Changes in Education in Britain since 1944

1936 Words4 Pages

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. The essay will commence by focusing on the1944 Education Act, as it was "the most important piece of educational legislation since 1902" (Gosden, 1983:3). There was a great need for this Act, because the Second World War caused considerable disruption to the educational system. As Dunford and Sharp point out, "evacuation, staff shortages and suspension of building programmes all created their own problems. War also brought important changes in social attitudes, and [...] there was a determination for a better future" (Dunford and Sharp, 1990:17). Therefore there was a need to remodel the current education system "in order to ensure that every child would go to a secondary school" (Gosden, 1983:1). Planning for reconstruction of education culminated in the Education Act of 1944, which is also known as the Butler Act. The 1944 Act abolished the Board of Education replacing it with a central authority with its own Ministry of Education. The independence of Local Education Authorities (LEAs) was therefore under the control and direction of the Minister, as "the central government decided national policy while LEAs were to provide the schools" (Gosden, 1983:3). As a result of these changes, "there was more unity and standardisation in the national education service" (Dunford and Sharp, 1990:18). Changes in local administration were also made in the 1944 Act, and as a result, all secondary schools were required to have governing bodies a... ... middle of paper ... ...management of their educational establishments. Although there are many debates still taking place today on how the education system needs improving or re-addressing, the fact remains that the education acts focused on in this essay, greatly impacted and improved the British education system in terms of the quality of education and equality for pupils. Works Cited: 1. Bush, T. Management in Education: Theory and Practice. London, 1989 2. Dunford, J. and P. Sharp. The education system in England and Wales. Essex, 1990. 3. Evans, K. The development and structure of the English educational system. London, 1975. 4. McClure, S. Eduaction Reformed. London, 1988. 5. McKenzie, J. Changing Education. Essex, 2001. 6. Richmond, W. K. Education system in Britain since 1944. London, 1978. 7. Gosden, P. The education system since 1944.Oxford, 1983.

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