The 1944 Education Act

Seminar paper from the year 2009 in the subject English Language and Literature Studies - Culture and Applied Geography, grade: 1,7, University of Potsdam (Anglistik & Amerikanistik), course: British Culture in the 19th and 20th Century, language: English, abstract: In the last decades, the educational systems 'widened' steadily. Learning opportunities and participation are on the increase. Particularly the number of people that remain in the educational system beyond compulsory education rose considerably. This expansion continues: Following an almost universal taking part in secondary education, tertiary education registers a continuous perpetually participation rate (OECD 31-32). The responsibility for the education in England lies with the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) led by the Secretary of State, Rt Hon Charles Clarke MP. This year's progress report states that parents want the best for their children. They want them to be safe, happy, healthy, doing well in a good school with high standards, and able to get good qualifications and eventually a good job. [...] The world is changing, and so are the skills, attitudes and aspirations that children and young people need to succeed in a changing global economy (DCSF 3). This shows that nowadays education is given a high priority in the English society. It has not always been like that. The present English educational system is the result of a historical development for centuries. The system certainly has features of recent foundation, but its most basic aspects persisted directly and visibly from the nineteenth century. A key moment in educational reform seemed, and still seems, to be the Education Act of 1944. 'It is a very great Act which makes - and in fact has made - possible as important and substantial advance in public education as this country has ever known.' (Dent 1). This paper shall deliver insight into the reforms of the 1944 Education Act. In this regard, I would like to enlarge on its roots and aims - especially concerning the influence of World War II. Furthermore, I will introduce the Act itself, its strengths and weaknesses, and its potential impact on the present English education system. There are certainly several more interesting aspects regarding the issue, but due to the restricted number of pages, I will not be able to go into all of them.