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Jean-Jacques Rousseau
"Let him know nothing because you have told him, but because he has learnt it for himself. Let him not be taught science, let him discover it. If ever you substitute authority for reason he will cease to reason; he will be a mere plaything of other people's thoughts." (Rousseau, 1762) -
Elemantary Education Act
Made provision for every child aged five to thirteen to be in elementary education of which will be supervised by school boards.
(Gillard, 2011a). -
A.S. Neill Summerhill School.
'The oldest children's democracy in the world'. (Vaughan, 2006, p. vii)
Summerhill School was founded, providing children with an alternative form of schooling. With the belief that children are innately good, pupils at Summerhill have complete freedom, with no compulsory lessons and a voice equal to their teachers.
A.S.Neill defines success as the "ability to work joyfully and live positively", by this criterion most pupils of Summerfill acquire a successful life. (Neill, 2006 p.24). -
Hadow Report - Differentiation of the Curriculum for Boy and Girls Respectively in Secondary Schools.
A noticeable neglect of music, drawing and painting within education. The report provides justification for the inclusion of the arts owing to developing concentration, imagination and critical and creative faculties (Board of Education, 1923) -
Hadow Report - The Primary School
Suggests that children should engage in learning by cooperative experiments. The curriculum should therefore be thought of as activity and experience rather than the acquisition of knowledge and the storage of facts. (Board of Education, 1931) -
Education Act
Introduced the tripartite system; three types of education for those ages eleven and over. Grammar schools for the most able (based eleven plus exam success), secondary modern schools for most pupils and technical schools for those perceived to have technical ability. -
Bloom's Taxonomy of Learning.
Discovered that the contributing factor between students who succeeded and those that did not was undeveloped and ineffective problem-solving skills.
Bloom's taxonomy is illustrated as a ladder of learning, with upward steps suggesting higher levels of abstraction.
(Booker, 2007). -
Experiment in Education
Sybil Marshall documented her increasing awareness of the importance of art and its medium in understanding other subjects.
In her small school of twenty six children activites included artistry, literary, dramatic and scientific. Through self-discovery a child's creative potential was released.
(Marshall, 1963) -
Plowden Report - Children and their Primary Schools.
'At the heart of the education process lies the child'.
Primary schools should discover and enhance a child's innate interest in learning. A child should be guided to learn independently rather than from fear of disapproval or for the desire for praise. A child's identity should be accommodated within the school with the opportunity to strengthen through discovery, first-hand experience and creative work.
(CACE, 1967) -
Black Paper One
The introduction of free play methods, comprehensive schemes and the expansion of universities have led anarchy. Such behaviour jeopardises the high standards of English education.
Cox and Dyson (1971) -
Black Paper Two
The discovery methods advocated by the Plowden report are being applied retrospectively resulting in a decline of standards.
Cox and Dyson (1971) -
Black Paper Three
Provides further criticisms of 'progressive' education, claiming that teachers who practice 'progressive' methods are guilty of serious neglect. Consequently this neglect is to blame for the growth of anarchy.
Cox and Dyson (1971) -
William Tyndale Affair
The school was run by a progressive, team-teaching approach, allowing the children choice and freedom, with a lack of rules. As a result, or that of poor leadership skills the school soon became a place of conflict.
(Haigh, 2008). -
Bullock Report - A Language for Life
Lack of evidence to support the generalisation that a proportionate number of schools are promoting creativity at the expense of basic skills.
(DES, 1975) -
James Callaghan, Ruskin College Speech
Prime Minister, James Callaghan delivered his Ruskin College speech, questioning the new informal method of teaching, of which excellent results are produced when in capable hands. He goes on further to question the substance of such teaching methods when not delivered sufficiently.
(Haigh, 2006). -
Back to Basics
The Education Reform Act 1988, became law in England and Wales, making a National Curriculum and SAT's compulsory for all state schools -
The Cambridge Primary Review. Children, their world, their education.
Idependent review calling on the curriculum to be reconcieved with 12 specific aims, arranaged into three groups; *Needs and capacities of individual. *Individual in relation to others and the wider world. *Learning, knowing and doing (Alexander, et al, 2009) -
A Coalition government come into power.
Michael Gove becomes the Secretary of State for Education. Since their induction into parliament the government have; *promoted an insurgence of academies and the introduction of 'free schools' *reduced prescription in the curriculum *introduce the English baccalaureate.
(Gillard, 2011b). -
Learning without Frontiers - The Future of Learning Conference and Free Learning.
A conference including talks "What if Steve Jobs designed schools?" and "Escaping the Education Matrix" in which progressive policy makers and those at the forefront of education share the stage with esteemed artists, inventors, designers and futurists. Their focus is to create an improved learning future that would disrupt the status quo of current outdated, redundant and exhausted ideologies and practice.
(Learning without Frontiers, 2012)
