UNIVERSITY REFORM

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXIII, Issue 7336, 14 January 1911, Page 8

UNIVERSITY REFORM

VIEWS OF AN AUSTRALIAN PEOFESSOB. ;'

Professor J. T. Wilson, M. 8., Ch.M., F.E.S., Challis Professor of Anatomy and Chairman of the Professorial Board, Univeis.ty of Sydney, writes in reply to questions submitted by the University lieiorhi Association.. Well.ngton: (Juestioii A.—yu'gnt, we to endeavour to substitute tor the purely external system "of examination sonie form oi test in' wmu tne opinion oi ' tne teacuers is taken into account?

"My answer to this question is an unhesitating aifirniative. ; Uuiottunateiy, tne University oi Lcnaon, idumied .in ostler to meet quite peculiar conuitions, nas been reapousi-'oie for a widespread misconception oi tne aims and functions of a modern university'. • it set tip an Kk-al of unnoiinity at attainment anions tt-jd.dy separated groups of stutients, to oe secured by. centralised examinations, it was, no douot, intended to harmonise and guide and control, and for long it actually did control, the teaching of various university and. other colleges in Great Britain. On this sine of its activities it nas now been largely superseded by'the rise aud growth of the modern provincial universities in .England and i\'ales..

"I'have never met any professor .who had had the experience oi teaching under- tue conditions imposed by the University or London —ana 1 nave met more than one snen —who did not utterly repudiate the value of the principle emuouied in that'system for reasons identical with those so clearly and explicitly set. forth in paragrapns 1,4, and 6 of Picsiuent Siarr Jordan's letter to the •jN r e\v Zealand 'limes' which 1 have had the opportunity of "reading To the entiro truth of each of these paragraphs I record my emphatic assent. Tne idea of a-special virtue attaching to a. purely external 'impartial' examination is one wiueh no one really and pe.sonally familiarised witit tue essential limitations of examining work, would for'a moment entertain. The whole trend of present! oprnion, as I understand it, up--1 on this question is in the direction of assigning to examinations a distinctly secondary place, and towards the substitution, as far as practicable, of the intimate and expert judgment of the teaching staff upon the wnoie quality oi tho work of the students in a department. Even in the University ot Loudon itseif —the most conspicuous example of the "external exau..uing system—recent advances have" ! all been in the. direction of its development • as a teaching institution in which the examining function becomes a mere means, and nut the primary means, to the educational end. , . ■■■■■' "Uniformity of teacliins, so far from

being an end to be aimed at, is not even in itself desirable. Tho capabilities of no teacher can be exploited to their full value unless ho is at liberty to develop his teaching along individual lines. Even if tho lines of his teaching should bo inferior to others, his students will gain far more by his personal first-hand treatment of his subject than, from his forced adherence to a syllabus with which ho is not in sympathy. Paradoxical as it may seem, tho contrary view seems to me to oycr-rato tho importance of the contribution of the teacher to the pupil's intellectual development.

"It is to tho original choice in tht appointment of a (professor that ono must trust,for tho guarantee of his competence and soundness, and not to any subsequent external compulsion as regards his attitudo towards his subject. And if it be suggested that such a guarantee is slender and unreliable, 1 can only reply that I know'of no' other of even equal value. Tho effect upon a student, of a prolessor obviously directing his main energies in. tho way of cramming him witu tho instruction necessary to enablo him successfully to pass an examination by. some other aiituority, is directly hostile, to tho influ-". ence which an untrammelled interest in. tue subject itself normally exercises upon tne pupil. ■ Tho most effective agency in both moral and intellectual enlightenment operates by ; contagion' from master to disciple. Such a contagion, is most effectually opposed, if mot prevented altogether, by, the relation between the two being degraded to tuat of crammer and crammed. This principle lioids equaidy in -my view, in reference to secondary school teaching uip to matriculation standards. For that reason I cordially agree with tho recommendation' of I'resiaent Starr Jordaiu. that wnerever possible leaving certiii-: cates of headmasters of secondary schools bo accepted in lieu of an external matriculation examination. This, however, may not everywnerc, nor always, bo practicable. And, inasmuch as schoolttacning is not addressed to minds winch have aiimed. at tho degree of maturity oi university 6tuoents, the evils of limitation by initiative and oi individual values are not likely to be so fatal to inteiiectuad development as in tuo casa of university teacning.

"in conclusion, 1 wuuld remark that it is not enough to be able to point, as the University of New Zealand can undoubtedly point, to instances of ind* ndual students who have developed high' intellectual qualities and capacities lor original investigation by a high order unuer tno existing system. Fortunately, tne impetus to individual development is often too strong for any system to stitle, nor is the light of a great teacher's per-;, sonauty to oe blotted out, oven it he woriis under unfavourable But I repeat that no teacher—not even', the greatest—can bo exploited to his .v-ill value if he has haibituatly to function as a mere coach; while less forcible per-: sonalities capable of original teaching of' real Value are liable to be wholly ecbjpsed l under such a system," J. T. WILSON. ' . Question B,—What general powers should bo given to the professors in the organisation of the umvei'v sity and colleges? ' "Speaking generally, I may say that I concur m tEe opinions expressed by president Starr Jordan regarding the.' active participation of the professoriate on matters of academic organisation.' The ultimate and paramount end oil .university life and work is the development and well-being of the community as a whole. The more immediate object of university effort is the development amd well-being of the student. It is my' firm conviction —'biassed, it may twenty-five years of university teaching—that the university teacher'ia by far the most competent: interpreter; of the needs which arise in connection, with tho second of these; objects';, and that his judgment as regards. the first is of hardly less value. . ' "Merely .as a matter of-university administration the view of the jnnor working of the, university statutes and regulations which tho professor; and . he alone, can ordinarily arrive at; is absolutely indispensable to reasonably efficient university government. Tho tendency to exclude the professors from, a share in the government of the university or college is probably largely due to a reaction against older systems which loft practically everything in the hands of the professoriate. "Homogeneity of constitution by a university ■govemimig body is, in my view, a thing to be avoided, whatever be tho. element in question. An analysis of tho constitutions of the governing bodies of every recently-founded university of the United Kingdom will reveal tho fact that the one constant characteristic of these bodies, Whatever thoir actual (and very varying) composition may bo, is, the heterogeneity of the interests represented. Tne national government, tuo body of graduates, municipal corporations, the student body itself, and other official; scmi-otticial, and quite unofficial interests will be found to be represented ini various permutations and combinations. But, quite invariably,, there will be found to be a tolerably eiioctivo representation of the teaching stalls in the persons of representative professors. And iurtuer inquiry will also estaDl;sh the fact tnat much university administrative detail is not dealt with,by tne supreme governing ooay' at ail directly, .out is to a professorial Board, a/ senatus academicus, or to individual .acuities.

•"In my judgment'the professorial representation in tne tvenate oi tne New *,eaiauo- university is. wholly inadequate, more especially in view of tha ia*lt tnat the entire regulation of tna cuiricuia oi stuuy and eianunauon is ,iitue nanas oi wis oouy. iiie cuscusoioa at tne question, oi< ; umlorinuy in study ana oAa-jjiintiuon oeiougo ■ else-rf-ueie. nut snoUtci cue meaviuual coi.djfes ootam tnax ujejjree of ■ academic wnlch they appear at. present to tacit, and wuicu tney shotu-u. certainly thenitne councils oi theso colleges snoulu contain, as an indispensable element m we-r composition, a deitjjauon or tne pruiessoriat body. ■ - X lartner concur in Starr Jordan's recommendation iNo. a, in so iar as it contemplates tne committal to tne pioiessor,ai oouy or its representatives oi much oi tue actualacademic ■tetminiotrauon of control. But 1 am not uioposed to agiee witn tne suggestion mat tuese poweis snould be specmcaily euirustea to a chairman of tne proies-aor-ai ouard as a permanent functionary alter tup pattern oi an American Unjversuy proaiaent. Wituout being at "all ounu, to. tne auvantages of sucn a type oi organisation, i mink that, on tne whoie, tne moie democratic type of a ■deuoeranve ooaid, with a xhairman of merely executive iunction, is preferable, ami more.iu line with our civil institutions generally. And ,1 spocjicaliy demur to proposal to vest in one such functionaiy tne. responsiDiiity for cuo/s or tne professors. : in my opinion, tnis all-important duty.; and responsiuinty, togetuer-with: ail matters or high nuance, and tne nnal decision upon matters of'cardinal university or- .college, polity should be reserved for the.supituie governing : booies, and, ,ind«ed, snouid constitute practically their r sole active functions, in adoption, .however, tney should possets the right of ; review m appeal lor tne decisions of tne proiescoiw ooaid, aud tne power oi veto on jj.aoiiiMiuy an proposals for alteration ul Maiu.es, regu.atie.ns, and proceuure- ' H'misi tuui, reteiviug for the supremo uoay t..e uuty ami uie re.,poiioioiitty or tne choice of all higher teachers of the university or. college, I tuinK that it would be wise to give the professorial hoard the opportunity and the right of reporting upon the qualifications of all candidates for such: appointments." . , ; J. T. WILSON,