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This article examines John Newsom’s contributions to non-fiction BBC radio and television coverage of education, poverty, and social disadvantage from 1934 to 1971. The correspondence and scripts concerning his BBC broadcasts for a domestic UK-based audience and an overseas audience are used as source material. Newsom is well known among educational historians as Chief Education Officer for Hertfordshire (1940−1957) and the chair of the Central Advisory Council for Education, which compiled the Newsom Report in 1963. He is associated with the aesthetic and cultural experience of pupils in the physical environment of their schools, rather than with the use of words and sound broadcast to encourage reflection amongst adult listeners on the experience of an educated nation. Newsom’s role in shaping the discussion of education on the airwaves and on screen has been excluded as a significant sphere for researchers. Broadcasting was the space in which Newsom and many other education officers and head teachers spoke most directly to the public and beyond their local realms of responsibility. This article argues that in some of his forays into broadcasting, Newsom was introduced as a stabilising influence on programmes with a subject matter, which it was feared, may have the potential to become too radical. From World War II onwards he acted as an advisor, an editor, and author of scripts and sometimes a chair or a participant in broadcast discussion on the subjects of education, democracy, and the unfolding of the 1944 Education Act. The article explores how despite many colleagues at the BBC being unimpressed with Newsom as a broadcaster, he maintained a sustained involvement in programmes for more than 30 years. The article identifies sensitive issues where Newsom’s choices were occasionally curtailed. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This article approaches debates about how the history of the post-1945 English welfare state might be written. It argues that professionals' interventions on immigrant children can serve as a prism for understanding the crafting of the modern English welfare state. In this sense the article engages with the narrative concerning the resilience of a post-war British history that sees 1945 as a moment of profound rupture symbolised by the demise of Empire, the development of a universal welfare state, and the coming of mass immigration that brought with it social problems whose management presaged a distinctive British multiculturalism. Due to its influential impact on the development of immigrant education policies in England and because of its extensive education archive the article uses the Birmingham Local Education Authority (LEA) as an empirical and historical case. The significant British Nationality Act of 1948 and the Immigration Act of 1971 serve as demarcations of the period treated. The article concludes that the immigrant child and the child's background were consistently presented as educational problems and as the cause of both poor academic attainment and a more intangible unwillingness to assimilate. In this lens the crafting of the post-war English welfare state was a continuation of an imperial project shoring up imperial boundaries within as the former colonised appeared on English soil. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article reflects on methodological and ethical issues that have shaped a collaborative project which aims to chart social, legal and political responses to child sexual abuse in England and Wales across the twentieth century. The etymological problem of searching for child sexual abuse in the historical archive is discussed, given that the term itself is a relatively recent one. Acknowledging that research tools will always be partial, it then focuses on the gaps and silences in the archive, most problematically in relation to the voices and experiences of victims and survivors themselves. Finally it discusses ethical issues relating to the naming or anonymising of those accused and convicted (as well as victims and survivors) in the writing up of research findings. The discussion focuses on two key periods – the 1920s and 1950s – and on education policy, including regulatory procedures for teachers in state and fee-paying schools. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

R.H. Tawney (1880–1962), a leading English economic historian and prominent socialist, was vigorously involved in educational reconstruction during the Second World War. For Tawney, the war was a war for social democracy. His ideals of social democracy formed a basis for his case for Public (independent) School reform and free secondary education for all. Despite this, the connection between Tawney’s ideals and his perspectives on educational issues has not been addressed fully by historians and thus there has been a lack of a proper explanation for his often criticised sympathy for the public schools and his indifference towards the multilateral school. Hence, this paper aims to re-examine the link between them in greater depth. It concludes that, according to Tawney’s ideals of social democracy, the abolition of the public schools was not necessary for the establishment of a democratic educational system. Moreover, Tawney did not launch an attack on the tripartite system proposed by the Norwood Report of 1943 since it was not against his ideal of equality as long as different secondary schools were equal in quality and status. Equality, he believed, must be advanced through the raising of the school leaving age to 16 and the abolition of fees in all secondary schools. Thus, he laid more emphasis on the school leaving age and tuition fees than on the multilateral school. In brief, on various issues pertaining to secondary education, Tawney’s opinions and actions were deeply grounded in his distinctive ideals of social democracy. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The articles in this special issue present research carried out in diverse linguistic contexts in the United Kingdom. The focus is primarily on Scotland and England, two educational jurisdictions where there is increasing divergence in language-in-education policy and practice. The articles discuss research into different forms of language-in-education provision, so our introduction traces the historical context for the emergence of these forms of provision. We then turn to the authors' reflections on the role of research in garnering knowledge about teaching/learning practices in specific settings, identifying the strengths and/or limits of particular practices and contributing to educational debates. We also compare the research lenses adopted in each study, showing that most studies focus in on the detail of classroom practices and learning processes, while one article takes a wide angle, historical approach and builds an account of shifts in policy discourses. In our concluding section, we argue that, if we are to build a fuller understanding of language-in-education policy and practice in contemporary contexts of diversity, we need research of both types. Language policies need to be seen – not as prescriptions that are ‘fixed’ in texts – but as fluid discursive processes that unfold in different ways, on different scales. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This article analyses early years education policy in England from 1918 to 1972, applying the theoretical ideas of John Kingdon. Throughout this period, the educational needs of young children were a low political priority, but they did occasionally rise on the agenda. When the issue gained prominence, politicians considered two key policy alternatives for potential investment: the expensive, self-governing nursery school, orientated towards promoting children’s physical health, and the cheaper nursery class, attached to an infant school, perhaps better at easing transition to formal education. After an initial period of damaging indecisiveness, the choice fell first on nursery schools and then on nursery classes. The reason that such fundamental changes in approach were possible was that an underlying lack of political commitment meant policies were only ever partially implemented. This chaotic pattern of development has had a damaging effect on the coherence of early years services offered today. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

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This article revisits the three decades following the end of World War Two – a time when, following the 1944 Education Act, local education authorities (LEAs) were the key agencies responsible for running the education system across England. For the first time, there was a statutory requirement for LEAs to secure adequate facilities for further education (FE), and the post-war era is generally remembered as a period when they dominated FE. Yet this is not the full story of FE in post-war England: it is often forgotten that a significant amount of FE existed outside the municipal framework. This article returns to the post-war decades and begins to uncover the largely forgotten history of FE outside local authority control at that time. It highlights how voluntary and private organisations offered various forms of post-compulsory education outside the municipal framework, and how they contributed to the eclectic and diverse nature of FE across England. This, I argue, not only reflected the expedience, compromise and inertia that characterised FE in post-war England but was rooted in a capture of educational policy more generally by a privileged elite intent on maintaining a social order characterised by social, economic and cultural divisions. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper examines the continuity and changes in Clarke’s ideas about the State and community in education, especially in relation to a rapidly changing political situation in England in the 1930s and 1940s. His ideas evolved in the intellectual context of British idealism. Moreover, in response to the threat to democracy arising from Fascism or Totalitarianism, the distinction between the State and community was a key theme in Clarke’s ideals of liberal democracy. Additionally, this paper also proposes the implications of Clarke’s ideas for future educational development. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The article discusses the promotion of physical activity among British youth following the First World War. Particular focus is given to developments in school sports, physical education, and school medical services. It is suggested that while not overtly coercive in its promotion of physical activity, the British state was extensively involved in changing attitudes and behaviors among youth. Topics include peer pressure, state propaganda, and medical beliefs about the benefits of sunlight.

This paper examines the emergence of schools ‘micro-computing’ in the UK between 1977 and 1984 – a period of significant educational, technological and political change. During this time, computing developed rapidly from a niche activity in a few select schools to the state subsidized purchasing of a ‘computer in every school’ and the nationwide promotion of computers as a feature of curriculum and pedagogy. Through a series of in-depth retrospective interviews with key policy actors (n=20) this paper develops a detailed ‘policy historiography’ of this period - shedding light on the complex power relations and interests that underpinned these developments. In particular, the paper highlights the origins of these policy interventions in earlier activities, and examines the negotiations and conflicts between and within the two government departments involved in the mass introduction of computing into the UK school system. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Fred Clarke (1880–1952), an English educationist, emerged as a leading figure with his liberal approach alongside such key figures as R. H. Tawney and Cyril Norwood in the reform leading to the 1944 Education Act. Many of his reform proposals, which were provided by the new Act, reflected his ideals of liberal democracy. Nevertheless, his contribution to the process of the legislation has not been examined thoroughly. Therefore, this paper explores his positions on educational issues in various debates and his approaches towards the reform. It also evaluates the extent to which the 1944 Education Act was in line with Clarke’s ideals and proposals so that a comprehensive assessment of Clarke’s contribution to the legislation can be made. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The essay presents a speculative history, re-imagining Great Britain's social and educational differences if Jim Callahan had been elected as Prime Minister of Great Britain instead of Margaret Thatcher in the 1979 General Election. It addresses the state of England's race relations in the 21st century, the extent of racism in contemporary British society, and the potential for universal education in England.

Very few English secondary schools now include ‘Comprehensive’ in their titles, and political enthusiasm for comprehensive schools is hard to detect. According to David Skelton of Policy Exchange, politicians, like anthropologists, have often ‘investigated them, read thoroughly about them and even visited them, but they don’t really understand them’. Drawing on a variety of source materials, this article discusses the early comprehensive schools movement, the period of intensive circulars and legislation in the 1960s and 1970s and the subsequent waning of interest in comprehensive schools as a policy topic. At the heart of the discussion is a focus on politics and politicians at both the national and local levels, with close reference to some key personalities of the post-war period. It is argued that the story of comprehensive schooling in England needs more balance and that we should look to the present generation of politicians and historians to provide this. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

An introduction is presented in which the editor discusses various reports within the issue on topics including active citizenship, citizenship education, and educational policy in Great Britain.

This paper assesses the origins, conclusions and consequences of the Fleming Committee, which considered the relationship between Britain’s leading independent boarding schools and the state. In 1944, the committee recommended one-quarter of the places at these schools should be assigned to a national bursary scheme for children who might benefit from boarding. The author emphasises the role that Ellen Wilkinson played in implementing a Fleming-style scheme in the early years of the Attlee Government. Despite promises to the contrary, the Conservative Government that was elected in 1951 did not expand the scheme, which lingered on in a desultory form. Failure stemmed from a lack of political will, which was reinforced by a shortage of public finance, inconsistent support from independent boarding schools and local education authorities and problems over the selection of pupils. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The article discusses the evolution of British education policy in the latter half of the 20th century. The author begins by examining the British Schools Council, which represented a relatively small role for the government and a somewhat strong role for teachers in the country's educational matters. He goes on to explain the debates over the aims of education in the 1970s and a power shift in the relationship between teachers and central and local governments. Finally, the imposition of alleged undemocratic central government control of Great Britain's public schools to the detriment of local education authorities (LEAs) is detailed.

In the mid-1960s, the Labour government established a Commission to devise the best way of integrating Britain's elite independent schools with the state-financed school system. Despite-and because of-the left's scepticism of private education, the Commission faced enormous obstacles and their solution of state-subsidised boarding places was seen as unworkable, unaffordable and unpopular. Government papers help to explain the various reasons why the Commission's proposals were not implemented: in particular, the public schools were regarded as a low spending priority. The lack of reform is key to understanding the continuing importance of independent schools in the UK. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the final decades of the twentieth century, history in British higher education experienced major challenges that highlighted fundamental issues of educational purpose and value. As the hitherto private world of university history teaching and learning began to open up to public scrutiny, what emerged was a statement of what one subject representative body called 'the traditional standpoint of historians' on undergraduate history education. Drawing particularly upon evidence from national discipline consultations and recent rethinking of the representation and uses of tradition, this article argues that the appeal to the educational past was more complex than public statements suggested and that more critical scrutiny of history's educational traditions might play an important role in imagining pedagogic and professional futures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the hit BBC TV drama Life on Mars Sam Tyler had an accident and woke up in 1973. Is he mad, in a coma or actually back in time? As the drama unfolds he experiences a world without performance audits but also one without the safeguards for arrest, detention and the interviewing of suspects mandated by the Police and Criminal Evidence Act (1984). The acclaimed series has led to flights of nostalgia, not least for a world in which police could get on with 'real policing' without 'unnecessary' paperwork. In this article, we will metaphorically go back in time to contemporary and historical practices of headship in English schools. If a headteacher from 2009 were to wake up in 1973 what would they understand about their work, what would be the same, what would be different? What taken-for-granted current practices might get them into trouble, what might frustrate them - and what might delight them that they would bring back to the current job if they could? Mobilising Bourdieu's thinking tools, we will examine these questions through an analysis of published and unpublished texts produced by heads about their work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The influential policy work in education of the intellectual grouping formed by J.H. Oldham during the Second World War known as 'Oldham's Moot' (1938-1947) has been discussed in recent publications. These have noted its general educational and university policy, its intellectual strengths, and the role of Sir Walter Moberly in relation to his chairmanship of the UGC and his The Crisis in the University (1949). Others have placed its thinking in a tradition of Christian medievalism and British intellectual movements. This article focuses on the social theories debated in the group, especially their European roots, their contribution to their discussions on the university and especially the role of adult citizenship in the era of 'Planning of Freedom'. In particular the authors follow the arguments concerning the integration of adult education in the university reform they envisage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article analyzes the Plowden report, a report on primary education in Great Britain, officially titled "Children and Their Primary Schools, a Report of the Central Advisory Council for Education (England)" and published in London by Her Majesty's Stationery Office. The author situates the report in historical context in 1967, and explains its themes, which include curriculum reform and greater parental involvement in learning and school governance. The report also emphasized active learning and the abolition of corporal punishment in classrooms. According to the author, the report met with mixed success due to the 1970s oil crisis, the rising birth rate, and other events which put pressure on schools, resulting in mixed and conflicting ideologies of education.

The article focuses on responses of the citizens of Great Britain to the Cox Report, released in 1990, regarding the educational curriculum and national identity of English literature. Topics addressed include analysis of the report itself, explanation of two different debates on the report, and the Importance of the report for solving questions of linguistic dominance.

The article presents information about socialist Ellen Wilkinson, Great Britain's Minister of Education between 1945 and 1947, and states that her work in this role was somewhat ineffective, including her push for equal opportunity for all children. Reasons for this include her own successful background affecting her views, the Ministry retaining control over Wilkinson's actions, and that the Labour party was not clear about its own position on educational issues.

The article examines education and broadcasting as apparatus of democracy in Great Britain during the inter-war period of the early 20th century. Topics addressed include the overlapping functions of education and broadcasting, the employment of education and mass media as part of a central cultural strategy in England, and the boundaries between education and broadcasting.

The article focuses on the political elections in Great Britain during the 1970s. Topics mentioned include the lack of quality of the political debate, the public opinion regarding this issue, and the government policy regarding education. The author also discusses the importance of the role played by the media.