History of Education

Carl Kaestle’s Pillars of the Republic focuses on the history of schooling. Kaestle writes about the common school movement in England, the Midwest, the South, and the American Northwest. Kaestle argues that common school systems, the tuition-based elementary school that served all children in the area, were continued and accepted due to the Americans’ commitment to the republican government, the assertiveness of native Protestant culture, and through the development of capitalism (1983, p. X).

After World War 2 there was a baby boom and as a result in the 1950’s schools were quickly filling up as the children enrolled. The enrolments increased as much as 30% over the ‘baby-boomers’ decade. In the year 1950 there were 166 437 existing elementary and secondary schools in the USA to educate over 29 million students. As the amount of students increased, the schools and resources declined. It was reported by the Office of Education in 1953

Through McGuffey’s writings, education is seen as a vehicle to promote improvement for the common people. Reader portrays that a poor boy can have the same opportunities as anyone else in the country (Doc. E). Through these writings and lessons, it can be seen that through free public schools with an improved curriculum expanded the sense of equality in the nation. A democracy calls for equality for all people and through equal education, all people can acquire an equal sense of knowledge. Through hard work, respect, and responsibility, public

This was based on the premise Irish Catholics in Scotland feared Labour politics were dominated by Protestants and could lead to secular education. The passing of the1918 Education Act, a situation that incited sectarian anger, with the phrase “No Rome on the Rates” was pivotal in changing the relationship between the Catholic Church and Labour

The 1960’s transformed American life in ways unimaginable when the decade began. It produced new rights and new understandings of freedom. It made possible the entrance of numerous members of racial minorities into the mainstream of American life, while leaving unsolved the problem of urban poverty. It set in motion a transformation of the status of women. It changed what American expected from government, from clean air and water to medical coverage in old age. At the same time, it undermined public confidence in national leaders.

After the welfare state was introduce in Britain in 1942, William Beveridge, introduced free education for all. It took a few years for the Labour government to bring this into action. In 1944 free education for all was instated. The Education Act (1944) came into action. In this act ‘Butler’ introduced free secondary school education and set the age to leave school at 15. There were 3 different types of school available to children, these were, grammar school, secondary modern school or technical school. To determine which school’s children went to they would have to sit the ’11-plus’ IQ test. The advantages of the Free Education for All, is that it gave all children the opportunity for a further education based on exam results and this would let on to better opportunity for jobs and a better lifestyle.

It is a prime example of narrowing student’s education while they are still in the comforts of home. There are four main sections of the UK’s educational system: primary education, secondary education, further education, and higher education. Primary school and secondary school are mandatory for all students. It is also broken up into four “key stages.” At the end of each stage, students take assessments to show their academic progress. (Between ages five and eleven, students attend primary school, completing key stages one and two. Between ages eleven and sixteen, students attend secondary school, completing stages three and four. The typical path for a student in secondary school is to study broad topics between ages eleven and fourteen, before studying topics more in depth between ages fifteen and sixteen. After secondary school, they are finished with their mandatory education. If a student elects to continue into further education, they may choose to either earn more academic qualifications through more focused studies, or to pursue vocational qualifications through apprenticeships and other programs. Further education is still free to students, yet it allows them more say in what they will be studying, much like college here in the US. A student may then elect to pursue higher education by pursuing a degree in college (“Higher Education

challenged the norm (mostly white and male). The conflicts, especially the ones about the civil

Education both influences and reflects the values and aspirations of a society. It is therefore important to recognise a set of common aims, values and purposes that underpin a school curriculum and the work of schools in a range of countries (DfE, 2008). This comparative study will explore the curricula of England and Finland - discussing the history, structure and contents; and consider which of the above are more useful in preparing young adults for life in the modern society. With reference to the modern society, it is important to understand that what makes a society modern is entirely a subjective ideology. This takes into consideration that the views and expectations of one modern society may differ from the views and expectations

The Education system of England and Wales underwent a number of important changes since 1944. This essay seeks to concentrate on these major changes describing the rationale and impact they had on the British education system.

In 1891 primary education became free and compulsory for all children between the ages 5 and 13. Although some may see this as a great step towards equality, many found this an inconvenience as their children could no longer work for them; this in some cases meant families lost out on money and business. A Marxist would explain this as the Bourgeoisie transmitting the ideology to the Proletariat that capitalism is just and reasonable. Marx (1848) considers this ‘exploitation of the many by the few’. This can be seen in the schooling environment as it teaches you to compete with your fellow pupils by trying to achieve higher than them for a grade or position, similar to that society. They would also see it as training

Efforts to reach this are the provision of schools, with entry on a meritocratic basis. Following the 1944 Education Act in Britain, the removal of fees from secondary schools and the provision of student grants, certain financial barriers to educational attainment were minimised. Whether we measure equality of access fairly is a debateable topic, however there is overwhelming evidence which confirms that social class origins are strongly and clearly implicated in educational success or failure. Halsey, Heath and Ridge (1981), in a study of 8529 males educated in England and Wales, found that a boy who was considered middle class, compared to a boy in working class had fourth more times of attending a public school, eighteen times more chance of attending a minor independent school and twelve times more chance of attending a direct grant school and three times more chance of attending a grammar school (Journal of Social Policy, 1981). So this study heavily implies that the pattern of unequal access to the more prestigious secondary schools remained, despite the post war education reforms ‘the probability of a working-class boy receiving a fair education in the mid-fifties and sixties were very little different from that of his parents’ generation thirty years earlier’ (Halsey,

One student in particular whom is also specialising in Irish with her primary teaching degree had a very strong opinion on Irelands Irish education. She stated :

Special needs provision in Ireland has evolved since the founding of the state in 1919. Until the early 1990s practically all education and care of children were carried out by the religious orders in Ireland. The government therefore had little need for policies or legislation surrounding education and care.

The National Education of Ireland Bill was created with the help of the Stanley Letter in 1831 by E.G. Stanley to provide a better and free education to better serve the children of Ireland. The newly revised 1892 Ireland Education bill that is proposed will help children and schools across Ireland be better than the Christian Brothers Schools who refused to accept government help that will make attendance compulsory, raise teacher salaries, and the separation of church and state. The “Stanley Letter,” written by Earl G. Stanley, was the legal basis