REPORT ON OVERSEAS VISIT, 1935. (BY THE DIRECTOR OF EDUCATION, MR. N. T. LAMBOURNE.)

Appendix to the Journals of the House of Representatives, 1936 Session I, E-05

E.—s.

1936. NEW ZEALAND.

REPORT ON OVERSEAS VISIT, 1935. (BY THE DIRECTOR OF EDUCATION, MR. N. T. LAMBOURNE.)

Presented to both Houses of the General Assembly by Leave.

INDEX.

PAGE PAGE Introduction .. .. .. .. 1 Staffing of Schools and Size of Classes .. .. 16 Reorganization of the School System .. .. 2 Teachers' Salaries .. . . . . 17 Central Schools .. .. .. 5 Women Teachers and Marriage .. .. 17 Senior Schools .. .. .. .. 6 Organizing Inspectors or Teachers in Special Subjects 18 Junior High Schools .. .. .. 6 School Libraries .. .. .. 18 Secondary and Technical Schools .. .. 8 The Film in School .. .. . . 19 Junior Divisions .. .. .. 9 Broadcasting to Schools .. . . .. 20 Nursery Schools, Kindergarten and Infant Schools 10 School Books, Stationery, and Material . . 21 Medical Inspection, Dental Care, Clinics, Meals, and Vocational Guidance .. .. .. .. 22 Milk .. .. .. . . 11 School Buildings .. .. .. 23 Education of Crippled Children and Physically Classes for Super-normal Children . . .. 24 Defective Children .. . . .. 11 Specialization .. .. .. .. 24 Education of Deaf Children .. .. 12 School Leaving Age .. .. .. 24 Education of Mentally Defective Children .. 12 Denmark .. .. . . .. . . 25 The Training of Teachers .. . . 13 Agricultural High Schools .. .. 26 Appointment of Teachers .. . . 15

REPORT.

Education Department, Sir, — Wellington, C. 1, 6th March, 1936. I have the honour to report that, in accordance with the decision of Cabinet and of the Hon. the Minister of Education, I left the Dominion towards the end of June last to study education and educational administration overseas. I have visited England, Scotland, Australia, Denmark, Canada, and California, and have had the privilege of meeting well-known administrators and teachers, and the opportunity of visiting schools and other educational institutions in all of these countries. I cannot speak too highly of the cordial welcome that was extended to me everywhere. lam indebted to the New Zealand High Commissioner in London for putting me in touch with the English Board of Education, and, through their officials, with the people I wished to meet in England, Scotland, and Denmark, and to the New Zealand Trade Commissioner in Canada for similar assistance there. During my interviews with officials and my visits to schools I endeavoured to gather all the information I could that would be helpful to New Zealand, especially in the matter of the reorganization of the school system, the training of teachers, the education of afflicted children, methods of teaching, school buildings, and administration. After careful consideration of the notes I made at the time and of the impressions left on my mind by what I saw or was told, I am of the opinion that our system of education, primary and post-primary, is fundamentally sound, modern, and well suited to our requirements. This is not intended to imply that it is a perfect one. No system of education can be perfect and, at the same time, alive. It must change and progress to meet the needs and ideals of each succeeding generation.

X—E. 5.

E.—s.

In our system we have practically all the modern educational developments that are in operation elsewhere, but in some cases we have not advanced as far as other countries have done or as far as we should do. In the course of this report I shall make recommendations for the extension and development of certain parts of our system. I would summarize my opinions by saying that — The New Zealand system of education, primary and post-primary, is fundamentally sound, modern, and well suited to our requirements ; it does not need any drastic amendment, but requires development in certain directions when and as far as finance will permit: The free-place system in post-primary schools which enables a pupil to receive free tuition, if he is able to avail himself of it, is a good one : The intermediate school or department, which has for its aim the discovery of the postprimary course a pupil should undertake before he enters upon that course, is educationally sound and is in advance of the practice in some other countries : The school certificate, which affords a suitable choice of subjects for pupils in every course taken in the post-primary schools, removes to some extent the dominance of the University Entrance Examination —a dominance not sought by the University : The grading of primary-school teachers, notwithstanding criticism to which it is in theory susceptible, rarely fails in practice to secure that the most efficient applicant for any position shall be selected for appointment, and prevents patronage and localism : The training of teachers is on right lines, but the system might be altered in directions that will be indicated later on in this report: and that the following matters are worthy of consideration : — Provision of free school books, stationery, and material in primary and intermediate schools : Fixing the age of admission to Sumner School for the Deaf at 3 years : Restoration and increases of grants for school libraries, and further co-operation with public libraries : Restoration of subsidies on money raised for school purposes : Provision of scholarships, plus allowances for town and country children who are unable to hold a scholarship without additional financial assistance : Restoration of University bursaries to all Higher Leaving Certificate holders; further provision for grants or loans to needy University students : Restoration of grants to the Workers' Educational Association : Restoration of grants to approved kindergarten schools : Simpler salary scales for primary teachers ; the abolition of the division between D and C grade secondary assistant teachers' salaries, the C to include the present C and D grade salaries : Provision for larger supplies of handwork material, and for more instruction in handicrafts and manual training in all types of schools : Biennial grading of teachers ; group total instead of separate marks for T.P.O. (teaching, personality, and organization) : Larger staffs in training colleges : Appointment of an Inspectress of domestic subjects : Appointment of organizers in physical education, music, art, infant-class work, handicrafts : Buildings ; provision of more subsidiary accommodation —handicraft and manual-training rooms ; science-rooms ; teachers' rooms ; storerooms ; assembly-halls ; hot and cold water over basins and hot pipes through cloak-rooms where a heating-stysem has been installed ; rooms for medical and dental officers ; library in intermediate and postprimary schools : Stabilization of University finance over a period of, say, three years ; the setting-up of a committee representing the New Zealand University, the University Colleges, the Treasury, and the Education Department to prepare a scheme : Provision for more Teachers' Refresher Courses in special subjects ; University and training colleges to be asked to co-operate with the Inspectors. REORGANIZATION OP THE SCHOOL SYSTEM. Although some education authorities in England had already made a start in the reorganization of their elementary school system prior to 1926 (London began in 1911), it may be said that the publication at the end of that year of the Hadow Report on the Education of the Adolescent marks the beginning of the widespread reorganization that has taken place in the intervening years, particularly in England. Attendance at school is compulsory in England from the end of the school term in which the child reaches the age of 5 to the end of the school term in which he reaches the age of 14. Children under 5 and over 3 may be admitted, but their attendance is not obligatory. Children are allowed to remain in attendance until the close of the school term in which they reach the age of 16 and in special cases a little longer. Except at central schools, the number of children attending after the end of the term in which they reach 14 is very limited. Elementary-school children between the ages of 5 and 7+ are called " infants " and those between 7+ and 11 are called " juniors." Reorganization has, in the main, consisted in terminating elementary education at about the age of 11 and providing for further education in secondary, central, or senior schools. The Hadow Report recommended, on psychological and educational grounds, this " break " at 11+. To determine the award of the restricted number of special places (scholarships) available, each education authority holds an annual examination in English and arithmetic for pupils who are about

2

E. —5.

11 years of age, and it is said that between 400,000 and 500,000 sit for it. The winners of the special places enrol in the secondary schools, where it is usual for them to remain, in accordance with an undertaking entered into by their parents, until they are about 16 years of age. As only a small number of children can win special places (probably less than 10 per cent, of the age group), provision has to be made for the remainder of the eleven-year-olds, and it is in this direction that a new system has been evolved by the establishment of central and/or senior schools. Central schools are usually selective, senior schools are non-selective. A selective central school is open not to all children of 11 years of age, but only to those who have been specially chosen for admission because of their superior academic attainments. London and Manchester have selective central schools : the pupils in them have 'been chosen from those candidates who sat for the Special Place Examination but failed to gain a special place. All other pupils must enrol in the senior school and attend till they are at least 14 years of age. London and Manchester are the principal authorities that have reorganized by establishing central and senior schools ; most education authorities in England have established non-selective senior schools only. The Nottingham Education Committee in its pamphlet " Education in Nottingham, 1924-33," says •• " Experience during the previous eighteen years had shown that selective central or senior schools with their pupils, admitted through a qualifying examination similar to that used by secondary schools, tended to copy too closely the curriculum of secondary schools and to make too little use of their freedom from examination requirements. It was considered that it would be unfair to provide special staffing and equipment and small classes I'or the select few and to let the great majority of less well-endowed by nature be taught in worse buildings with inappropriate curricula and means of instruction. " Each of the central or senior schools was therefore to be equipped as far as possible to give on its own premises and with its dwn staff of specialist teachers a good general education, with due provision for instruction in science, art, arts and crafts, handicraft, physical culture, gardening, and domestic subjects. Consequently no change would be required in the organization or the equipment of the schools in the event of the raising of the age of compulsory attendance at school to fifteen years." The two methods of reorganization in England are, therefore, by means of — (a) Central and senior schools \,, , , (b) Senior schools only .. Jai Of these (b) is the more general. Central schools have a bias in their third and fourth years towards technical and/or commercial subjects. In some places pupils pass into the senior schools without having to sit for any external examination, age alone determining the transfer. The English central and senior schools I have seen are splendid institutions, generously supplied with rooms and equipment for teaching art, handicrafts, woodwork, metalwork, domestic subjects, and science, the subjects particularly suitable for the non-academic or practically-minded child. Yet the children in these schools have not been placed there because of aptitudes, inclinations, and capacities they have displayed for instruction along these lines, but partly as a result of an academic examination. The present Government proposes to remove altogether the existing restrictions on the discretion of authorities in regard to the proportion of children who may be admitted to secondary schools either free or at reduced fees. This will reduce the number of pupils in the central schools, and correspondingly in the senior schools. Scotland has not reorganized on the lines of the Hadow Report. There the " break "is made at 12 years of age. The statutory rules and orders of the Scottish Education Department contemplate the following as the normal organization of a school : — (a) Infant Division, providing instruction for children under 7 years of age : (b) Junior Division, providing instruction suitable for children between the ages of 7 and 9 : (c) Senior Division, providing instruction suitable for children between the ages of 9 and 12 : (d) Advanced Division, providing instruction suitable for scholars over 12 years of age. Edinburgh and Glasgow have adopted the following scheme in carrying out the above - mentioned organization, namely : — (1) Primary and elementary instruction in schools for the various districts for children from 5 to about 12 years of age. (2) Advanced or post-qualifying instruction for children above 12 years of age in— (a) A central or advanced-division school which is for scholars up to 14 years of age who desire to take a two-years course in advanced instruction and to qualify for the day-school certificate (lower) ; (b) An intermediate school or department which is for scholars up to 15 years of age who intend to take the full three-years course necessary to obtain the day-school certificate (higher) ; or (c) A secondary school which is for scholars up to 18 years of age who intend to take the full leaving-certificate course of at least five years' duration. The courses provided in the central or advanced-division schools are suitable mainly for pupils who enter on industrial vocations. The technical and commercial courses of the intermediate schools meet the needs of pupils who intend to engage in business, in industry, or in commerce. The instruction in the secondary schools, while in the main intended for those who propose to enter a profession, is also suitable for pupils who are preparing for the higher branches of industry and commerce. Promotion to courses of advanced instruction is regulated by a qualifying examination. *

3

E. —5.

In Denmark education is compulsory from the beginning of the term following the child's seventh birthday to his fourteenth birthday, but children may attend at 6 years. At 11 years the brighter children, if successful in a qualifying examination, enter the middle school (mellemskole) where they remain till they are 15 or 16 years of age. Those who do not qualify receive suitable instruction in the elementary school till they are 14, or, in some cases, 15. At about 15 those pupils in the mellemskole who intend to enter the professions or the University sit for an examination, and, if successful, enrol in the gymnasium, where they remain till they are about 18. The gymnasium provides three courses of study —namely : — (a) Classical languages ; (b) Modern languages ; (c) Mathematics and natural science. Success in the Studenter Examen at 18—)— gives admission to the University and enables students to prepare for the professions and the higher branches of the Public Service. Those pupils who do not enter the gymnasium sit for the Real Examen at 15+. This examination is controlled by the Government. Success in it qualifies for admission to positions in the Railways, Post Office, Telegraphs, Customs, &c., and to the Royal Veterinary College, the Agricultural College, and the College of Dentistry. Examinations, therefore, play a considerable jiart in the Danish system of elementary and postprimary education. In New South Wales the primary course ends at about 11 years, and on the results of the Primary Binal Examination pupils qualify for admission to one or other of the following types of schools, if it is available : — (a) High schools : (b) Intermediate schools : (c) Junior technical schools. An Intermediate Examination is held at 14-15 and a School Certificate Examination at 16-17, the latter being accepted by the University for Matriculation. There are also agricultural high schools for boys from 11 or 12 to 16 or 17 years, and domestic science schools for girls from 12-f- to 15+. In Victoria the primary course ends at about 11 years of age and pupils enterfa) High schools : (b) Higher elementary schools : (c) Central schools : (d) Junior technical schools : (e) Domestic arts schools. In Australia, high schools, technical high schools, and agricultural high schools provide five-year courses ; higher elementary schools provide two-year courses, with a commercial or technical bias ; central schools are for post-primary pupils who are gathered into centres for further education for an indefinite period while they are waiting for employment; intermediate high schools give the first three years' course of the high school to pupils who stay at school only till they are about 15 years of age. East Suffolk is regarded as having solved in a large measure the difficulty of reorganizing schools in rural areas. Where this education authority has established in the country a senior school, or aiea school as it is called, it has provided the pupils with bicycles, capes, and leggings, or a bicycle allowance of 255. per annum for travel up to a distance of about 4J miles. This means of transit is suitable in East Suffolk because the rainfall is not heavy, the country is level, and the distances between the schools is not great. Some of the area " schools have an infant and a junior division for the village children up to 11 years of age. Essex also provides bicycles for conveying children to senior schools. Conditions in rural areas in New Zealand are generally so different from those in most English counties that I doubt whether the provision of bicycles or bicycle allowances would prove satisfactory. Manitoba and British Columbia have established junior high schools, which the pupils enter at about 12 years of age and where they remain for three years, making the school system a 6—3—3 one. In British Columbia attendance is compulsory from 7 to 15 years. In Manitoba children of ages 7to 14 must attend full-time. Any pupil over 14, if enrolled, must attend regularly. A child over 12 may be exempted for employment, but only for six weeks in the term. Employment under 14, except as mentioned, is forbidden. Children of ages 14 to 16 must attend school regularly if not engaged in some regular occupation. San Francisco also has three-year junior high schools, which will be described more fully later on in this report. To the best of my knowledge the English system does not provide for an exploratory period during which the aptitudes and inclinations of a pupil are kept under observation with the object of discovering whether he should enter upon an academic course or upon one giving greater opportunities for practical work. It is interesting here to point out that in England and Scotland a smaller percentage of pupils leave the secondary schools after one or two years than is the case in New Zealand, because the Special Place Examination selects the academically-minded children, and these are, as a rule, prepared to remain at school for at least three or four years. The selective central school is really another kind of secondary school for those pupils who just fail to reach the special-place standard. There is this material difference, however, that, except for the few children who compete again at 13+ for admission to secondary schools, the pupils do not prepare for any external academic examination. The head teachers of these schools say, " Preparation for external examinations has played a comparatively small part in the work of central schools." The principal examinations taken are those of a vocational character.

4

E.—s.

The central and the senior schools would be unsuitable in New Zealand unless our free-place system were abolished and admission to secondary schools confined to the winners of scholarships or special places —a change which I think few would advocate. After careful consideration of all the reorganizations I have seen abroad, I am of the opinion that our New Zealand intermediate-school system is sound educationally and well suited to our conditions. Unlike -other systems, it aims at discovering at a reasonably early age (13 to 14), and before a pupil enters upon his course, the kind of post-primary education, secondary or technical, for which he shows natural aptitude. It is what its name implies, " intermediate " between the primary and the postprimary school. It should not be permitted to become an end in itself. For this reason the course should not extend beyond two years, except for those children who do not intend to enter a secondary or a day technical school. The period of observation might possibly be shortened to one year in the case of those pupils whose aptitudes and inclinations are clearly displayed within that time. The advantages of the new school system are so great that reorganization should be carried out wherever possible in New Zealand in accordance with the intermediate-school regulations. When an intermediate school or department is established ample provision should be made in the matter of rooms for art and handicrafts, science, woodwork, and domestic subjects. A hall should be provided for assembly purposes and for physical exercises, especially for girls. Wherever possible each school should have the Woodwork Instructors and the Domestic Science Instructresses full-time on its own staff to secure full recognition of the subjects they take as integral parts of the courses given, and to promote proper co-ordination in the teaching —e.g., among the teachers of woodwork, arithmetic, drawing, and handicrafts for boys, and the teachers of domestic subjects, science, needlework, art, and handicrafts for girls. CENTRAL SCHOOLS. Although there are " central " schools in Scotland and in some of the Australian States, the term is usually applied to the type of school that was established in London in 1911. There are now eightyfour such schools in London, with an enrolment of about 30,000 pupils. In October, 1933, the London Association of Head Teachers of Central Schools published a pamphlet in which they said that, inter alia— (1) In 1.910 the London education authority established a new type of school known as the central school, the term " central " having reference to the fact that the pupils were selected from surrounding primary schools. (2) The pupils are selected at the age of eleven by the head teachers of the central schools in consultations with the head teachers of the contributory schools, the result list of the Junior County Scholarship Examination being used as the basis of selection. Thus, the London central-school pupils are boys and girls who have been carefully chosen on the ground of their ability and general fitness to profit by the courses provided. (3) The function of central schools is to provide at least a four-years course of post-primary education for these selected children. As defined by the Education Committee of the London County Council, their objective " is to prepare boys and girls for immediate employment on leaving school, and the instruction should be such that children should be prepared to go into business houses and workshops at the completion of the course without any special training." The training given in them is cultural and a preparation for life generally, but, at the same time, it enables pupils, when they leave school, to adapt themselves to meet the requirements of modern industry and commerce. In attempting to free post-primary education from the academic curriculum, central schools have made an important contribution to the development of educational practice and organization. (4) In order to achieve their purpose, central schools have been organized in London as selective central schools with — (a) A commercial bias : (b) A technical bias : (c) Both a commercial and a technical bias. (5) The age of admission, eleven years, is too early an age at which to determine the nature of the occupation to which pupils should devote their lives. Accordingly, the education for the first two years is on broad general lines, and it is not until the close of the second year that a decision is taken as to whether a pupil is to be placed for the remainder of the course on the commercial or the technical side. In making this decision consideration is given to the special aptitudes of the pupils, their own wishes, and the demands of industry and commerce. (6) At the age of 13 those pupils who desire to do so may compete for a Junior County Supplementary Scholarship tenable at a secondary school, or for a Trade Scholarship tenable at a junior technical institution or a trade school. (7) Preparation for external examinations has played a comparatively small part in the work of central schools. (8) The general education provided for all pupils includes English, a foreign language (usually French, though in some schools German and Spanish are taught), history, geography, mathematics, practical science, art, handicraft, needlework, and domestic science, music, physical exercises, and religious knowledge. (9) Schools with a technical bias stress, especially in the later years, the practical subjects. In schools with, a commercial bias shorthand and book-keeping are introduced in the third year, and in the fourth and fifth years commercial practice and typewriting are usually included. (10) Exhaustive internal examinations are conducted each year of the central-school course. Careful records are kept, and regular reports are made on the work and progress of the pupils. These, as well as specimens of work, are available for inspection by employers when pupils are seeking

5

E.—s.

employment, and, together with the head teacher's final testimonial, provide more valuable evidence of the work and worth of applicants from central schools than the mere possession of a certificate granted by an outside examining body. I have already expressed the opinion that the central school, for the first two years of its course at least, is really another kind of secondary school freed in a large measure from the influence of external examinations. The great majority of the pupils who pass through the central and senior schools in England leave without having sat for any examinations, except those conducted by their teachers. It would appear that for certain types of work employers are prepared to accept the head teacher's testimonial in preference to the result of an examination conducted by some authority, outside the school. Against this practice it might be urged that a pupil's future is placed too largely in the hands of his or her teacher. SENIOR SCHOOLS. In England the most general new type of school that has resulted from the reorganization is the "senior" school for pupils from 11+ to 14 years, or a little older. Many of these schools are conducted in new buildings admirably equipped, especially for the teaching of practical subjects. The pupils consist of all those children who have not sought, or have not been successful in securing, special places (scholarships) in secondary schools or selective places in central schools. While there can be no doubt that the senior schools provide the kind of education most suitable for the great majority of their pupils, and that every pupil, will benefit by going through their practical courses, the fact remains that some of the pupils in them are there because they cannot enrol in secondary or central schools. Our provision of exploratory intermediate schools and departments for children of 12 and 13 seems much sounder educationally in that it allows a two-year period for trying out the capacities of a pupil and ascertaining whether between 13 and 14 he should enter a secondary or a technical school to proceed with his post-primary education. In some senior chools all the pupils of the same chronological age are taught together and are promoted annually. Boys and girls are often taught separately in the same building. It is usual for the schools to have the woodwork and metalwork teachers and the domestic-arts teachers as members of their staff, devoting themselves full-time to their subjects. The curriculum includes English (no other language is taken), arithmetic (algebra and geometry are included in some schools), history, geography, science (chemistry, physics, and electricity usually in towns, and gardening, horticulture, and general science in the country), art, handicraft, singing, physical exercises, manual training, and domestic subjects (including needlework), and religious knowledge. In many cases the teachers are specialists, and the pupils come to their rooms for lessons. In Nottingham (City) the children spend from three-tenths to six-tenths of their school-time in practical work in science, art, handicraft, and domestic subjects. One " area " school in East Suffolk gives half of the school-time to practical subjects. This school gives only two hours per week to formal English and arithmetic, the remainder of the instruction being given through other subjects. History and geography are taught in alternate weeks for three hours per week. In some of the senior schools in this district the lesson periods last for sixty minutes or even for seventy-five minutes. As far as I could ascertain, there is no transference of senior-school pupils to secondary schools, and, in at least one county, senior-school pupils may sit for an external examination only with the permission of the Director of Education. The senior school is an end in itself, retaining most of its pupils only until they are 14, and giving them an education that will fit them for employment in commerce, industry, or domestic work. Its practical training is often of a fairly advanced nature, and similar to the early stages of our senior technical school programmes., JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOLS. In only two of the Canadian Provinces, Manitoba and British Columbia, are there junior high schools. They were established in British Columbia in 1927, and exist now in Vancouver and six other towns of the province. Pupils from contributing schools enter them, without having to sit for any external qualifying examination, at about 12 years of age and remains for three years. In British Columbia attendance at school is compulsory from 7 until 15 years of age. The junior high school period is an exploratory one during which the aptitudes and capacities of the pupils are investigated. In Vancouver, at 14 or 15 years of age, the pupils who are academically inclined pass into the senior high schools ; the other pupils who remain at school enter the schools of commerce, the technical school, or the school of art. The Vancouver plan of education is a 6—3—3 one for those children who can remain at school till they are 18. All pupils take a " core "of subjects —(a) English, (b) history, civics, and geography, and (c) physical education and hygiene. The academic groups take Latin and French. All take manual instruction and housecraft, for which excellent provision is made in the matter of accommodation and equipment. Commercial work and art are taken by some of the pupils. The population of Vancouver is approximately 250,000. Its three junior high schools have about 1,100, 1,300, and 1,600 pupils respectively. San Francisco established junior high schools in 1921, and now has nine, and one in course of erection. All except one have over 1,000 pupils, the largest having nearly 2,000. The course is a three-year one and the school plan 6—3—3. Full-time education is compulsory to 16 and part-time to 18 or even 21 in certain cases (for those who do not meet the English requirements of the sixth grade).

6

E.—s.

All the schools are in charge of male principals, with a woman as one of the two vice-principals. The staffing is liberal, being as follows : — Over 1,500 on the roll : 1 teacher for 32 pupils or major part of 32. 1,100 to 1,499 on the roll : 1 teacher for 31 pupils or major part of 31. 500 to 1,099 on the roll : 1 teacher for 27 pupils or major part of 27. Under 500 on the roll : 1 teacher for 26 pupils or major part of 26. The basic enrolment figure is the end of the month enrolment of the first month of the preceding term. Exceptional increases or decreases necessitate adjustments in accordance with the above rates. The time allotment for studies is as follows : — L 7. H7. LB. HB. L 9. H9. English .. .. .. .. ..555555 Social science ■ .. .. .. ..5 5 5 5 5 5 Mathematics .. .. .. .. ..5 5 5 5 0 0 Science .. .. .. .. ..0 5 0 5 0 0 Assembly or clubs .. . . . . 1 1 1 1 0 0 Home economics industrial arts . . 5 5 5 0 0 0 Music .. .. .. .. ..222200 Art . . . . .. . . ..5 0 0 0 0 0 Health .. ..222255 Electives .. .. .. .. .. 0 0 5 5 15 15 Total .. .. .. .. .. 30 30 30 30 30 30

Distribution of Electives.

Electives and Restrictions. Foreign languages—French, German, Italian, Spanish, Latin. English —Dramatics, public speaking, journalism. Mathematics —Applied mathematics, algebra. Fine arts —Art, music. Commercial —Typing, business training. Home economics—Foods, clothing, home-making. Industrial arts —Woodwork, sheet metal, electric shop, machine shop, printing, mechanical drawing. Optional with principals to assign certain high eighth-grade pupils to either pre-vocational, art, music, or health. Schools with enrolment under 1,100 to schedule not more than two foreign languages. Schools with enrolment of 1,100 or more to schedule not more than four foreign languages. Pupils are to be restricted to one year's offering in the following subjects : Dramatics, public speaking, typing. These offerings may be taken in either the eighth or ninth grades, but not in both grades. Latin, journalism, applied mathematics, algebra, and business training are oSered in the ninth year only. The pupils enter at an average age of 12 years, and leave about 14 or 15, but the range may be from 10 to 16 years. All pupils who continue their education proceed from the junior high school to the senior high school, there being no day technical schools in San Francisco,

7

L8. H8. L9. H9. Foreign language .. French . . French . . French . . French. German . . German . . German .. German. Italian .. Italian .. Italian . . Italian. Spanish .. Spanish .. Spanish . . Spanish. Latin .. Latin. English . . .. Dramatics . . Dramatics . . Dramatics .. Dramatics. Public speaking Public speaking Public speaking Public speaking. Journalism . . Journalism. Mathematics .. . . .. Applied mat.he- Applied mathematics matics. Algebra .. Algebra. Fine arts . . .. Art . . .. Art .. . . Art . . .. Art. Music .. Music . . Music .. Music. Commercial . . Typing .. Typing . . Typing .. Typing. Business training Business training. Pre-vocational . . Home economics Home economics Home economics Home economics industrial arts industrial arts industrial arts industrial arts.

E.—s.

SECONDARY AND TECHNICAL SCHOOLS. " From 1907 to 1932 the regulations of the Board of Education (England and Wales) required that every grant-aided secondary school should each year award free places to a number of entrants into the school equal to at least 25 per cent, of the total admissions in the previous year. Some schools were allowed to award a lower percentage, usually 10 per cent. Under the same regulations schools may not award a higher percentage than 50 without the permission of the Board. The minimum of 25 per cent, was reserved for pupils from the public elementary schools. Certain local education authorities, such as Manchester and Bradford, have adopted the principle of free secondary education in schools maintained by them ; but places like Birmingham have reached nearly the same result by large remissions of fees according to the needs of the parents. "In 1932 the Board of Education modified this system. ' Free places ' were renamed ' special places.' The number was not reduced, but the winning of such a place will not in future entitle the scholar to exemption from fees if the parents' means are sufficient to enable them to pay. So far as free or special places are concerned, the examination was always intended to be competitive, those highest on the list of marks securing such places. So far as admission to the secondary school is concerned, however, the examination was originally intended to be a qualifying one. It is, however, in fact, severely competitive. The examination is conducted by each local education authority and varies considerably in character in different areas." —The Year-Booh of Education, 1934. It is now proposed to remove all maximum limits on the number of special places that may be awarded annually. " In Scotland it is the duty of the education authority to make adequate provision throughout their area for all forms of primary, intermediate, and secondary education in day schools without payment of fees, and they may, if they think fit, maintain in addition a limited number of schools where fees are charged in some or all of the classes. The arrangements made have to be approved by the Department, who are apparently the judges as to the adequacy of the provision in each area." —The Year-Book of Education, 1934. " The Standard Rates of Tuition Fees in Grant-aided Secondary Schools in England and Wales," issued by the Board of Education in June, 1933, sets out the fees that may be charged by each local education authority as from Ist April, 1933. No fees are charged for secondary education in New South Wales, Western Australia, and Tasmania. The other States charge fees up to £9 per annum. Our regulations provide liberal opportunities for pupils to qualify for further education at secondary, technical, or district high schools, but at present we are not doing enough to help those pupils who cannot afford to avail themselves of the qualification. It is one thing to qualify, but very often quite another to find the money necessary for books, clothing, and maintenance. England and Scotland both set a high value on intellectual attainments, and by means of scholarships, grants, and maintenance and travelling allowances make it possible for poor boys and girls of outstanding ability to enter secondary schools, training colleges, and the Universities. In 1931 we abolished our junior and senior national scholarships and made legislative provision for the establishment of bursaries for secondary and higher education, and in 1932 we modified the conditions on which University bursaries are awarded. I would suggest that as soon as financial conditions permit— (1) Junior scholarships be established for pupils attending primary and intermediate schools, and senior scholarships for pupils attending secondary, technical, and district high schools, and that the following or similar conditions govern the award of the scholarships —namely : — (a) Junior scholarships to be of the value of £5 per annum, and senior scholarships £10 per annum. (b) Part of the junior scholars to be chosen from one-teacher schools. (c) Part (possibly one-quarter) of the scholarships of both stages to be held at technical schools. (d) Scholarships to be tenable at district high schools. (e) Further financial assistance towards the cost of board and lodging, books, travelling-expenses, and clothing to be given, if necessary, to scholarship winners. (2) Restoration of the conditions under which University bursaries were formerly granted. (3) Further provision for the assistance of necessitous University students of certified ability and diligence. I believe that our secondary schools are in a large measure well suited to our requirements, and that they have given the majority of their pupils a sound and liberal education. For some of the pupils, however, their curricula have been too academic. The introduction of the school certificate in 1934 should be the means of freeing these schools from the dominance of the University Entrance Examination and of giving them 'the opportunity of developing other courses of study than the academic one for those pupils who are not aiming at, or are not fitted for, University education. In the smaller towns, where there is no technical school, greater provision should be made as opportunity arises for instruction in handicrafts, manual training, and domestic subjects at the secondary schools. Our technical schools are developing on sound lines. No school I saw abroad is quite comparable with them. In England and Scotland the term " technical school " implies a school for trade and vocational instruction attended by apprentices and others already employed in the trade, or by those intending to enter a particular trade. In London the junior technical schools provide for children

8

E. —5.

who gain technical scholarships at about 13 years of age, generally after attendance for two years at the central schools. For older students London has a number of wonderful senior technical schools called by special names. I saw four of these, namely : — (1) The Borough Polytechnic, which has — (а) A day junior technical school for boys (13-16 years). Engineering. (б) A day trade school for girls (14-16 years). Tailoring, dressmaking, embroidery, upholstery, laundry work. (c) The day national school of bakery and confectionery (14-17 years). It has also many evening courses in engineering, chemistry, physics, building, arts and crafts, women's trades, home crafts. (2) Westminster Technical Institute, which includes — (a) Westminster school of art .. . . .. ■■A r> j ■„,i „ (b) Hotel and restaurant technical school .. .. .. J en urm B a^' (c) Architecture, construction, surveying, and valuation .. (d) Civil and structural engineering .. .. .. in the evening. (e) Gas-fitting (engineering and supply) .. . . .. J (3) Smithfield Meat Trades Institute, which has — (а) A junior day school for boys 13 to 14J who propose to enter the meat trades or their allied industries. (б) A senior day school for youths 16 and over who have had at least one year's experience in the meat trade. (c) Evening classes for young men engaged in the wholesale and retail meat trades. (4) Trades Training School —Maintained by the Worshipful Company of Carpenters to train apprentices in the building and allied trades. The classes meet from 7to 9.30 p.m. on most evenings of the week. The President of the Board of Education for England and Wales stated recently that after investigation it has been found that there is considerable leeway to make up in technical education, and it is proposed to spend on it £12,000,000 in the next seven years, half that amount being found by the Government and half by the local education authorities. In circular 1444, issued on the 6th January last, the Board of Education states : — " The Board through their Inspectors have recently surveyed the existing provision for technical (including art) education in all areas. The results indicate that over the country as a whole there are serious deficiencies of accommodation and equipment, notwithstanding the new and improved buildings that have been erected in recent years. In many areas technical education is still handicapped by inadequate, unsuitable, or scattered premises, while in others there is urgent need for new provision. The problems involved call for early consideration and action to ensure that facilities for technical training are brought up to the best standard obtaining in other countries." All the Australian States have technical schools or colleges, and most of them have junior technical schools for boys and girls from 12 to 14 years of age. Toronto has technical schools, called vocational schools, which correspond more closely than any others I saw to our technical schools. The particular school I saw had 2,200 day pupils and over 3,000 evening students. The day pupils enter after a qualifying examination at about 13| years of age and remain for five years without having to acquire any further examination qualification. They have the choice of several courses, including general, industrial, domestic, and art. Pupils who intend to enter the professions enrol in the collegiate institutes, and those who desire a commercial training enter the schools of commerce. In Vancouver there is a very fine technical school for boys only. (The girls attend schools for home arts and crafts.) The day boys enter at about 14 years of age and remain for four years. Among its courses the school includes woodwork, metalwork, motor engineering, printing, mining, lumbering. A bov may not choose his major shop —i.e., practical subject until the end of his second year at school. In San Francisco all post-primary schools are called high schools —namely, junior high schools, high schools, and evening high schools. JUNIOR DIVISIONS. Junior divisions everywhere make provision for the education of children between the of 7+ and 11+, and their curricula are much the same in all places. They are concerned with instructing their pupils in the use of the tools of learning—namely, reading, writing, arithmetic, and hand and eye training—in order that the children may be able to continue their education through to the highest stage that ability, opportunity, and perseverance determine. The tendency for some time has been to make this stage of learning interesting and rational by the elimination of the rote methods that held sway for so long. The introduction of handicrafts and the development of music, appreciation of literature, nature study, and physical education have done a very great deal to brighten and vitalize the work of this part of the school. Nevertheless, it must remain the period during which the pupils with more or less drudgery prepare for all the education that is to follow. Where reorganization has been carried out, pupils at 11 or 12 years of age leave the junior division and enter a secondary school, or some school of another type, called central, senior, intermediate, or " junior technical." Under some education authorities all the upper-standard pupils in the junior division must sit for an examination to determine the type of post-primary school they are to attend; under others only those who seek admission to secondary or central schools sit for the examination, the other pupils transferring automatically to the senior schools. I have given details elsewhere of the reorganization of various school systems. 2—E. 5.

9

E.—s.

From time to time the question has been raised of the effect upon a school of losing its twelve , thirteen-, and fourteen-year-old pupils. Teachers to whom I mentioned the point expressed their conviction that the removal of the seniors led to earlier development among the younger pupils of the appreciation of leadership and responsibility. Our own junior division, represented by Standards 1, 2, 3, and 4, is, in my opinion, being taught generally on right, modern lines, and my only suggestions are in the direction of developing art and handicrafts still further, and of giving the children a better appreciation of literature and music. NURSERY SCHOOLS, KINDERGARTEN AND INFANT SCHOOLS. In 1934 England and Wales had fifty-nine nursery schools, thirty-three under the control of local education authorities and twenty-six under non local education authorities. In these schools there were 4,446 pupils on the roll. The London County Council has three " maintained " nursery schools with (in 1933-34) 425 pupils, and twelve " aided " with 471 pupils. Children may attend when they are 2 years of age , they leave at 5. The Council states that the main aim of the nursery school is to cultivate good habits which foster a love of wholesome food and healthy exercise and induce an alert and receptive attitude of mind. It is more of a home than a school : a prepa,ration for school rather than a school itself. I saw the famous Rachel McMillan Nursery School at Deptford, which has its own training college. The school is now under the control of the London County Council, and the training college receives " aid " from the Council. The district is a very poor one, and the children are taken into the school at 2 years of age and retained till they are 5, when they go to the infant-schools in the neighbourhood. The children are received at the school from 7 a.m. and kept there till 5.30 p.m., while their mothers are at work. They are given three meals a day, are bathed and cared for, and receive medical attention when necessary. Nottingham City has nursery classes attached to its infant schools or classes. " On the 31st July, 1934, there were twenty-one nursery schools in Scotland with a total enrolment of 689, and five ordinary schools containing nursery classes with a roll of 135. Two of the twenty-one nursery schools, one in Edinburgh and one in Glasgow, are provided by the respective education authorities ; one is conducted by the Edinburgh Provincial Committee for the Training of Teachers, and the remaining eighteen, of which ten are situated in Edinburgh, three in Glasgow, and one each in Aberdeen, Dundee, Elgin, Paisley, and Stranraer, are conducted under voluntary management. Twelve of the eighteen nursery schools under voluntary management were aided by contributions from the education authorities. Of the five ordinary schools containing nursery classes, three are situated in Glasgow and two in Renfrewshire (Greenock and Paisley). In Glasgow there are eight other centres at which a few children of nursery-school age receive attention." —Report of Scottish Education Department, 1934-35. Kindergarten schools do not appear to form part of the education system in England or Scotland, nor did I hear of any similar schools in Denmark. In Australia kindergartens are found' in all of the cities. In some cases they form part of the State system, but, generally speaking, they are conducted by voluntary organizations, which in some States receive grants from the public funds. In Toronto and San Francisco the kindergarten forms part of the school system. In San Francisco children are not admitted to the kindergarten till they are 4 years and 9 months old. The lower limit of compulsory attendance at elementary schools is 5 years and 9 months. I am of the opinion that nursery schools are unnecessary in New Zealand, and that the State should not establish kindergartens as part of the national system. The kindergarten schools established by voluntary organizations have functioned successfully, and should receive financial assistance in accordance with the existing regulations. The eo-operation of the Health Department and the Education Department in the oversight of the physical and mental well-being of children of pre-school age is worthy of serious consideration. Abroad, infant schools and departments form a clearly defined part of the system. In England they are usually separate schools under the control of a headmistress ; in Scotland they are in charge of an infant-mistress, sometimes called headmistress, who is under the direction of the head teacher of the whole school —that is, of the pupils up to 12 years of age. In Denmark the infants form a department of the school. It is usual for the pupils to be out of the infant school or department by the time they are 8 years of age in order that they may complete the next stage (the junior school) by the time "they are 11 or 12 years of age. The work done in arithmetic in some of the infant classes in other countries seems to me to be unduly difficult for the age of the pupils, and certainly in advance of what is done in New Zealand. Personally I cannot see that any useful purpose is served by requiring a large amount of formal number work from children under 8 years of age, and I have no wish to see our infant-school syllabus in arithmetic more extensive or more difficult than it is at present. Young pupils, especially in England and Scotland, have access to more reading matter than our infants have, with the result that they enter the junior school having read a large number of easy story books. Handwork forms a large part of a pupil's education from the day he enters school, and by the time he is 8 years of age he has reached quite a high standard of attainment in drawing, painting, paper-cutting, toy-making, modelling, and weaving. Singing, physical exercises and dancing, dramatics, and recitation are usually very well done, and on the whole better than in New Zealand.

10

E.—s.

In Edinburgh children are admitted to school for the first time only on two occasions during the y ear —namely, in September (the beginning of the school-year) and in March (the middle of the year). In British Columbia they are now admitted only at the beginning of the school-year (September). Our practice of admitting young children at any time during the three terms imposes additional work upon the teachers, and is not advantageous to the children. We should, I think, consider the advisability of limiting the initial admission of children to school to the first two weeks of each term. All the children admitted during the fortnight would then form a group that could be taught together through the primer classes. No restriction would be placed on the admission at any time of children who have already been enrolled at a school and have later transferred to another district. The work done by the New Zealand infant-teachers for many years deserves commendation, and in most respects compares very favourably with what I have seen in other countries. Their methods are modern and in line with those in operation in the best schools elsewhere. The charts, diagrams, and other teaching aids I saw reminded me again and again of what I have seen so many times in infant-rooms in New Zealand. Our infant-teachers should, however, give increased attention to singing and to suitable dramatization, both of which form a very important part of infant work, but are not so efficient with us as they are generally in England. Handwork has a considerable place in the curriculum of English infant-schools, the nature of the occupations in each school depending largely upon the views of the headmistress and the special qualifications of the staff, and to some extent on the type of district. I understand that the articles made by the children are sold to them at the cost of the material, and that teachers have to keep detailed accounts of the stocks received and the money paid in by the children. The usual types of handwork taken in London are as follows : — By children 3 to 6 years of age — Drawing : With chalk or crayon on boards or paper. Painting : With brushes and poster paint. Paper-cutting. Toy-making : Using waste material. Modelling : Using plasticene, clay, or a mixture of flour and salt. By children 6 to 8 years of age— Drawing : Painting, modelling. Weaving : Taken only in correlation with projects ; sometimes considered too mechanical and complicated. Card looms and wooden looms are used for weaving with wool, raffia, and coloured cottons. Needlework : Using canvas, " Iris " cloth. MEDICAL INSPECTION, DENTAL CARE, CLINICS, MEALS, AND MILK. Practically everywhere children receive medical inspection and dental treatment at the schools or in the clinics built by the education authority. Rooms are provided for the use of the doctor, the nurses, and the dentists. As a rule these officers are employed full-time by the Education Board or Committee, but occasionally the doctors are in private practice and attend the schools once or oftener each week. In a London borough I saw the block of buildings the education authority had erected for use as a clinic ; here parents may consult the school medical officer or specialists for eye, ear, nose, and throat, as well as for orthopaedics ; the staff includes nurses and masseuses. When glasses are prescribed for pupils they are supplied at a uniform price, irrespective of their individual cost. Meals : In many of the schools in Great Britain, Denmark, and America, provision has been made for the supply of meals, for which, except in special circumstances, the pupils pay. In two of its special schools I visited, Manchester provides a meal for one penny, and at a central school, for sevenpence. Leeds can supply meals for threepence each. In the East Suffolk area schools a good meal is supplied for one shilling per pupil per week. In some places the supply of meals is under the control of a committee appointed by the education authority : in others it is the private concern of the caretaker. Milk : The supply of milk to school-children is general throughout England and Scotland, the pupils paying a halfpenny per day for one-third of a pint in a sealed bottle. I was told that the milk is supplied free when ordered by the school medical officer (if the parents cannot pay). According to the Annual Report for 1934 of the Chief Medical Officer of the Board of Education, Dr. Arthur MacNalty, it is stated that under the scheme introduced on Ist October, the number of children receiving milk on payment increased at first from 900,000 to 2,650,000, and between November, 1931, and March, 1935, the number of children receiving free meals doubled. In Leeds twelve-year-old school-girls now weigh nearly 6 lb. more than in 1933, and twelve-year-old boys nearly 4 lb. more. Places as far apart as Wallsend, Gravesend, Lewes, and Bath have taken statistics over the same period and similar general improvement is shown. One of the reasons given for 85,000 children in London failing to avail themselves of the milk in schools " scheme is that girls in secondary schools refuse milk, saying that it will make them fat. (Sunday Times, 15/12/35.) EDUCATION OF CRIPPLED CHILDREN AND PHYSICALLY DEFECTIVE CHILDREN. In all the larger cities considerable attention is given to the education of crippled children. In London the children who cannot travel by public vehicles are conveyed to special schools in a fleet of seventy-two motor-ambulances. Those so afflicted that they have to bs in hospital are taught there by London County Council teachers.

11

E.—s.

The Lancasterian Special School for Crippled Children (Manchester) had, at the time of my visit 168 pupils, and had a staff of teachers, a visiting medical officer, nurses, and nurse attendants, masseuses, as well as a staff to prepare and serve meals. The pupils ranged in age from sto 16—the latter being the upward limit of compulsory attendance for physically defective children. The school provides modified courses in the various subjects and places particular stress on art, handicrafts, needlework, and commercial subjects. In the school were stretchers for the pupils to rest on, wheeled chairs, gymnastic apparatus, ultra-violet-ray apparatus, and baths. I was assured that under proper treatment most young cripples can be taught so that they will become not only employable, but self-supporting. An after-care association of voluntary helpers takes an active interest in the pupils when they leave school. As in London, children too crippled to travel or be conveyed, are placed in hospitals and taught there. In Sydney classes for crippled children are held at the hospital to which the pupils are conveyed in motor-cars at the expense of the Education Department. In San Francisco, the Board of Education has made arrangements for the conveyance of crippled children to and from school in taxi-cabp. When the children are too crippled to attend school they are taught at home by visiting teachers. If I remember rightly, a similar procedure is followed in Edinburgh. In several places I saw special schools for physically defective children. These children receive appropriate medical attention, and are taught in classes of about twenty-five pupils from a programme of work that places emphasis on hand and eye training rather than on book knowledge. EDUCATION OF DEAF CHILDREN. I visited the following schools : Langside School for the Deaf, Glasgow ; Renfrew Street School for the Semi-deaf, Glasgow ; Royal Residential Schools for the Deaf, Manchester ; Crown Street School for the Deaf, Liverpool; Old Kent Road School for the Deaf and Partially Deaf, London C.C. Last year Dr. Ada Paterson, Director of the Division of School Hygiene, also visited some of these schools and others, and will be more competent than I am to speak from the medical point of view. All teachers of the deaf to whom I have spoken agree that education should begin at about three years of age, and I think we must give consideration to making provision for pupils to enter the Sumner School for the Deaf, Christchurch, at three years of age. Most schools have installed instruments to teach children who have any residual hearing, to hear and understand the human voice. Sumner has had two such instruments for the past two years. In the 1935 report of the Manchester schools for the deaf it is stated that the results obtained from the amplifiers are definitely encouraging ; full use is being made of any hearing a child may have ; there is a distinct improvement in voice-production and speech ; the experimental stages have been passed, and the use of amplifiers is now a definite part of the school work. EDUCATION OF MENTALLY DEFECTIVE CHILDREN. Schools or classes for mentally defective children are now provided by all education authorities. The first school of this kind I saw was situated some miles out of Sydney in grounds of considerable size. In it there were about one hundred sub-normal children—all boarders—from various parts of the State. The school accepted no boy with an intelligent quotient lower than 60, and no girl lower than 55. No pupil had a mental age higher than 9 years. The psychologist in charge of the school attends at the office of the Department of Public Instruction, Sydney, on one afternoon a week to examine applicants for admission and to advise parents. The school is liberally stafEed with specially qualified teachers, and the curriculum has been devised to meet the capacity of the pupils. The next school I visited was in Edinburgh where there were five classes of twenty children with intelligent quotients ranging from 50 to 72. The pupils had been selected by the specialist school medical officer from those reported by the teachers. Under the Scottish Acts mentally defective children must remain under instruction till they are 16 years of age. Lunch was provided free for all pupils, and milk free if prescribed by the school medical officer. In addition to suitably modified courses in the usual school subjects, the older boys were taught woodwork and cobbling by a parttime instructor, and the older girls cookery and housecraft. The school had a very well kept garden. In Manchester the school I saw had a roll of 157 pupils between the ages of 7 and 14 years, for whom there was a staff of six assistants and two part-time teachers of woodwork and cookery. The children had been selected by the school medical officer from those reported by the teachers. Provision was made for a midday meal at a cost of one penny, and for baths as often as was deemed necessary. Special attention was given to instruction in— (a) Handwork, including woodwork. The older pupils had made the fittings for the school shop, the properties for the puppet threatre, and some pieces of school apparatus. The pupils gave a delightful demonstration in the puppet theatre. (b) Cookery, for boys and girls. (c) Art, including poster work. (d) Music, including percussion bands and dancing, in both of which the pupils seemed to be remarkably proficient. In Nottingham there is a very fine special open-air school for mentally defective boys and girls up to 11 years of age, and for boys from 11 to 16 ; the 11-16 girls are transferred to another special school. In Nottingham all children at 7 years of age are given an intelligence test by the head teachers, and the results are sent to the Education Office. Those children found by the test to be retarded two or more years, are examined by a specially trained nurse. Those whom she considers to be mentally

12

E. —5.

deficient are submitted to a further test by the school medical officer, and children found to be deficient are sent at once to the special school. Other children found to be retarded are drafted into one or other of the junior schools in the district in which they reside, and are there taught in small classes where they receive individual attention and where instruction is mainly practical. At the age of 11 they pass into the senior school where they receive similar treatment. In the special school the children receive special training in the three Rs until they are about 12 years of age. Much of the instruction is individual, the pupils being taught by means of special reading and number methods, special apparatus, use of the typewriter and printing sets, and handwork methods. From 12 to 16 more time is devoted to handicraft lessons with a vocational bias. The following is an outline of the four-years course in handicrafts for boys : — First year : Use of scrap metal and wood—" Old sewing-machines and mangles have been converted into useful fretwork and sanding machines, as well as lathe and lathetables." Second year : Mechanical toy-making. Third year : Lighter cardboard work leading to book-binding ; boot-repairing work on the last and the sewing-machine ; use of three-ply wood. Fourth year : Heavier woodwork and metalwork ; wood-turning. Boys who have left school are encouraged to return on a Thursday afternoon from 3.30 to carry on their handicraft. THE TRAINING OF TEACHERS. (a) Control of Training Colleges. I have made extensive inquiries regarding the training of teachers and find that almost without exception primary teachers are trained in institutions controlled by the Department of Education, local education authorities, or private bodies, while secondary teachers receive their academic and professional training at the Universities. In Sydney the training college has no administrative connection with the University, although its Principal is Professor of Education in Sydney University. The Department of Public Instruction controls the college and selects and trains the entrants to the primary service. In Melbourne the training college is controlled by the Education Department. Its Principal is also Professor of Education in Melbourne University. Students who intend to become secondary teachers are trained by the University for the Diploma of Education which is an essential qualification for this branch of the Education Service. In England the training of elementary teachers, including specialist teachers in domestic arts, physical education, &c., is now undertaken in training colleges controlled by local education authorities or private bodies. The University training departments are for the training of graduates who are preparing for service mainly in secondary schools, State or private. These students spend three years at the University, reading for a degree, and a fourth year in professional training as prospective teachers. In Scotland the professional training of all teachers is the responsibility of the National Committee for the Training of Teachers. The Principals (called " Directors of Studies ") of the training centres for both men and women at Edinburgh, and St. Andrews and Dundee are also Professors of Education ; at Glasgow and Aberdeen they are not. The management of these four training centres is delegated to provincial committees composed of representatives of the education authorities, Universities, Church, and teachers within the district served by the respective centres. The three women's training colleges have committees of management on which are representatives of the National and the provincial committees and the college concerned. In Denmark there are twenty colleges for the training of teachers ; of these, eight belong to the State and twelve are privately owned. None has any connection with the University of Copenhagen. All train teachers for the public and private elementary and middle schools, the final examination for certification being conducted by the Government. In Ontario elementary teachers are trained in normal schools controlled by the Education Department, and secondary teachers by the College of Education. In British Columbia the Education Department has established two normal schools for the training of elementary teachers and the University of British Columbia at Vancouver trains sixty graduates annually for service in high schools and junior high schools. In California elementary teachers are trained in State teachers' colleges, and secondary teachers at the Universities. (b) Pre-training College Experience. In England and Scotland the great majority of training-college entrants have had no previous experience in teaching, as uncertificated teachers, pupil teachers, or student teachers. It is generally held that such experience is not helpful in the student's subsequent career as a teacher. Of the students admitted to the training colleges of England and Wales in 1933, 76-6 per cent, had had no previous recognized teaching experience, and of the 1,139 admitted to the Scottish training colleges in 1934, only 124 had preliminary training of any kind. In New South Wales, South Australia, and Queensland, candidate teachers enter the teachers' training colleges from secondary schools, but in the other States they begin as junior teachers and serve on the stafE of a school for one or more years before admission to the college.

13

E.—s.

(c) Length of Course. It is usual for primary teachers to spend two years in training, and secondary teachers one year, after graduation, but— (1) In Australia students training for primary teachers remain one year or two years, with provision for extension in special cases ; infant-teachers remain two years. The training-college course is followed by a period of probation before the student is accepted as a fifth-grade teacher. (2) In Scotland graduates (this group includes all the men) attend for three or four terms, and the non-graduates (this group includes some of the women) from one to four years or longer according to academic qualifications and experience. (3) In Denmark the course is three years following a year in the schools. In the first and second years the students study the subjects taught in the elementary schools, and in the third year they study the principles and practice of teaching. The Teachers' High School in Copenhagen provides courses extending from two weeks to a year in such subjects as foreign language, science, or advanced mathematics. A teacher may spend the summer vacation at this college and specialize in a particular subject with the object of teaching it in the mellemskole. The University at Copenhagen has no Faculty of Education. The graduates in the schools have either trained for other professions or taken a degree after entering upon teaching service in the schools. (4) In Ontario and British Columbia the elementary course lasts for one school-year —• actually nine or ten months. (5) In California the elementary course occupies four years, but I think the earlier part is mainly scholastic. (d) Emolument or Fees. In Australia student teachers are paid living-allowances and are not charged for instruction. In New South Wales they receive £26 per annum if they live at home, and £52 per annum if attendance at the training college necessitates their living away from home. In England " day" students attending a provided college receive the usual maintenance grant of £26 per annum for a man and £20 for a woman, subject to the condition that they must be in need of assistance. At a private (residential) training college I visited near Liverpool the students pay £50 per annum ; at Leeds (residential) Training College £40 per annum for the two-year course, and £50 per annum for the four-year degree course ; at the Carnegie Physical Training College (residential) in Leeds, £50 per annum. At a women's training' college under the control of the London County Council, recognized students are admitted at the following fees : — Tuition fee for day students, £20 a year. Resident two-year students or one-year students who are not graduates, £40 a year. Four-year resident students pay £60 a year for each of the first three years, and £50 for the fourth year. Graduate students taking a one-year course pay £30 as day students and £50 as resident students. Most authorities grant financial assistance to students in need of it. (e) Entrance Qualifications. Generally speaking, these are similar to the requirements in New Zealand —namely, a satisfactory medical certificate (some authorities, however, insist upon a much higher degree of physical fitness than others do), evidence of good moral character, apparent suitability for teaching, and a standard of education usually not lower than University Matriculation or its equivalent. In Scotland all male entrants to the teaching service must be graduates, and many female entrants are graduates. At present there is a demand among the Scottish teachers for amended regulations to require every woman applicant to be a graduate before she may be admitted to training college. In connection with this demand the Advisory Council to the Scottish Education Department reported, inter alia, last year as follows : — " The bulk of the evidence which has been submitted brings out clearly that, so far as women teachers of infants between the ages of 5 and 12 are concerned, a degree of a University is not essential, and, further, that an extended period of training including more practice in teaching is required . . . The Council considers that, in the case of women students preparing for teaching children up to the age of 12 years in the primary school the time required for study leading to a University degree would, in general, be employed to greater advantage in following a training-college course." The Council suggested a four-year course taken entirely at the training college. It then continued as follows :— " The Council are also of the opinion that, among the courses of training available for women students under Chapter 111 of the regulations, that for graduates should be retained. As, however, the treatment in a University course of any school subject —e.g., English, history, geography, which may be included in it —is necessarily of a kind that it can have only a very limited bearing on the teaching of the same subject in the primary school, and as, moreover, time must be found for the Article 37 (b) subjects selected by the student (drawing, needlework, special singing, educational handwork), and for extended practice in actual teaching, a period of two years of post-graduate training is regarded by the Council as necessary to enable the student to acquire the requisite professional skill and teaching experience. The course of professional training for women graduates should accordingly extend over two years subsequent to graduation."

14

E.—s.

It is usual for the Education Department or Board of Education to fix a limit to the number of students that may be taken into training, but in Ontario and California there is no such restriction, and in Denmark the training colleges hold an examination, and all persons over 18 years of age are eligible for admission if they satisfy the college authorities concerning their fitness for the profession. In all cases that I know of the actual certification of teachers is under the control of the State Education Department, although the Department ijiay not itself conduct the final examination. (/) Staffing of Training Colleges. I was able to obtain particulars of the staffing of three training colleges, and found it more liberal than that to which we are accustomed. Leeds for about 400 residents students had a Principal, VicePrincipal, and 33 Lecturers, as well as a Librarian, Medical Officer, and Registrar ; Furzedown (London County Council) for 250 students, of whom 205 were resident, had a Principal, Vice-Principal, 19 Lecturers, and one visiting teacher. (Three members of the staff were recognized by the University of London for the purposes of the Teacher's Diploma.) Vancouver Normal School for 220 students had a. Principal, Vice-Principal, and 10 Lecturers, one being employed part-time. (g) Size of Training Colleges. Experienced training-college administrators told me that they did not consider 500 students too many to have in one college provided the accommodation and the staffing were adequate. Some put the number higher than 500. (/») Recommendations. I am of the opinion that few changes are necessary in our system of training teachers, but the following recommendations in connection with the colleges are, I think, worthy of consideration : — (1) All training colleges to be brought under the control of the Department in the matter of staff appointments. The teaching profession in New Zealand is a national one, and the training of teachers is the concern of the Government through its Minister of Education and his Department rather than of the Education Boards, which control primary education in the districts where the training colleges are situated. (2) The selection of all students by the Director of School Hygiene and one or more of the senior officers of the Education Department. These officers should visit Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, and Dunedin and interview and examine in those centres all applicants for admission to the training colleges. Disputed cases should be referred to the Director of Education for decision. The out-of-pocket expenses of rejected applicants should be refunded. Consideration might be given to' the medical examination, while they are still in the post-primary schools, of aspirants for the teaching profession. (3) The establishment of a secondary training department at one of the four University colleges. So far there has been no secondary training college in the Dominion. The adoption of the suggestion when finance permits would bring New Zealand into line with the practice in other parts of the Empire. The number of students to be trained should be fixed by the Minister. (4) When the opportunity occurs, the Professor of Education and the Principal of the Training College to be the same person. This is the case, for example, in Sydney, Melbourne, Edinburgh, and Dundee. It would have the effect of bringing the Faculty of Education and the training college into closer relationship. (5) Interchange of teachers between the University colleges and the training colleges, and between the inspectorate and the training colleges. (6) The Vice-Principal to be a woman : the appointment of women to this position to be made as opportunity arises. (7) Increased staffing of the training colleges. Our staffing of ten or twelve teachers for 300 or 400 students is quite inadequate in comparison with the number provided in Great Britain and Canada. (8) Larger grants for libraries. Our training-college libraries are inadequate and somewhat out of date. Books and magazines are essential to a teacher, and a well-stocked modern library is necessary equipment in a teachers' training college. (9) Larger grants for material, especially handwork material. We are comparatively backward in the development of hand and eye training, and special attention to this form of education in the training colleges is desirable. APPOINTMENT OF TEACHERS. In Australia the teaching service is part of the Public Service, and appointments are made in accordance with Acts and regulations. In England and Scotland appointments are made by the local education authorities, of which there are 316 in England and 35 in Scotland.

15

E.—s.

In an article contributed in April. 1933, to the Quarterly Journal of the Local Self-Government Institute (Bombay Presidency), the Director of Education for Liverpool said that, as regards promotion, all headships of provided schools or departments and senior assistantships are thrown open to competition within the city service. All applications received are considered by the committee's inspectors, sitting as a committee of selection, and a " short list " of (as a rule) fjix candidates is drawn up by the inspectors for submission to the organization and staffing sub-committee. This list is almost invariably accepted by the sub-committee without alteration, and the selected candidates are interviewed either by the elementary education sub-committee or by the school managers, by whom the final recommendation is made. In East Suffolk masters are not appointed to schools of under 80 scholars on the roll, except in special circumstances. The appointment to headships in council schools is open only to teachers on a graded promotion list approved by the committee. As regards appointments to "area" schools, the committee expects applicants to show evidence of sound academic attainment with good teaching experience, and failing suitable applicants from the promotion list the committee reserve the right to throw open an appointment to applicants outside. The committee expresses the hope that managers of voluntary schools also will nominate head teachers from the promotion list. In Ontario and British Columbia, and, I think, throughout Canada, local education is controlled bv elected Boards of Education in the cities, and by three elected trustees in the municipalities. The Boards or the trustees manage the schools, finance them ( with help from the Government), and appoint, transfer, and dismiss the teachers. In Toronto the annual election of the members of the Board of Education took place on Ist January, the same day as the election of the mayor and aldermen. In most of the Canadian provinces there is a Minister of Education, who is a member of the Provincial Legislature and Cabinet, and, through his expert officials in the Provincial Department of Education, supervises the school system of his province. Under the law in New Zealand an Education Board must appoint to an advertised ordinary vacancy the applicant who is highest on the' graded list of primary-school teachers, unless, in the opinion of the Board and the Senior Inspector, some other applicant is more suited for the position. Whatever criticism may be levelled against our grading-system, I am convinced that it secures promotion for the most efficient teachers, and thereby gives the schools the most capable of the teachers available. The place of residence of the applicant, his personal opinions, his friendliness or the contrary with the appointing Board, are factors which do not and should not enter into the appointment of one who is to fill a public position. Our New Zealand teachers are free from the effects of parochialism, favouritism, and insecurity of office. There are two modifications that might, with advantage, be made in the grading-scheme, namely : — (1) Biennial instead of annual grading ; and (2) Giving group marks instead of individual marks for teaching, discipline, and personality, and organization and management. STAFFING OF SCHOOLS AND SIZE OF CLASSES. (a) Primary. In London (and I think this applies generally throughout England and Wales) practically all recognized senior schools are now staffed on the basis of 40 on the roll. In schools not yet reorganized, and in the new junior (up to 11+) schools, the basis of staffing is on the maximum of 44 on the roll. As regards infant departments, the maximum roll of 50 is being gradually brought into operation as opportunity offers. The statutory rules and orders of the Scottish Education Department provide that in no case will the staff of a primary school be considered sufficient as regards number and distribution if in any class more than 50 children are habitually under the charge of one teacher. The number of pupils in an advanced division shall not, as a rule, exceed 40. An advanced division provides instruction suitable for scholars over 12 years of age. In Denmark the outside number of children in every form is an average of 35 in the towns and 37 in the country. In Toronto there is one teacher for every 42 pupils on the roll. In Vancouver for each elementary school having 35 or fewer pupils in regular attendance there would be a school-house with one teacher ; for each elementary school having more than 35 pupils in attendance, an additional class-room and a teacher for each additional 40 pupils or for any fraction of that number. In the United States (according to a newspaper statement just published) there is one teacher for 35-37 pupils in average attendance. In New Zealand there is one teacher for schools with an average attendance not exceeding 35 ; two teachers from 36 to 80, and thereafter (with one exception) one additional assistant for each additional 40 pupils in average attendance. The exception is an important one and affects the remainder of the schedule. The average number of pupils per teacher, based on average attendance, was 29-6 in England and Wales in 1934 ; 30-8 in council schools, and 29-9 in non-provided schools in London in 1933 ; 31-2 in Scotland in 1933 ; and 28 in New Zealand in 1934. (b) Central and Intermediate Schools. In those schools classes of 40 pupils are the rule. According to a newspaper statement the average number of pupils per teacher in the junior high schools of the United States was 29-16 in 1934-35.

16

E.—s.

(c) Secondary Schools. In England secondary schools are staffed with one teacher for 30 pupils, plus an additional teacher for each 100 pupils. The average number of pupils per class in all secondary schools on the Ist October, 1934, was 24-9 In Scotland in 1934 the average number of pupils to a teacher in secondary schools (including primary departments) was 24. In British Columbia a high school having 25 or fewer pupils in regular attendance has one teacher ; a high school having more than 25 and not more than 50 pupils in regular attendance has two teachers ; and each high school having more than 50 pupils in regular attendance has a teacher for each additional 35 pupils or for any fraction of that number. In Seattle the average number of high-school pupils per teacher is reported to be 28-76, and for twenty-nine cities of the United States, 27-69 for 1934-35. In New Zealand the average number of pupils per teacher in post-primary schools is 23-3 (23-6 in secondary and 21-0 in technical schools). In New Zealand primary schools are staffed on the Ist February on the average attendance of the three terms ending on the 31st August of the previous year, and intermediate, secondary, and technical schools on the roll number on Ist March of the current year. Abroad, primary schools are staffed on the attendance of the current year. In England under the Burnham scales there are only five grades of primary schools, and " all grading and regrading of existing schools for the purposes of this report shall be determined by reference to the average attendance calculated on the average of the three preceding financial years," and " the grading of each individual school or department shall be reviewed by reference to the limits specified in section 4 (a) of this report (that is, the five grades) upon the appointment of a new head teacher or whenever the school is reorganized." In Scotland part of the salary of the head teacher of a primary school and of the infant-mistress depends upon the number of assistants employed in the school or infant department, and as the school is staffed on the roll number at the beginning of the school-year the salaries of these two teachers may rise or fall almost immediately. The Burnham committee found it impossible to formulate by agreement scales of salaries for head teachers of the secondary schools owing to the varying types of such schools and the difiering local conditions. They agreed, however, that the minimum commencing salary for the headmaster of a secondary school should not be less than £600 and the minimum commencing salary for the headmistress not less than £500. In Scotland the head teachers of schools conducted under the secondary schools Regulations receive an addition to salary up to £200 per annum over that paid to the head teacher of a primary school. TEACHERS' SALARIES. In New Zealand a primary teacher's salary may be the sum of two or three of the following parts : — (a) Position salary from a minimum to a maximum for each grade. (&) Grading increment, from £10 to £60 per annum according to efficiency ; and (c) A house or house allowance from £30 to £60 per annum if a sole or heed teacher ; or (d) Married allowance of £50 per annum, subject to clause 6 of the regulations relating to staffs and salaries. Secondary teachers are paid according to the position they hold. Married principals for whom a residence is not provided receive a house allowance, and assistants married allowance in accordance with the regulations. Technical-school teachers are paid according to their personal classification, subject to certain " position " bars, and principals according to the grade of their school as determined by the total weekly hours of teaching in day and evening classes. Principals and full-time assistant teachers in technical schools receive house allowance and married allowance respectively. It is the general practice to pay post-primary teachers higher salaries than those paid to primary teachers, and in America to pay junior-high-school teachers more than primary teachers. In England the Burnham scales operate and provide one range of sala.ry for all assistants in an area, with supplements for principals and some senior assistants. Scotland has its own scales similar to tlie Burnham scales, with the number of assistants determining in some measure the salary of the head teacher and the infant-mistress. Both the Burnham and the Scottish scales differentiate between men and women and between graduates and nong In Canada and the United States teachers' salaries depend in a large measure on the local Board of Education or the trustees, who have to find a large part of the money required for education. I would suggest that you give favourable consideration to the setting-up of a committee, consisting of representatives of the Education Boards, the New Zealand Educational Institute, and the Department, with the Director of Education or his deputy as chairman, to submit to you a simpler salary scale or scales for primary teachers. At the same time consideration should be given to an amendment in the lowest class of secondary salaries by combining the present D and C salaries in one salary group. Some additional cost would be involved. WOMEN TEACHERS AND MARRIAGE. Education authorities in England employ many married women teachers. According to a newspaper item, one in twelve of the women teachers in elementary schools and one in forty-two in secondary schools in Middlesex are married. In November this Education Committee voted in favour of married women on its staffs. All governors and managers of schools in the area will be notified accordingly _ 3—E. 5.

17

Ē.— s.

London County Council recently rescinded its former resolution requiring the resignation of women teachers when they married. The Director of Education in one rural area in England told me that probably one-third of the women teachers in the service of his authority were married, and gave as the reason for their employment the difficulty that is experienced in inducing single women to accept appointments in country schools, especially sole-charge schools. In San Francisco married women are freely employed as teachers. ORGANIZING INSPECTORS OR TEACHERS IN^SPECIAL SUBJECTS. Almost without exception education authorities abroad employ specialists to visit the primary schools and to direct the work of the teachers in such subjects as handicrafts, art, physical education, and music. The following are typical instances of the extent to which these specialists are employed : — Liverpool, with 138,909 pupils, has —1 inspectress of senior departments ; 1 inspectress and 1 assistant inspectress of infant departments ; 1 inspector and 1 inspectress of physical education ; 1 inspector of boys' handicrafts ; 1 inspectress of domestic subjects. Leeds, with 67,107 pupils, has —organizing teachers for music, art, and physical education. Notts County, with 53,999 pupils, has —2 agricultural organizers ; 1 horticultural organizer ; 1 mining organizer ; 1 superintendent of needlework ; 2 superintendents of domestic subjects ; 1 superintendent of physical education. East Suffolk has—organizing teachers in agriculture, dairy science, horticulture (3), manual instruction, domestic subjects, physical education (2 men and 3 women). Vancouver has —organizers in art, music, physical education, and housecraft. In New Zealand, with about 192,000 pupils, we have —22 agricultural instructors employed by the Education Boards, 8 physical instructors in the training colleges. These visit as many schools as possible within easy distance of the colleges. The manual-training centres (woodwork and cookery) are inspected by the primary and the technical school inspectors. I am strongly of the opinion that we should— (a) Appoint at least one inspectress of domestic subjects as soon as possible. We had one till 1931, when the financial stringency brought about the termination of her appointment. (b) Appoint one or two women to supervise the work of the infant departments in the larger schools. (c) Increase the number of physical instructors. Till 1932 we had ten men and seven women. (d) Appoint organizers in music, art, and handicrafts. SCHOOL LIBRARIES. Compared with children in the schools of England and Scotland, our pupils are inadequately supplied with reading-books for class use or for library purposes. Until it became necessary, for financial considerations, to cease payment of the small grant that was made for the purchase of reading and library books for primary pupils, our class and school libraries received small additions annually, but since 1932 very few books have been added, and these only by means of money raised locally. The life of such books is a short one, and replacements are necessary after comparatively brief periods of use. In England the grants made by the local education authorities for books, apparatus, and consumable material are sufficient to enable the teachers to provide adequately stocked class and school libraries. The London County Council prepares a list of approved books, a copy of each book being available for inspection at the teachers' library at County Hall, and teachers order what they require. In addition to a collection of books in each school, there is a collection of over two million readingbooks from which sets are loaned to schools for a period in order that the pupils may have a plentiful supply of general reading matter. The scheme is administered by voluntary local committees of teachers. The schools are divided into areas, and each area has its own catalogue. The local committee arranged for the reallocation of books amongst the schools in the area of each exchange once a year. In some towns the city libraries provide for the needs of the schools—e.g., in Leeds last year fiftyfive schools took classes to the city's libraries for silent reading and study. The libraries there issue quarterly a magazine called The Chimney Corner, with the object of guiding the children in the selection of books for their private reading. The 1935 annual report of the Education Committee states that the children of Leeds borrow approximately three-quarters of a million books annually. Leeds has just over 67,000 children. In Nottingham City the total issue of books to juvenile readers from the libraries and through the schools libraries scheme administered by the libraries was 296.000 in 1931. Nottingham has about 40,000 children between 5 and 14 years of age. In Edinburgh the City Council has gone further, and in some of the most recently built schools has established a library in the school itself. During school-hours it is an integral part of the school, but out of school-hours forms part of the public library service carried on independently of the school. At one intermediate school the room used as the library is stocked by the public library and staffed by one of its officers, who is there to guide the reading of the pupils as well as to issue books. This school has 1,200 or 1,300 pupils 12 to 15 years of age, and in 1933-34 over 27,000 books were issued to them. At a secondary school where the same system exists nearly 15,000 books were issued. At one of the new schools in which a branch of the city library has been established 38,000 books were issued in six months in 1934, 17,000 being to children. In Edinburgh there are also among the schools twenty-two general school libraries and 120 class-room libraries. A country school three miles and a half from Edinburgh receives twice a year a box of fifty books from the city library. '

18

E.—s.

In the junior high schools and high schools of Vancouver the library is in full-time charge of a teacher, usually a University graduate, who has been trained in library work. She is responsible for the issue and return of books and magazines ; she directs the reading of the pupils ; and she trains groups of pupils in library-management. Ī would recommend that consideration be given to the restoration of the grant for school libraries. We should, if possible, increase the amount to enable our teachers to secure adequate reading-matter for use in their schools. If money is available, assistance might be given to public libraries to help them in extending the services that some of them have been rendering to the schools. THE FILM IN SCHOOL. In 1931 the Education Department of the Corporation of Glasgow set up a special sub-committee " to consider and report on the advisability of introducing visual education in schools, with power to experiment within and without schools." The conclusions drawn by the sub-committee from the statistics obtained are stated thus :— (1) In certain lessons and in the hands of certain teachers the cinema has been used with advantage. (2) From the consistency of the positive results obtained in one school there seems to be a particular technique of cinema presentation, the investigation of which is necessary to establish a basis for the development of this form of instruction. (3) Some types of lesson lend themselves more than others to cinema illustration and instruction. (4) Pupils taught with the cinema tend to retain what they have learned better than those taught without it. The sub-committee goes on to say ; "It would appear, therefore, that, given certain conditions, the use of films in the class-room is beneficial." These conditions are — (1) That a film-teaching technique is developed and scrupulously maintained by the teacher. (2) That the films are really teaching-films prepared for the purpose, and not mere extracts from longer films of adventure or general interest. (3) That films intended to be an accompaniment to a lesson, and not to be a lesson by themselves, are standardized as regards length. As a corollary there might be added this further conclusion, based on the school reports and on general experience throughout the experiment, that — " Films on suitable subjects and satisfying the above conditions can be introduced as classroom aids without any interruption of ordinary school routine and without causing any strain, physical or mental, to the pupils." Reporting on the cinema in schools in 1934, the Scottish Education Department said : — " There is an increasing realization of the possibilities of the cinema, if judiciously used, as an aid to instruction and a means of stimulating the imagination. Hitherto, one of the main obstacles to progress in its use in education has been the inadequacy of the supply of suitable films ; and in our report for 1932 we suggested that a solution of the problem could be found only through systematic contact between the trade and the teaching profession, and that the establishment of such contact would be one of the aims of a national film instituteParticulars of what has been accomplished in this direction since the formation of the British Film Institute will be found in the first annual report of that body. Arrangements have been made, and others are in contemplation, for producing, with the co-operation of the Institute, a series of films designed specially for class-room teaching. Some of these films have already been completed, and they are to be shown in Edinburgh and Glasgow. The Institute has also published a report containing recommendations as to the best type of projector and size of film for use in schools. "We referred last year to the proposals which were then under consideration for forming a national Scottish film organization embracing the various bodies already engaged on work of one kind or another in connection with the cinema. This organization has now been set up as an integral part of the British Film Institute and is known as the Scottish Film Council. The Council has appointed an education panel, on which the Department is represented. There has been an increasing demand from the schools for the loan of films from the Post Office Film Library, and arrangements have been made by the Post Ofiice for the exhibition in Edinburgh of films of general interest and educational value, which will be shown to the pupils of post-primary schools. " Interesting experimental work in connection with the educational use of the cinema is being done in various parts of Scotland. Edinburgh education authorities are conducting an experiment involving the use of films in the ordinary course of school work under conditions which will enable the teachers to form a judgment on the value of the cinematograph as an educational aid, the most suitable types of film for school use, and the best method of using them. In Glasgow an advisory committee of teachers is engaged on the preparation of a scheme of work in geography which will provide for the use of appropriate films ; the education authority's film service has been extended to include the courses of instruction for unemployed juveniles ; and an experiment in the use of the film as an aid to the education of mentally defective children has yielded encouraging results. In Lanarkshire, also, much valuable work has been done : a series of demonstrations of educational films, arranged by the county branch of the Scottish Educational Cinema Society, was attended by a large number of teachers ; other demonstrations were given under conditions approximating closely to those of the classroom ; and an experiment on the use of the film in class work, mainly for the teaching of geography, was conducted in a group of schools," 4—E. 5,

19

E.—s.

The second annual report of the British Film Institute, presented to the annual general meeting on Ist October, 1935, states that the Institute decided during the year to establish a national film library with the following as one of its aims : — " To distribute films to schools and other approved institutions using non-theatrical films for educational purposes. It is intended that this section of the library shall become the central source for the supply of such films in this country, and that it shall provide the starting-point for an organized system of decentralization whereby these films may be supplied to schools from local centres." The Institute expected to be in a position to begin distribution to schools by the end of the autumn. It has worked out a scheme for the award of vouchers of approval to films voluntarily submitted to it for examination. During the year ended 30th June, 1935, details of over 2,000 films of an educational character have been collected, and these films have been classified under a detailed scheme of subjectheads. I am of the opinion that before a school decides to incur the expense of installing equipment for showing films in the class-room it should give consideration to the following points : — (1) Supply of film by loan, hire, or purchase. (2) The purpose for which the films are to be used, either — (a) As part of specific lessons. Many teachers who have had experience consider that silent films give the best results ; or (b) As the means of broadening the pupils' knowledge by providing a background to the lessons. For this purpose sound films are said to be the most suitable. (3) The Projector : The choice will depend upon whether it is intended to use silent films or sound films. It appears to be generally true that a sound projector can nearly always be used as a silent machine, but that a silent machine can never be used to show sound films. Sound apparatus is considerably more expensive than silent-film apparatus. (4) Size of Films : The weight of opinion seems to be in favour of sub-standard 16 mm. gauge for school use because of its portability, cheapness, and safety. While I was in London I visited the British-Gaumont Instructional, Ltd., the British Film Institute, and the Imperial Institute. The latter lends silent films to a large number of schools from the Empire Film Library which was inaugurated last year. BROADCASTING TO SCHOOLS. The following is the report of the Scottish Education Department for the year 1934 on broadcasting : — " We stated last year that arrangements had been made to include in the annual returns obtained from the schools certain details which would enable us to publish statistics showing to what extent the school authorities avail themselves of the broadcast courses provided under the direction of the Scottish Sub-Council for School Broadcasting. From the returns which have been received it appears that in the year 1933-34 there were 273 schools taking one or more of the broadcast courses and a considerable number of other schools in which wireless receiving-apparatus was available but was used only on occasions of special interest. The total of 273 is made up of 57 schools conducted under the Secondary Schools (Scotland) Regulations and 216 schools conducted under the Code. Of the latter number, 13 are central advanced-division schools, 199 are primary schools (including 117 in which there are advanced-division classes), and 4 are special schools. The list includes no fewer than 108 small rural schools. About one-sixth of the receiving sets used in these schools have been supplied by the education authorities ; most of the others are the property of the teachers or have been acquired by the schools from various sources, including funds specially raised for the purpose. In the great majority of the schools the reception of the broadcast is described as satisfactory. " The subject which has attracted the greatest number of listeners in the schools is music, under which head are included the course of lessons taken by pupils between the ages of nine and eleven, and concerts, which are listened to by pupils of various ages. Next in order of popularity are courses in history, nature study, geography, English, biology, French, and German. The ages of most of the pupils who take these courses vary from eleven to fifteen or sixteen, by the returns indicate that a considerable number of broadcast lessons are heard by pupils above and below these ages. Senior courses in French and German are taken up to the age of eighteen. " The returns from which the foregoing statistics are taken relate to the year ended 31st July, 1934. We understand that between that date and December, 1934, additions have been made to the list of schools taking broadcast courses, and that the total number of such schools is now 342. The completion of the new transmitter which is being erected to serve the north-east of Scotland should lead to a further increase in the number of listening schools." I had the privilege of meeting the recently appointed Director of School Broadcasting and other officers of the British Broadcasting Co., and of discussing with them the possibilities and the technique of school broadcasting. I also heard broadcasts to schools. We should develop what we are doing through the courtesy of the New Zealand Radio Broadcasting Board. The time has probably arrived when each of the four principal stations should appoint an officer to work in conjunction with the existing committees to secure the greatest possible amount of technical perfection in putting the lessons or talks upon the air. All speakers should be adequately paid for their services, and should be required to submit scripts and to rehearse, as is done in London. Separate broadcasts should be given to primary and post-primary pupils,

20

E.—s.

SCHOOL-BOOKS, STATIONERY, AND MATERIAL. Extensive inquiries concerning the practice of education authorities in regard to the provision of school-books, stationery, and material show that almost everywhere these are supplied free to all pupils in elementary, senior, central, and special schools. It is usual for secondary and technical school pupils to provide their own books except in necessitous cases. London allows expenditure as follows : Central schools, 12s. to 13s. per pupil per annum ; senior schools, 6s. 6d. per pupil per annum ; junior schools, 4s. 6d. per pupil per annum ; infants, 2s. 6d. per pupil per annum —for books, stationery, and consumable material. Nottingham spends Bs. 6d. per pupil in average attendance in elementary schools on books, stationery, apparatus, and equipment. The Essex Education Committee makes to each school an annual capitation allowance for school books, apparatus, and equipment as follows : Senior schools, 7s. per unit; junior schools, 4s. per unit; junior and infant schools, 3s. 6d. per unit; infant schools, 3s. per unit; all-standard schools, ss. per unit. In addition, there is an allowance of 4d. per head for physical-training and sports apparatus and 3d. per head for pictures. In the case of new schools a special allowance based on the proposed school accommodation of £1 per place for the first year and 10s. per place for the second year is allowed. For needlework materials teachers are allowed to make two requisitions each year. The normal capitation allowance is—lnfant schools, Bd. per head per requisition for all girls ; junior and all-standard schools, Is. per head per requisition for all girls ; senior schools, Is. 4d. per head per requisition for all girls. An additional allowance up to 50 per cent, of the cost of materials purchased is made for materials used for practice work and unavoidable wastage. East Suffolk allows for pupils over lOf years of age ss. 6d. per head and for pupils under 10| years of age 4s. per head for books, stationery, handwork material, and needlework material. I have to recommend that favourable consideration be given to the supply of free school-books, stationery, and material in primary and intermediate schools. To the best of my knowledge very few education authorities publish their own school-books or issue an exclusive authorized list of school text-books. " Each department of a London elementary school is allowed to requisition for books, apparatus, and consumable materials up to an allowance fixed on a per capita basis, and each head teacher is free to decide how much of this allowance shall be devoted to books, and to choose the particular books to be used in the department, provided that the books are included in the requisition list." This represents the position generally throughout England and Scotland. The Year-Book of Education for 1934 shows that in— New South Wales teachers in primary schools have free choice in selecting text-books. An approved list is supplied, but no objection is made to other text-books unless certain defects have been specially noted. Queensland : Certain text-books are definitely prescribed for use in schools, both primary and secondary. A list of additional suitable books which may be used at their discretion is provided by the Department, to which copies intended for consideration should be sent. (Note. —This may not be the position now.) South Australia : In primary schools the teachers are limited to text-books named in the course of instruction supplied by the Education Department at the instigation of the Director of Education. Tasmania : Suitable books are recommended in the course of instruction, but teachers are encouraged to use any books that appeal to them as being suited to the subject in hand. Victoria : A certain degree of freedom is allowed, but teachers are expected to make their selection from the suggested list published each year. Western Australia : In the primary schools teachers have freedom in selecting text-books (other than prescribed reading-books) with the approval of their district inspectors. Almost universally, the practice is for the education authority to prepare a list of approved books from which the teachers select those which they consider most suitable for the requirements of their pupils. The books belong to the school, and must be left there when the pupil leaves school or transfers to another school. . Educationists consider that we are wrong in limiting our pupils to one text-book m a subject. The issue of a short authorized list in 1923 in New Zealand was brought about by complaints made by parents against the expense imposed on them by frequent changes of school-books, the changes being due to the action of the teachers, or to pupils transferring from one school to another. Reporting last year to the Hon. the Ministers of Education and Finance of British Columbia, the Revision Committee of the Education Finance and Administration Committee said : — " We would also point out that the system sometimes recommended of having all textbooks printed by the Government has proved a failure wherever it has been tried. There is a limited field only where such a policy could be applied." The present arrangements made by the New Zealand Government in regard to primary-school text-books expires in December, 1937, and it will be necessary for the Government to consider almost immediatelv whether it will — (1) Retain the authorized list in its present form ; or (2) Issue a longer list from which teachers may choose ; or (3) Supply free text-books to primary and intermediate school pupils, leaving the teachers free to choose from a list approved by the Department.

21

E.—s.

If it is decided to retain the authorized list it will then be necessary to consider whether— (4) The Government will purchase the copyright of a series of books in the various subjects and invite tenders for printing, distribution, &c. ; or (5) The Government will invite publishing houses to submit books for authorization for use in the primary and intermediate schools, either on an exclusive or an extended list. The preparation of series of text-books will take at least two years of very hard work on the part of authors, Department, and publishers, whether the writing of them be done for the Government or for a private firm. The representative of an English firm that publishes large quantities of schoolbooks told me that it sometimes took five years to bring out a series of text-books. VOCATIONAL GUIDANCE The following extracts indicate what is being done in vocational guidance by education authorities in England and Scotland : — " School-care committees, with five thousand voluntary workers, concern themselves with the health and hygiene, environment, recreation, and opportunities for work and further education on leaving school of London's elementary and special-school children. Their aim is to ensure that each child is given the opportunity of taking full advantage of the education provided. Care committee members are welcomed in the homes of the children, and their knowledge of local conditions enables them to give helpful advice to the parents on the general welfare of the children." —" Twenty-Jive Years of London Government." " Under a scheme approved both by the Board of Education and by the Ministry of Labour the work is carried out by local juvenile welfare sub-committees. The main duties are — " (1) To arrange that boys and girls under 18 years of age shall receive either directly or through their parents information and advice with regard to choice of suitable employment : " (2) To study the state and conditions of employment both local and national so far as these afiect the prospects of boys and girls in their area. " A review of the work of vocational guidance and juvenile welfare is published by the committee annually. " The work of the local committees has grown steadily during'the past five years. During the last term at school the head teacher fills up, for each boy and girl due to leave, a card with particulars of attainments and aptitudes. The vocational guidance officer then interviews the boy and girl with their parents and the head teacher, and efforts are made to find suitable employment. If no suitable work is available, continuance at school is strongly advised ; but if for economic reasons the boy or girl must enter work as soon as possible, contact is maintained with the Juvenile Welfare Bureau on Eriday evenings. Every boy and girl placed in employment is ' followed-up ' usually by voluntary ' after-care ' workers, who encourage attendance at evening classes or voluntary organizations, and generally look after the well-being of the young people in their employment and leisure. " In rural areas, the present arrangements are that the head teacher reports on each boy or girl who leaves school, and, where advice and assistance are required, the Juvenile Welfare Bureau gets into touch with the boy or girl concerned. . . . " It has been increasingly difficult to place in employment physically defective boys and girls. At the end of their training in the appropriate craft, the local juvenile welfare committees endeavour to find suitable work, and thereafter a visit is paid at regular intervals by a voluntary worker till the boy or girl reaches 18 years of age. Thirty-four boys and thirty-one girls have been assisted, and the majority are now settled and self-supporting." •—Education in Kent, 1928-1933. " The Juvenile Employment Committee consists of the seven members of the School Attendance Committee, three persons representing labour organizations, three teachers and two other persons possessing knowledge and experience of the needs of young persons in the matter of employment. The Juvenile Employment Committee reports direct to the Education Committee." —Education in Nottingham', 1924-1933. " Much depends on a right start in a child's industrial career. Too often do parents think that the first or second job does not matter much —it will be time enough to decide on a definite trade later on —too often they find that the opportunity has passed by. Vocational guidance should be the right of every child before he leaves school. At each choice of employment conference, therefore, teachers and employment officers combine to obtain by means of school records, health records, and knowledge of temperamental traits, as clear a picture as possible of the child's general make-up ; they are then able to give vocational guidance to parents and children which should prevent industrial misfits, and which should enable each child to make the best use of his special gifts." —Annual Report, 1932-33, of Juvenile Employment and Welfare Sub-committee, Birmingham.

22

E,— s.

" A more recent development, also under the auspices of the Ministry of Labour, has been the establishment, in connection with secondary schools, of ' careers committees ' for the advising and placing of pupils. In Glasgow each of the twenty-three secondary schools under the education authority has a ' careers committee ' and there is a ' careers council' in which their operations are centred. The juvenile advisory committee are intimately associated with educational policy ; they are not merely labour exchanges ; their functions require them to have an eye to the structure of the educational system and its relation to the apprenticeship system. They are in a position to appreciate to the full the nature of the problem of which we are speaking. The task is not only to help boys and girls to find their way from school to employment, but to establish direct routes from the one to the other." —1933 Report, Scottish, Education Department. Before I left New Zealand I had a conference with the five technical-school teachers who have interested themselves in the senior pupils in Auckland, Wellington, Cliristchurch, and Dunedin, and, with the co-operation of various organizations, in finding suitable employment for boys and girls. I am sure that if we extend what these teachers are doing we shall arrive at a vocational-guidance technique that will be valuable under normal economic conditions. SCHOOL BUILDINGS. Tn recent years school architecture everywhere has received a great deal of attention, and there has been competition among educational authorities to erect the most suitable kind of buildings at a reasonable cost. Scarcely any of the New Zealand schools are as large as the newest ones in Great Britain, Denmark, Australia, and America, but in design, arrangement of class-rooms, furniture, lighting, and ventilation our newest compare quite favourably with most that I have seen, and call for no substantial alterations in these respects. In the matter of accommodation other than ordinary class-rooms we are, however, behind modern developments in school-building. Large assembly halls form an integral part of all new schools ; gymnasia are not uncommon ; special rooms for the teaching of such subjects as art and handicrafts are provided ; adequate provision for instruction in woodwork, metalwork, and domestic subjects is made in the schools where these subjects are taught; teachers' rooms are generously provided ; hot water over the basins and heated cloak-rooms are fairly general; storerooms for school supplies, &c., are attached to many class-rooms ; the installation of indoor toilets for infants seems to be an established practice ; some schools have been provided with a library-room, and most with rooms for doctors, dentists, and nurses. Since many schools supply meals for the children, canteens and school kitchens are quite a common feature. The following is a description of the accommodation provided by one County Council in a senior school for 180 pupils : — (a) Eight or nine class-rooms, one a stage class-room, each 500 square feet. (b) Two craft-rooms, each 700 square feet ; fitted with sink. (c) One craft-room, 600 square feet; fitted with sink. (d) One science-room, 900 square feet; tables in middle ; working-benches round the walls ; fitted with gas, water-taps, and sink ; overhead beams, shelving, electric lantern and screen. (e) Assembly hall, 1,800 square fret; with a stage class-room. (/) Kitchen for preparation of school meals. (g) Stafi-rooms, medical-inspection room, adequate storage-rooms, cloak-rooms, lavatories, sanitary offices. If the school is a girls' school— Two domestic-science rooms each 750 square feet, with ironing-room, lard'er, and store attached ; a small fiat consisting of sitting-room, kitchenette, bedroom, &c. If the school is a boys' school — A manual-training room, 1,500 square feet, with metal-store and timber-store. The same local education authority provides in its infant-schools an assembly hall of 1,000 square feet and a play-room of 800 square feet, with French windows opening on to the playground. Its junior schools have an assembly hall of 1,800 square feet. Its buildings are erected in reinforced-concrete skeleton, with cavity brick as an external finish ; the floors are of concrete and the roofs are flat. The schools have metal casement windows which, in the class-rooms, extend the full length of the external walls. The type of architecture is described as " functional "to distinguish if from " domestic." I found that schools erected in recent years in England cost something over £30 per place, but, as building-costs have risen recently, the expenditure will probably be greater in future. I am of opinion that consideration should be given to the provision of more subsidiary accommodation in schools that are to be erected in the Dominion. In England and Scotland a considerable number of the schools, including the new ones, have parquetry floors. These are never scrubbed because the application of water would cause the wood to swell and the blocks to rise : they are sprinkled with a disinfectant powder and swept. Just as is the case often in New Zealand, many of the, floors, both parquetry and boards, have been oiled to prevent dust from rising. I was somewhat surprised to find that the provision of wall blackboard for use in writing and drawing, particularly in the infant-rooms, has been largely discontinued in the newest infant and

23

E.—s.

junior schools ; in fact, in some schools the amount of blackboard space available for the teachers' use seemed to be less than our teachers are accustomed to have. The seating-accommodation generally is much the same as ours —tables and chairs, single desks or dual desks. I cannot recall any that was superior, except that in some senior schools the tops of the desks were adjustable for drawing exercises. Cupboards are rendered unnecessary by the provision of storerooms. Lockers : In Toronto, Vancouver, and San Francisco the pupils are provided with long steel lockers which are built into the corridors. These are provided with combination locks to obviate the inconvenience caused by pupils forgetting or losing keys. A list of the " combinations "is kept in the office. I made some inquiries concerning the payment of school keepers and cleaners, and found that — In East Suffolk —mainly a rural area — the school-cleaners are paid in summer from 19s. per calendar month for 1 to 50 children to 655. per calendar month for 401 to 450 children ; and in winter from 225. 6d. to 84s. 6d. respectively, plus at all times small extras when the school is let for meetings. The cleaner must provide all necessary assistance for discharging his duties, which are set out at length in the local education authority's by-laws. In Glasgow the maximum wages for janitors are as follows : Group I : Schools with average attendance over 1,000, 645. per week ; Group II : Schools with an average attendance under 1,000, 625. per week. The minimum wages are 565. in each group, except in the case of special schools for invalided children, when the minimum wages are 58s. per week. Janitors receive free house or allowance in lieu of house, and additional allowances for — (a) Continuation classes and evening meetings ; (b) opening of playground after school-hours ; (c) additional furnaces ; (d) spray-baths ; (e) hostels where three meals are served daily. Assistant janitors are paid according to Group II of the scale. Caretakers receive 9d. per hour — equal to 40s. a week—with house or allowance in lieu thereof. Cleaners receive 275. per week for full-time services and 13s. 6d. for half-time services. CLASSES FOR SUPER-NORMAL CHILDREN. In one primary school in Sydney an interesting experiment is being carried out with children of unusual intelligence. The Department's research officer has selected the brightest pupils, ranging in age from 10 to 12 years, from a number of schools and placed them in four classes (Classes V and VI) in a convenient central school. The object of the experiment is to compare the rate of progress at school of a group of super-normal children with the rate of an ordinary class, composed of pupils of widely different intelligence quotients. The course of work includes the same subjects as in ordinary classes at the same stage and occupies the same length of time —namely, two years —but it is richer in literature and in the cultural aspects of the curriculum. I propose to write to the Director later on for information in regard to the results that are being achieved. SPECIALIZATION. Specialization forms a distinct part of the system in many schools I have seen. Not only are specialist teachers employed, but in many schools rooms are provided for particular subjects—e.g., nature study, history, geography, art, handicrafts, as well as, of course, for manual training and domestic arts. Some of these rooms are very well equipped with teaching aids, diagrams, &c., and the pupils from all classes in the school come for their lessons to the teacher in charge of the room. In Nottingham throughout the senior schools specialization is the rule, all subjects being taught by specialist teachers. This is the practice also to a considerable extent in the junior schools, and even in some infant-schools for such subjects as music, art, handicrafts, and physical education. In some subjects —for example 4 woodwork and cookery—it is usual for the teachers to give their pupils continuous instruction for a week, or at least for two or three days, according as suitable arrangements can be made. In the pamphlet " Education in Nottingham, 1924-1933," it is stated that " Intensive work which has proved of such value in senior schools is in a modified form encouraged with the younger children. Instead of fifteen- or twenty-minute lessons, periods of an hour or more, or a whole afternoon session, are devoted to some subjects (in infant-schools) just as a child in a good nursery is allowed to occupy himself for long periods without interruption." SCHOOL-LEAVING AGE. Children in England and Wales must attend school till the end of the term in which they reach 14 years of age, but the Government had " decided to legislate to raise the school-leaving age to 15, with a right to exemption between 14 and 15 for beneficial employment. The Act will not come into operation until there has been time to complete the considerable preparations which will first be needed." • —Daily Telegraph, 28/10/35. Acting in accordance with existing legislation, the East Suffolk Education Committee has, since 1925, ordained that " No pupil may leave school until the end of the term in which he reaches the age of 15 unless he obtains a certificate of exemption." About half of the fourteen- to fifteen-year-old pupils leave during the first four months after 14, a quarter of the remainder leave before the end of the year, leaving rather more than a quarter who stay the full year.

24

E.—s

Rugby, in Warwickshire, is said to be the only town in England where boys and girls between 14 and 16 years of age must attend school part-time. They attend one day a week, whether they are employed or not, and this has been the case since 1920, when the junior day (continuation) school was opened. School-hours are from 8.30 a.m. to 12.15 and 1.15 to 5 p.m. Boys and girls from 14 to 16 may attend junior evening classes, which are voluntary and free, and may take any subject they choose provided thay take it for at least one term. Boys attend these classes from 7to 9 p.m. on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, and girls from 6.45 to 8.45 p.m. on Tuesday and Thursday. There are games for both on Saturday from 2 to 5 p.m. The day courses are— Boys : Industrial courses for building, engineering, and similar occupations ; distributive trades course. Boys and Girls : Commercial course for those in clerical occupations ; courses in agriculture for those engaged in agricultural pursuits. Girls : Housecraft courses for those employed in factories, shops, or the house. English and physical exercises are taken by all girls and boys ; French by the commercial girls ; art by the housecraft girls ; the remaining subjects taken are vocational and practical. Three hundred pupils attend the evening (voluntary) classes for —Literature and drama; music (vocal and instrumental) ; physical training; scientific circles ; handicrafts; needlework; typewriting and shorthand ; French ; art. In Vancouver pupils must stay at school until they are 15 unless they secure exemption, and in California full-time till 16 and part-time to 18 or 21 years. In New Zealand only an Order in Council is required to raise the primary-school leaving-age to 15 years. DENMARK. Throughout this report I have referred under various headings to aspects of Danish education. Speaking generally, the organization of the system is similar to that in other countries —namely, elementary schools for all up to 14 or 15 years, with provision for transferring, at 11, the brightest pupils to the middle school (mellemskole), and, of these children, again the brightest at 15 to the gymnasium, where they remain till they are 18 and sit for the examination (Studenter) that determines admission to the University and the professions. A few schools are directly under the control of the Government ; others are controlled by the municipalities ; others again are under private control. Most of the latter receive a subsidy from the State. It is usual for Danish town children to attend school for six hours a day for six days a week, every teacher's week being thirty-six hours. In the rural districts, however, where there are many one-teacher schools divided into two classes, it has been the custom for a long time for one class to attend for three hours in the morning and the other for three hours in the afternoon, or for each class to attend for three days of six hours. This enables the older children to help at home for three days a week. The school curriculum is fixed for each individual school by the School Committee and must be approved by the School Board. Attendance at school is compulsory till 14, but an effort is being made to extend the elementary school course to 15 for those who do not enter the mellemskole. At the age of 14 children leave the rural elementary school and most of them go to work on the home farm or engage themselves as apprentices to a neighbouring farmer. For the next four years they have no contact with school. But at 18 a large number become pupils of the folk high schools. Rural education may be summarized thus : — Seven to fourteen years : Period of compulsory elementary education. Fifteen to eighteen years : No school work : employment on the farm. Eighteen to twenty-five years : Pupils of the folk high schools for part of each year. The folk high schools are an original contribution to educational organization. They are private boarding-schools and form no part of the national system of education. Yet they have exercised a profound influence on the life of the kingdom. They were founded in 1844 by N. S. F. Grundtvig, a pastor, poet, historian, and educational reformer, and developed by Christen Kold, who gave them their inner spiritual character and their plain and simple outward form. The aim of the folk high school is to impart to the young people a " rule of life " which gives them a more profound understanding and enables them to lead a spiritual and active life in their future homes and among their fellow-citizens. The schools are open for men from November to April —i.e.. during the winter ; and for women from May to July —i.e., during the summer. They are attended by young people from about 18 to 25 or older. In 1933 there were sixty schools in operation with a yearly attendance of some 6,400 students —3,500 men and 2,900 women. The high schools are private institutions at which attendance is quite voluntary. As a rule they are owned by the principal. The pupils and the staff reside together in the school-houses, and it is claimed that this living together as a large family does much to further feelings of fellowship. Subject to certain conditions the State subsidizes the schools in proportion to the salaries of the teachers, building-expenses, &c., and gives a number of scholarships, but it takes no part in their organization or management. The Scholarships cover about half the cost of the tuition and board, which at present is usually just over £3 per month for women and a little under £4 a month for men (70 and 80 kroner respectively). .

25

E— 5.

The courses of instruction include— (a) Writing, arithmetic, and drawing, given under the supervision of a teacher : (b) Gymnastics, open-air games, folk dancing daily : (c) Needlework for women : (■d) Three lectures daily covering literature, history, geography, sociology, natural science, &c., given to the whole school : (e) Community singing, before and after each lecture, of songs, bearing as far as possible upon the lecture. At the larger schools the pupils are separated into groups, each with its respective teacher for Danish grammar, reading, composition, arithmetic, drawing, or manual work. AGRICULTURAL HIGH SCHOOLS. In " Denmark, 1934," published by the Danish Government, it is stated that — " As a means of supplementing practical training in farming, there are agricultural schools with courses extending from five to twelve months and intended for young farmers. Besides agricultural lines, such as vegetable growing, animal husbandry, &c., instruction is given in subjects of general education. The first of these schools was opened simultaneously with the people's high schools in the 1840's, and in 1.93-3 there were twenty-one agricultural schools with 2,400 pupils." I have, &c., N. T. LAMBOURNE, The Hon. the Minister of Education, Wellington. Director of Education.

Approximate Cost of Paper.—Preparation, not given ; printing (470 copies), £22 10s.

Authority: G. H. Loney, Government Printer, Wellington. —l 936,

Price 9d.)

26