloyd George (1863-1945), the French Premier Clemenceau (1841-1929), and the American President, Wilson (1856-1924).     

‘Role stretch’: assessing the blurring of teaching and non‐teaching in the classroom assistant role in Scotland

With the increasing number of teaching and classroom assistants across the UK there is now much debate about what their role should be. In particular concerns have arisen about the extent to which they overstep the boundary from supporting teaching and learning into teaching pupils. This study assesses this issue within Scotland. It draws on a national survey of 2000 head teachers, teachers and classroom assistants and interviews with directors of education in nearly half of all Scottish local authorities. Findings from the research suggest a small number of classroom assistants in Scotland are overstepping the boundary into teaching. The paper concludes with an explanation as to why this is happening taking into account aspects such as local authority policy, school size and the individual characteristics of the classroom assistants.     

Adult education between the wars: the curious case of the Selborne Lecture Bureau

‘Independent’ lecture agencies are a neglected element in the history of education. Between 1918 and 1939, the Selborne Lecture Bureau was a significant national provider of adult education in Britain, both in its own right and as a supplier of lecture(r)s to Women's Institutes and other bodies, and it pioneered the use of films in schools. For a brief period, it was an ‘educational’ vehicle for the Empire Marketing Board with a programme of over 2400 lectures in 1929. The Bureau originated in the early twentieth century split between the conservative (and male) traditions of natural history and the radical (and female) campaigning (anti‐) plumage movement that produced the RSPB. The interwar history of the Selborne Lecture Bureau provides a counterpoint to conventional accounts of adult education between the two world wars, part of an influential ‘third stream’ alongside the ‘liberal tradition’ and growing state and local authority provision.     

The last place to look: the place of pupil councils within citizen participation in Scottish schools

This article critically examines pupil councils as a means of developing pupils’ citizenship participation. It draws on findings across two research projects. The first study is a mixed method study commissioned by Learning and Teaching Scotland (LTS) that reviews the range of participatory activities in Scottish schools and their contribution to Scotland’s major curriculum revision, the Curriculum for Excellence (CFE). The second is a longer ethnographic study examining young people’s experience of participation projects in more detail. The findings lend strength to the argument that pupil councils as a stand-alone approach are not an effective means of citizenship participation. When pupil councils are complemented by other participation activity across spheres of school interaction, young people’s understanding of and interest in participation can be greatly enhanced. The article examines the cross curricular linkages schools are making, the barriers that impede such linkages and the benefits derived from successful coordinated approaches in light of criteria for ‘graduated participation’ developed through decades of work internationally on children’s participation.     

Supporting Teachers in Scottish Schools: Has the Money Been Well Spent?

Traditionally, education in Scotland has been viewed as a national service that is locally administered. This research casts new light on that relationship between the Scottish Executive and local authorities by drawing on evidence from an evaluation of the implementation of the additional support staff element of the Teachers’ Agreement which determined not only teachers’ pay structure but also established the professional conditions under which they would work. The paper identifies how local authorities and schools spent the grant aid on staff and equipment, how many additional support staff were appointed, and what impact they were reported to be having on teaching and learning. Information was gathered from a postal survey of all 32 Scottish local authorities and a random sample of 267 schools, and also from interviews held in six case study schools. The findings show that: all the grant aid could not be accounted for, the target number of support staff was not achieved, and their deployment and impact varied across local authorities and schools. By way of conclusion it poses the question: ‘Was the money well spent?’     

《职业教育提质培优行动计划(2020-2023年)》的治理意蕴探析

发挥中央和地方两个积极性是我国职业教育治理改革的关键问题.从改革开放以来职业教育政策及发展情况来看,中央与地方关系处于不断简政放权、权力重心下移的过程,分权治理取得了良好成效,但也存在省级主体作用未能充分激发等主要问题.2020年9月,教育部等九部门联合出台的《职业教育提质培优行动计划(2020-2023年)》,将职业...     

Education and nationalism: the discourse of education policy in Scotland

The paper draws on critical discourse analysis to examine and discuss some of the key developments in the governing of education in Scotland since the election of the Scottish National Party (SNP) government in May 2007. It analyses these developments, drawing on a study of key policy texts and suggests that discourse analysis has much to contribute to the understanding of the governing strategy of the minority SNP administration as reflected in its education policy. We suggest that there is a self-conscious strategy of ‘crafting the narrative’ of government that seeks to discursively re-position ‘smarter Scotland’ alongside small, social democratic states within the wider context of transnational pressures for conformity with global policy agendas. Thus the paper connects to current debates on the relationship between an emergent global education policy ‘field’ and the capacity of ‘local’ contexts to develop and sustain particular, embedded assumptions and practices.     

Citizenship? Only If You Haven't Got A Life: secondary school pupils' views of Citizenship Education

This article reports the responses of small groups of secondary pupils, from Y7‐Y10, to questions about aspects of citizenship education. The pupils were interviewed in early 2002 as part of wider research into their schools’ preparation for the introduction of compulsory citizenship education in September 2002. The interviews were conducted to assess the pupils’ interest in, knowledge of and enthusiasm for the three elements of the citizenship curriculum‐‐social and moral responsibility, community involvement and political literacy‐‐as well as to evaluate their involvement in the life of their school and the wider community. The pupils, from three urban comprehensive schools in a large town in the south of England, showed ignorance of and little interest in national politics and a lack of involvement in the local community. They were aware of some of their school councils’ achievements and powers, knew how the councils operated, and thought them moderately useful. Most did not anticipate that citizenship education would interest them, though they could see benefits in its inclusion in the curriculum. The one group of pupils already preparing for Citizenship Studies GCSE was, however, more enthusiastic about the subject than those who had yet to experience it.     

战国时期中央与地方的关系研究

战国时期，随着以郡统县的行政管理体制在各国的普遍推行，各诸侯国国君通过郡、县地方行政区及乡、亭、里等基层地域组织，自上而下形成了一个有序的统治网络，层层控制着整个国家。新的官僚制度的建立，便利了国君对地方官员的任免、选拔与考核权的掌握。中央对地方的视察制度的建立，具有考核地方民政、选拔人才并对施政方针征求意见等作用。与此同时，行县之制在加强中央、各级政权与基层之间的政治联系，加强中央王朝对地方的行政管辖方面发挥着一定的积极作用。监察制度的初步建立则是封建王朝加强专制统治的重要表现。国君对立法与司法权的垄断，是建立中央集权制国家的必然要求。户口的登记和赋役的摊派，内史、少府等国家财政机构的创设，标志着新型分立的单一制国家对地方经济的控制得到空前加强。发兵用符制度的建立，使得中央及地方军队的调遣权全部集中于国君一人之手。     

Local Authorities and Comprehensivisation in England and Wales, 1944-1974

Drawing extensively upon local authority records and private papers, this article argues that the post-Second World War drive for comprehensive education was a grass roots initiative. A diverse group of English and Welsh local education authorities (LEAs) challenged the orthodoxies of tripartism or bipartism in the late 1940s, paving the way for officially sanctioned non-selective experiments during the following decade and the 1960s 'breakout' (after Simon, 1991) of comprehensive-minded LEAs. The article focuses upon the experience of going comprehensive at the local level and discusses some of the variables that influenced the type and timing of secondary reorganisation. It demonstrates that political and personnel factors were crucial to the success or failure of a particular scheme. Some LEAs became embroiled in bitter controversies relating to their proposed reorganisation scheme, but it is argued that this was the exception, rather than the rule. The vigorous debates of this period gave comprehensive reorganisation a democratic flavour, but they also regularly brought local government into conflict with the centre. By 1974, it is contended, the post-War 'partnership' was all but dead.     

Reforming special education in Scotland: tensions between discourses of professionalism and rights

In 2001, the (then) Scottish Executive embarked on a process of reform of the SEN framework in Scotland. This paper analyses negotiations between different social actors, principally local authority staff and parents, in the formation of the legislation and its subsequent enactment. Data are drawn from an analysis of responses to consultations, official statistics and parent and local authority staff perceptions of the reforms as revealed in questionnaire surveys. It is argued that policy frameworks based on professionalism and bureaucracy have tended to dominate in Scotland, with a rights framework emerging much more recently. The legislation attempts to strike a balance between the different actors, although, in implementing the legislation, local authorities have sought to neutralise aspects which they felt tipped the balance of power too far in favour of parents. Parents have responded by campaigning as citizen‐consumers, and appear to be having a growing influence on Government.     

Edinburgh University,schools and the civil service in the early twentieth century

This article is a case study of the relation between urban schooling and university education, using two main sources. Data on the schools attended by history students at Edinburgh University between 1899 and 1933 illustrate the diversity and social ranking of schools in the city. New higher grade schools had a key role in increasing access to university education for both men and women, especially for prospective teachers; the significance of the Education (Scotland) Act of 1918 for Catholic schools, and the continuing importance of small private schools for girls, are also shown. The second source analyses the school origins of successful Edinburgh candidates in civil service examinations between 1896 and 1944, supplemented for other parts of Scotland by the report of the Royal Commission on the Civil Service of 1912. This elite career drew mainly from older schools, and contemporary claims for equality of opportunity in Scotland need to be treated with reserve.     

Teachers as Change‐agents in Special Educational Needs: experience in England

Parallel developments in England, Wales and in Scotland have led to the establishment of posts for teachers which enable them to be effective agents of change. Research, publications and initiatives sponsored by national government, local education authorities and voluntary organisations have led to the identification of ways in which educational provision for pupils with special needs can best be made, and to the enunciation of criteria for evaluating such provision. Teacher trainers have responded with innovative approaches to course development; two case studies are offered.     

Higher Education Participation of Northern Irish Students 1

Higher education in Britain displays a diversity of patterns of participation and provision. The establishment of funding councils for England, Scotland, Wales; together with the advisory body the Northern Ireland Higher Education Council (NIHEC), for Northern Ireland, will further increase this diversity. As these councils go about their work, a valuable exercise might be conducted by recording the patterns of participation in the early 1990s. Each council confronts a different tradition, with different levels of participation, and with somewhat different issues on their policy agenda. The NIHEC oversees a small two university system, with a high Northern Irish age participation index, and where affirmative action and equal opportunity measures have a particular prominence.     

论中华苏维埃共和国时期的中央与地方关系

中华苏维埃共和国时期是中共对中央与地方关系的初步实践。这一时期,它勾画了联邦制与单一制结合的混合国家结构,健全了中央与地方政权机构并初步划分了双方的职权,采取了许多措施加强中央对地方监控和双方的沟通。但由于各种客观因素的影响,中央与地方关系的发展呈现出不平衡性、断续性、法律规定与现实差距大、移植性等特点,其中一些教训值得后人吸取。     

《终身教育法》修正后韩国终身教育振兴政策的动向及特征

近10年来,从终身教育的立法到各项政策的推广实施,韩国终身教育领域出现了前所未有的变化。2007年修正的韩国《终身教育法》的公布不仅明确了终身教育的范围,而且也使中央与地方的职责与权限更加明确,并通过重组力图建构更加完善且有效率的终身教育行政与财政支援体制。为了振兴终身教育,韩国大力开展了相应的支援计划：终身学习城市支援计划;终身学习账户制度;终身学习中心大学培育计划;终身教育专业人员的培养及其能力提升计划等。呈现的特点：一是国家相关政策的制定与引导是推进终身教育的根本动力．足够的经费和人力资源支撑是必要条件。二是注重整合各类教育资源,特别是在建立多样的终身教育机构和设施等平台的同时,也注重发挥学校教育的作用。三是实施面向全员并开展全程的终身教育,特别注重增加弱势群体的教育机会。这次修正不仅促进了各自治团体终身教育基础设施的建设,提升了社区网络的发展水平,而且还建立了将学习成果运用于地方的循环体系,促进了国民对终身教育的理解及参与,推动了韩国社会的协调发展。