Poverty and Inequality
1944-10 1944 1940s 29 pages 6 The quality of the teachers shows the same trend. No "public school" would take on a master who had not a good degree. In public secondary schools in 1938, 78 per cent. of the teachers were graduates. In elementary schools the percentage was only 7,...
| Institution: | MCR - The Modern Records Centre, University of Warwick |
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| Language: | English English |
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London : C. W. Publishing Ltd.
October 1944
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| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/10796/B0C1676D-5427-4317-BE0A-B293AA37CF26 http://hdl.handle.net/10796/743EACFC-BF65-468E-8AAA-50BCAD3889F7 |
| Summary: | 1944-10
1944
1940s
29 pages
6 The quality of the teachers shows the same trend. No "public school" would take on a master who had not a good degree. In public secondary schools in 1938, 78 per cent. of the teachers were graduates. In elementary schools the percentage was only 7, and 21 per cent. did not even hold a teachers' certificate. Classes are larger, the lower in the social status of the school. 20 is a large class in a "public school." In public secondary schools 27 per cent. of the classes were over 30 in 1938 and only 26 per cent. were less than 20. In elementary schools 70 per cent. were over 30, and nearly 30 per cent., nearly all the remainder, were over 40. The larger the class, the less is learned. (2) How far do Scholarships break down these divisions? (a) From Elementary to Secondary School. I. At the age of 11, all elementary school children take the "special place" examination, and those who pass may go on to a secondary school either free or at reduced fees. The number who do so is only about 11 or 12 per cent. of the total elementary school population. The public schools sprang up during the nineteenth century to cater for the new industrial and commercial rich, who wanted for their sons an education on the same pattern as that traditionally received by the aristocracy. To-day the public schools are faced with a shrinkage of their school population, partly through the reduced size of families, and partly through parents' inability to pay the high fees. They are hoping to preserve their independence by offering an increased number of scholarships in return for State aid. Such a measure does nothing to break down social barriers. What it does is to skim the cream off the working class population, and by years of careful training, educate them to loyalty to, and identity of interest with, the ruling class. They pass through the gate and it shuts as tightly as ever behind them. (b) From Secondary School to University or Training School Only 3 per cent. of all those leaving state secondary schools in 1938 went on to a University ; and only 4½ per cent. to training schools and colleges. The proportion which had begun life at an elementary school was much smaller and in 1932 only 0.4 per cent. of all the ex-elementary school boys of 18 years of age arrived at a University. To get to a University, a poor student must win a State scholarship. This is awarded by the Exchequer on the recommendation of the local authority, and usually amounts to about £230 a year. These scholarships have not, in the whole, benefited the really poor. In 1936 56 per cent. of the State scholarships went to families where income exceeded £250, and in 30 per cent. of the cases, the income exceeded £400.* *Facts for Socialists (Fabian Society), p.33.
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| Physical Description: | TEXT |