Post War Britian and Its Influence on the 1988 Education Act

Education in the latter half of the 20^th century in Britain underwent a number of significant changes to evolve into the system we have in place today. While the current system is even now undergoing a constant scrutiny of its strengths and weaknesses, it is necessary to look back over the years to understand what defines our attitudes and policies to education, the curriculum and those who teach, and those who are taught within the framework. The social, economic and education attitudes of postwar Britain have had a phenomenal impact on the road that led to the educational system we are now encumbered with, and it is these attitudes that we must discuss to be able to form a concise picture of how and why we have arrived in the educational landscape of the 21^st century.

Educational, Social and Economic environment of postwar Britain

The country sustained great damage during the WWII. The loss to property was astronomical, but the loss of human life was far more damaging. Families were ripped apart, not just by the loss of men actually fighting the war, but the losses of people from the bombings of the Blitz and the aftermath of those bombings. But through all the sorrow and pain the war brought, the attitudes and moral center stayed with the British people. And it was this inner fortitude and resilience that enabled the population to begin the rebuilding of the country and of their lives.

An ideal of the time seem to postulate that education of any amount was of preferable to none at all, and this held fast until well into the 1970s (Maclure, 1988, 151). The social class structure at this time was seemingly still content to follow the idea that a person's position in society predisposed them to a predetermined educational set. In interviews conducted with members of the public, all of whom came into the education system in the postwar years, the general consensus appears to echo the aforementioned mindset. The interviewees all stated that they were expected to follow in their parent's footsteps for their choice of vocation. They also were highly critical of the 11+ tests that were brought into play in 1951. This was to have mixed results in the lives of the interviewees, and how it affected their choice of vocation, level of education attained and social standing can be traced back to the social, economic and moral fiber of the times.

The four people interviewed came all were born in South Wales, from working class and affluent backgrounds. Their parents came from Wales, Germany, England and India. The interviewees were born both during the war years (1939-44) and in the first few years after the end of the war, the first wave of 'Baby Boomers'. The families had been involved in the same type of employment for generations (coal mining, tinworks). One family was owners of several shops. Interviewees hailed from in and around the Swansea area, which was heavily bombed during the war, and where rebuilding was taking place. Schools were not plentiful in the early years after the war, and the interviewees were educated in chapel schools for the early years of their schooling. At the point where each child became eligible for the 11+ testing, their intertwined lives began to take on very distinct and different paths. All felt very bitter about the test and the educational paths they were forced to take because of it. Only one passed the test and went on to grammar school. The other three were sent to secondary modern schools. What is interesting is the child who went on to the grammar school was a child of a coal miner father and a mother who worked in a factory. She stated that even though she was given a grammar school education, she was only able to become a secretary. The other three children, educated in secondary modern schools, became a carpenter, a sales executive and a factory worker.

With the examples of the four interviewee's, a number of anomalies can be sighted. The idea of the class system or social structure was ingrained in the family from generations long past. Britain was 'handicapped by its pre-industrial social structure' (Lawton, 1989, 25-26). The children were meant to follow in their parent's footsteps, and no more than that. A coal miner's son should never aspire to be a doctor, no more than a doctor's son should want to become a coal miner. The interviewee's were well aware of their station in life, but the war had begun to change attitudes for the young people. But it would not be until the late 50s and early 60s that social attitudes would begin to shift and young people, no matter what their station in life, could have the opportunity to become more than what their parents had been.

The 1960s -1988 - the era of social change

This twenty-year period brought upheaval to the educational arena, as well as virtually all aspects of the social landscape of Britain. The concept of education for everyone, even if only the basics, was still the most widely held and steadfast belief of society at large. This idea remained in place at least until the early 1970s, when |Margaret Thatcher's White Paper entitled A Framework for Expansion was published, perhaps as the last bastion of postwar idealism and guardian of societal class structure within the educational system (McClure, 1988, 151).

However, change was sweeping the nation even as the politicians tried to dictate the ideals, and spoon-feed them to the public at large. The notion that the government knew what was best for the average members of the public was fast being upended by the turbulent mood of social change and the shift to more liberal values. Student unrest through Europe and the United States was shifting the public's perception and causing the questioning of individuals ideals. The people were no longer satisfied with staying within their set social and educational structure. The time to break free and truly make educational available to all to whatever level they choose had begun.

The 1970s saw economic downturns, which job loss and unemployment staggering issues. Political Britain was at odds were her people and the world at large. Vast changes were taking place, both in the political and economic landscape, and this is turn had a knock on effect in the educational climate of the land. With Margaret Thatcher' election at the end of the decade, the country was poised to set forth on a new era of change. With the introduction of Secretary of State Sir Keith Joseph into the mix, the redesign of the educational system seemed imminent. He pushed the ideas of parental choice and to 'make the education system respond to the healthy discipline of competition and market forces' (Maclure, 1988, 161). He was also a staunch advocate of an educational voucher system, but this aspect of educational reform never came to pass.

In the early 1980s new reforms were put in place by the government were in the works. New testing concepts, an overhaul for teacher training, new contracts and appraisals schemes were introduced. While some gains were made in the early 1980s, there was a lack of movement in most areas. Pressure was placed on the government to bring the system into line, to control and fund education properly and to spend the resources wisely. This became of pledge of the controlling conservative government in was woven into the manifesto for the 1987 general election, and this gave birth to the 1988 Education Act.

Conclusion

Prior to the 1988 Education Act, the educational system was in disarray. The curriculum was more akin to a luncheon buffet than a structure of learning. Teachers prior to 1998 had only to teach what was palatable to them, although religious education was a mandatory subject, perhaps force-taught to maintain an air of morality and piety. The William Tynsdale School debacle in the mid 1970s brought to the forefront the myriad of troubles facing the current structure of the system and the fragility of its content. Industry and commerce complained that young workers were undereducated.

The creation of the 1988 Education Act took these points on board to create continuity in education. Among the items addressed in the Act was the creation of the National curriculum and assessment, which gave teachers a guideline of what to teach, thereby ending the hit and miss approach of the decades past. Open enrollment was started, and financial and staffing concerns were addressed. Higher and further educations needs were also taken on board, to prepare the country for a growing and fast changing global marketplace. The issue of equality in education was given a major boost by the act, allowing the chance for all children to benefit from a revived and renewed educational system.

The induction of the Act gave a needed overhaul to being education into line with the changing attitudes and values of Britain. While the education system in place in 1944 served the country well for its time, over the ensuing years it became a dinosaur well on its way to extinction. The 1988 Act breathed new life into a system that, for most, had been given up for dead.

Bibliography

DENT, H.C., 1977, Education in England and Wales, Sevenoaks, Kent, Hodder and Stroughton, Ltd.

LAWTON, Denis, 1989, Education, Culture and the National Curriculum, Sevenoaks, Kent , Hodder and Stroughton, Ltd.

MACLURE, Stuart, 1988, Education Reformed, Sevenoaks, Kent, Hodder and Stroughton, Ltd.