POST-PRIMARY EDUCATION.

Otago Witness, Issue 3884, 21 August 1928, Page 15

POST-PRIMARY EDUCATION.

NECESSITY FOR REVIEW.

STATEMENT BY.COLLEGE PRINCIPAL.

For some time past it has been realised by educational bodies that some revision of the present system of post-primary education in the Dominion is necessary. Constant changes during the past few years have brought about chaotic conditions in the system, and amongst the various technical school boards especially the consensus of opinion is that the Government is not fully alive to the importance pf the technical side of education, and is giving the claims of secondary schools prior consideration.

Since 1921, various commissions have considered the question of post-primary education, yet nothing definite has been done. - From the deliberations of these commissions, however, has come such a mass of material that even those most interested have found it difficult to recognise the most important features of the various proposals brought forward. As it appears likely that the Education Department is about to make another change in the post-primary educational System, the principal of the King Edward Technical College (Mr W, G. Aldridge), with a view to clarifying the position, recently prepared a statement, which sets out. in orderly presentation the relevant facts. This statement wqs duly considered by the Appointments Committee of the Technical School Board of Managers, and Was presented to and endorsed by the board at its monthly meeting on Wednesday. It is as follows:: — NEED FOR REFORM. . The present system needs to be reviewed, because—- _ 1. Democracies subscribe to the principle that all children should have at least an opportuvity to share the nation’s cultural inheritance: this involves in our day the recognition that the Standard VI course is not the end of school education. 2- Psychologists teach that at the age of 11 or 12 years children need to be taught from a new angle of approach, and by no means all in the same way—that is, probably Standard V, and certainty Standard VI, should be differentiated.

3. Under present conditions, many pupils attend secondary schools for a comparatively short period, entering at an average age of nearly 14 years, and leaving for industrial occupations about 16 years, or even earlier. No matter what the type of school, the system should ensure that pupils remain therefor at least two years, and, in general, longer, in order that the school may have reasonable opportunities for exert-, ing its proper influence, whatever that may be, 4. The administration of education is fault}- in that those concerned with education boards, technical school boards and high school boards, in practice, regard their provinces as entirely separate. In discussions, on the subject, it is usually found easy to secure agreement bn the four meeds stated above, which, roughly, are—r* (1) Extension of opportunities for education; (2) . differentiated courses; (3) efficient use of all schools; (4) co-ordination of control. EXTENSION OF OPPORTUNITIES. ;On several points under this heading most of the commissions have agreed. As in the last 20 years the number of pupils receiving full-time education up to 15 years under the free-place regulations has increased 60 per cent, of the possible by a natural extension, any increased opportunities will, up to the same age, at any rate, be full-time and free. Certain critics—e.g., those responsible for the minority report of the Syllabus Revision Committee —believe that part-time day instruction would be sufficient after 14 ; years; but, on the whole, there is agreement that the law should be enforced fix ing the school leaving age at 15 years, subject to exemptions where found necessary. The question of part-time instruction during the day for pupils under 15 years of age has never found many ad herents, and is not likely to come to the fore again. The above proposals involv* providing school places for a considerably increased number of school children; about two-thirds as many again as are now tri secondary schools. It is to be remembered that the privilege of free education has been freely offered ever since 1904, and that the leaving age of 15 years was agreed to in the Education Act of 1915, There sems, then, no escape for the State from its liability to the children under this section. ■

•It must not be forgotten, also, that there will always be great need for education of-some kind for young persons eugaged in industry. Any view of postprimary education which omits this side of the question cannot lead to wholly satisfactory proposals. As the present annual cost of primary education is about £l2 and of secondary about £24 per pupil, the extra cost of 15,000 more pupils undef this section: may be put down at about £300,000 annually, plus the original cost of the . extra schools. In so far as thq additional expense of post-primary' educa? tion at-ises from reduction' in size of classes, ‘and engagement -of additional teachers, economics are hardly possible; In questions of cost of buildings, of ad? ministration of. purchase of material and •equipment, economy has already been enforced to a considerable degree. But as there is. considerable feeling against an increase in parliamentary appropriations for education, there remains the first chief problem of post-primary education, that of expense. DIFFERENTIATION OF COURSES.

To the ideal of. differentiation all pay lip-service, fact, almost everyone uses the word with a different. meaning. The - Syllabus Revision Comrtiittee .considers that 60 per cent, of-the content of all post-primary courses can be exactly the' same, and’ that ' all cofftses "can be taught iii every school. : The Education Department’s -pamphlet on the

new primary schools’ syllabus, and its recent circulars prepare the reader for an even more restricted interpretation of “ differentiation.’’ Statistics show that the post-primary population contains a large number of retarded pupils, and it is common knowledge that many pupils now leave primary schools with a distaste, for further studies. Teachers in secondary schools admit that about 25 per cent, of their entrants are not suited to the instruction given there. This is also true, but to a smaller extent, of technical high schools. There will, therefore, be no lack of pupils to whom neither primary nor secondary teaching, as usually conceived, will be of great profit. Their education needs such special oversight that it will be dangerous to specify one tyne of school for all. ' Even subjects of the same name will need to be taught over different ranges and at different speeds to pupils of different abilities Finding and ' training teachers and administrators for this work is the second great problem to be faced in post primary education. The prescription of a foreign language for even the majority, should await: (a) A supply of qualified teachers, (b) proof that French can be successfully taught to the child below the average in classroom subjects.

NEW ZEALAND RECOMMENDATIONS.

In Netv Zealand the percentage of pupils from 14 to 16 years of age in attendance at school is about double that for England. Differentiation from the ordinary secondary course may. therefore be called for to a greater extent than is at present recognised as desirable in England. But the Syllabus Revision Committee recommends post-primary schools of one type, offering four courses of instruction (as far as can be judged, of similar range and standard). The Syllabus Revision Committee makes no recommendations about the further use of manual training centres and of technical schools in large towns. The technical high school, indeed, is viewed by the committee in an unfavourable light, and the other W’ork of technical schools has not been mentioned. It is regrettable that the committee should have disregarded the plain facts of the development of technical schools. SEPARATION OF SCHOOLS.

School need to be separated if: (a) They do not permit of efficient or economical administration, (b) they fulfil widely different functions. If differentiation is adopted to any real extent it will be impossible to teach all pupils even in the new Form I, in the same school as they have previously attended, and transfer to other schools is therefore indicated wherever possible. If in any town there exists a feeling of school against school, the children in attendance are not to blame, nor is there any surety that some mischievous persons would not foment the same feeling as between course and course in the same school. . In any case a number of.new schools is. necessary to hold 15,000 new pupils. Senior primary school teachers will naturally seek positions in the new post-primary schools W -h 1 i the result that the junior schools will be staffed to a much greater degree by women.

Opinions in New Zealand on. the question of separation- of boys and girls in post-primary schools differ greatly. The onus of preparing a case against co-edu-cation lies with those who advocate separating boys and girls in , Standard V and Standard VI. Separation of boys and girls would seem to add to difficulties of differentiating courses, of selection cf sites for post-primary schools, and of expense. It would also concentrate the best male teachers in a primary service into a still smaller field of educational activity. Remembering that one-third of the primary school work is to be turned into post-primary work, it seems prwsihty tn designate as short-course post-primary schools those primary schools whi< b now have manual training centres attached to them, and to “ consolidate w their, younger scholars in other primary schools. All new post-primary schools should be associated for such purposes of control with existing post-primary schools. Existing secondary and technical schools woi ’d naturally become long-course schools. LONG-COURSE SCHOOLS. As a high percentage of secondary school pupils now leave after a stay of less than two years, arrangements must provide for entry to such schools earlier than is now the custom; if the • schools are to be used efficiently. It is usually agreed that pupils should be admittted to existing, secondary schools and technical high school' after passing Standard IV. Such pupils should- have shown .promise of benefiting bv the course offered at the secondary school or technical high school, and they -hould also undertake to stay for four years. > There should be definite opportunities for transfer of pupils from anv course in a post-primary school to. another course in the same school, or where necessary to a school in which a more suitable course is provided. But as the latter alternative would be rarely exercised, no new school should be set up to conduct one course only. • < '‘HALF MEASURES.” .If the proposals to transfer'Standards V and VI seem too drastic, it would seem not altogether absurd to transfer Standard VI only, but this proposal I-ffiave not seen, seriously advanced. But there is some danger that without the transfer of any. pupils at all a new and. standard curriculum may be introduced into Standard V and Standard VI in the name of reform. It is difficult to see any justification for such a step on other than' financial grounds.

CO-ORDINATION OF CONTROL. It has been widely suggested that one body in each district should be responsible for the control of all primary and secondary _ education, but I have nowhere seen definite proposals for the constitution of such a Body. The .third great difficulty is to form a board that all parties would accept. If it is to receive wide powers, it must be fit to assume heavy responsibilities, and if it does not receive wide powers, expense is incurred in having its .work, all checked at headquarters. If three , boards in one town- are superseded byone, all parties, must sacrifice some official dignity.; The Government, before handing over wide powers, would probably insist that. the constitution of the board should ensure- a spirit of co'-oper'ation between all districts and headquarters. -

The Syllabus Revision Committee did not consider points of administration at any length; on such points the officials of the department should be heard before conclusions are reached, but it seems probable that changes such as the following would be called for.' Senior officers at headquarters should have plenty of opportunities to examine the -work of the department from a national standpoint. The range of district inspectors might be widened to -include all schools under the control of a district board, and it would seem _ wise to 7 save expense by keeping individual records of pupils only at'.the district office. -.English experience shows it is not impossible to have Something like uniformity in teaching conditions, even if all teachers ’are under local/cdntrol. Such rights as teachers have secured under Dominion grading- must . be concerned. Grants might'also .be allotted by- districts. Such changes as the above involve frequent conferences between executive officers “of different boards, who will require to be sound men of affairs as well as educational experts.