The treasury grants, 1833–1839

Theory of Education by Margaret Sutherland. 182 pp. Longman (London and New York), £6.75, 1988.

Review of Child Psychology and Childhood Education. By Lawrence Kohlberg. Longman, New York. 1987. 440 pages, index.

Literacy, Schooling and Revolution by Colin Lankshear with Moira Lawler. 1987. London: The Falmer Press, pp. xiv + 260.

Making the Future: Politics and Educational Reform in the United States, England, the Soviet Union, China, and Cuba. Edited by Edgar B. Gumbert, 139 pp. Atlanta, Georgia: Centre for Cross‐cultural Education, College of Education, Georgia State University, 1988. US‐Dollar 11.95.

University Adult Education in Crisis. By John McIlroy and Bruce Spencer. Pp xi, 206. Leeds: Leeds Studies in Adult and Continuing Education, University of Leeds Department of Adult and Continuing Education, 1988. £5.50. ISBN 0.907644.05.7.

A Common Policy for Education. By Mary Warnock. Pp 185. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1988. £12.95.

Effective Teaching in Higher Education. By George Brown and Madeleine Atkins. Pp vii, 245. London: Methuen. 1988, Price £9.95, ISBN 0–416–09082–6.

Curriculum y Educación. Edited by J. Sarramona. Pp 176. Barcelona: Ediciones CEAC, 1987. No price.

Power to the Parents: reversing educational decline. By Antony Flew. Pp. xii, 171. London: Sherwood Press, 1987. £6.95.

Speaking Mathematically: Communication in Mathematics Classrooms. David Pimm. Pp. 217. London: Routledge &; Kegan Paul, 1987. ISBN 0–7102–1133–3. £17.95.

Computing and Change on Campus. S. Kiesler and L. Sproull, Cambridge University Press, 1988, £15.00, pp 254, Cambridge.     

The myth of The Phoenix: progressive education,migration and the shaping of the welfare state, 1985–2015

Abstract

Since the 1970s, many western welfare states have been subject both to increased migration and to a renewed interest in progressive education. The present article addresses the question of whether these two phenomena are related and how changing notions of the welfare state shape and are shaped by this relationship. To answer the question, we concentrate our attention on the case study of Ghent (Belgium), which from the 1970s onwards has been characterised not only by a growing ethnic diversity but also by a renewed interest in progressive educational initiatives. Drawing on oral history with key figures in the local educational field and research in school archives, this article indicates that progressive initiatives in the last few decades have indeed emerged as an answer to migration patterns. But whereas initial initiatives in the 1980s arose from an endeavour to cater for the migrant child, some recent initiatives arose from an attempt to exclude the same child.     

A situational crime prevention analysis of Anglican clergy’s child protective practices

To date, a predominant focus within the field of ‘clerical collar crime’ has revolved around institutional-level church responses to child sexual abuse events, survivors and offenders. Comparatively, little attention has been directed towards the micro-level and in particular, examining clerical responses to child sexual abuse. This article presents empirical findings concerning the ‘everyday’ child protective practices of Anglican clergy in the Diocese of Tasmania, Australia. Research data was acquired through open-ended qualitative interviews conducted with a sample of 34 clergy in a broader study of clerical culture, habitus and life amidst the ‘church abuse crisis’. The framework of Situational Crime Prevention is employed to evaluate the feasibility of clergy’s child-safe practices and comment on how these practices could be further altered through professional development. Research findings demonstrate that clergy possess an active awareness of risk, and execute a series of protective measures to minimise both sexual interactions with children and allegations of impropriety.     

‘The torment of every seminary’: the teaching of French in British schools, 1780–1830

This article reconsiders the way in which the French language was taught in British schools from 1780 to 1830. In particular, it is shown that (contrary to recent claims) the use of recitation‐ and conversation‐based techniques, as opposed to rule‐based grammatical learning, persisted well into the 1820s, both in influential pedagogic textbooks and in the practical teaching methods favoured by certain schools. In order to reveal the extent of this trend, several neglected sources – such as Nicolas Dufief’s Nature Displayed in Her Mode of Teaching Language to Man (1804) and Arthur Hill and Matthew Hill’s Public Education (1822) – are assessed in some detail. In essence, this article argues that the favoured methods used to teach French in British schools in the early nineteenth century were far more diverse and heterogeneous than is usually acknowledged.     

The beginnings of modern education in Korea, 1883–1910

Korea opened up to foreign intercourse in 1876, when the country concluded its first international treaty with Japan. Similar treaties with European and American nations followed during the 1880s. The period until 1910, when Korea was annexed to the Japanese Empire, saw manifold attempts to reform as well as resistance to these reforms. Against the background of research on the world institutionalisation of education, this contribution analyses the changes that the opening of Korea entailed in the field of education, especially focusing on newly established forms of education. First, modern education was characterised by newly created institutions and curricula. These institutions can be classified according to the actors engaged in their creation, private Korean citizens, foreign missionary actors and the Korean government. Second, new educational discourses and practices characterised modern education in Korea. These new discourses played a central role in negotiating Korean nationalism and in culturally positioning Korea between China and the “West”. Bodily practices were radically changed through uniforms, new hairstyles and military drills. A new system of classroom interaction was introduced to Korea.     

The history of education in non‐education periodicals, 1939–1967: A bibliography

Abstract

Children with special educational needs form a substantial minority of the school population. The mechanisms and associated resources in the 1981 Education Act were oriented towards children with statements of special educational needs and neglected children with special needs but without statements. This paper examines the recent shift in policy emphasis away from the former, and towards the latter, group. The precursors to this position, notably the unmanageable rise (for LEAs) in numbers of children with statements and the broadening of the basis on which children were given statements, are examined. Both the 1994 Code of Practice concerning children with special needs and the proposed changes to the National Curriculum can be seen in part as, by redefining non statemented special needs provision, mechanisms to tackle the inexorable increase in statements. Four major repercussions of this shift are discussed. Finally some longer term implications are examined.     

The making of the dull,deficient and backward pupil in British elementary education 1870–1914

Abstract

Michel Foucault's concept of normalisation is taken as a basis to explore the factors involved in the identification of dull, deficient and backward pupils in British Elementary Education between 1870 and 1914. Normalisation consists of the five processes of comparison, differentiation, hierarchisation, homogenisation and exclusion. These processes operate through dividing practices which distribute groups socially and are supported in this work by scientific ideas. In this instance, the norm of the intellect is the basis of the dividing practices. The empirical focus opens with an examination of the main features of Elementary education. It then moves to consider the deliberations of the Royal Commission on the Blind, Deaf and Dumb, etc (1889) and those of the Departmental Committee on Defective and Epileptic Children (1898). The analysis concludes with a consideration of the consequences of the Elementary Education (Defective and Epileptic Children) Act, 1899, and its effects up until 1914.     

The changing discourse on higher education and the nation-state, 1960–2010

This article examines changing ideas about the relationship between the nation-state and the university in international higher education development discourse through a quantitative content analysis of over 700 academic articles, conference proceedings and research reports published by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). It finds that since the 1990s, emphasis on the private sector grows, the nation-state’s role shifts from one of manpower planning to strategic planning, and higher education is increasingly expected to promote standardized development goals and economic competitiveness in the global arena. However, it also finds that the role of the nation-state does not disappear—although no longer portrayed as the primary funder and provider of higher education, the nation-state is imbued with important regulatory functions.     

Education,culture and politics: the evolution of Chinese education at The University of Hong Kong, 1911–1941

The University of Hong Kong (HKU), following its establishment in 1911, has assumed the mission of bridging British and Chinese cultures, to prepare European and Chinese elite youth for political and other professional careers, and thus to improve Britain’s cultural influence in competition with other western powers with regard to China. Dominated by its colonial character and pragmatic orientation, Chinese education at HKU was confined to no more than a supplementary subject at the initial stage. However, colonial crisis and cultural changes in the 1920s and 1930s, together with the endeavours of local cultural and commercial elites, made advanced Chinese education at HKU necessary and possible, and led to an independent unit for Chinese education and Chinese studies being established and strengthened. Organisational and curricular reforms before the outbreak of the Pacific War in 1941 led to further modernisation and solidified the structure of Chinese education at this university, laying the essential foundation for its post-war recovery and development. The evolution of Chinese education at HKU demonstrated well the subtle entanglements of education, culture and politics in a colonial context, through which coexistence and tensions between tradition and modernity, between China and the West, and between the imperial and republican intellectuals were also vividly revealed.     

The Andersonians and progressive education, 1930–1968

Strategic Uncertainties: Ethics, Politics and Risk in Contemporary Educational Research. Phyllida Coombes, Mike Danaher, Patrick Alan Danaher (Editors) Post Pressed, Flaxton Qld, 2004, pp.210 ISBN: 1876682728 (paperback) AUD$29.50

Making Hope Practical. School Reform for Social Justice. Peter McInerney. Post Pressed, Qld, 2004, 244pp. ISBN 187668271X AUD$45.00     

The policy and practice of music education in England, 2010–2020

Since the introduction of the National Plan for Music Education there have been significant changes in music education within England. Whilst some celebrate figures that report increased access and engagement, many teachers and others continue to have legitimate concerns regarding the quality of the music education on offer in schools and Music Education Hubs. There are concerns that the provision of music education is incoherent and patchy across the country. Many would argue that the opportunity to access high-quality music education has become a ‘postcode lottery’. There is a sense that the fragmentation of music education as a result of curriculum reforms and the diversity of approaches taken by Music Education Hubs and other bodies has significantly enhanced this incoherence. This article seeks to review the policy and practice of music education in England over the last 10 years. It draws on recent research from various sources and maintains a particular focus on government policy and the consequences of this for the field as a whole. It reflects on how things could be improved in the future. It argues for a clearer focus on a practitioner-led approach to research and advocacy, in particular one led by the notion of ‘policy as practice’ rather than continuing with the current approach and its intrinsic failings.