National Coordination and Organization
The United Kingdom has been involved in the development of SAW from the outset and has been represented at all the meetings of the International Steering Committee. However, it was not until October 1999 that the project became formally located within the Cheltenham and Gloucester College of Higher Education, an institution working within the university sector and offering a wide range of undergraduate, postgraduate and research programmes. One of the College's particular strengths is in its Faculty of Teacher Education, where it works closely with GWIST, a partnership of Local Education Authorities, Universities and Schools for the delivery of professional development for heads and teachers. GWIST, described by the Education Minister as ìthe golden partnershipî, also promotes an extensive programme of international links and exchanges.
The UK National Coordinator is Keith Anderson, formerly Chief Education Officer for Gloucestershire. He has held acting posts as Principal of two Colleges of Higher Education and Teacher Training and was for several years Chairman of the Central Bureau for International Education and Training. He is currently a Senior Education Adviser to the British Council and a Visiting Fellow at the Cheltenham & Gloucester College of HE.
The Project Adviser is Christine Thomson, a former Primary Head and Adviser and currently much involved in the national school leadership programme.
Funding
UK funding for such projects tends to be problematic, with priority given to government initiatives and to academic research within universities. Maximum delegation of revenue budgets to individual schools also limits the availability of public funds for cooperative ventures. Approaches have been made to the European Commission, to the Department for Education and Employment, and to the Teacher Training Agency. All have expressed interest in the SAW project - none have yet offered any money! The search will continue, not least because there is a new interest in teacher involvement in classroom based research.
Schools
Because of the absence of start-up funding, it was difficult until recently to engage UK schools in serious involvement in SAW. However, thanks to assistance from the CBE, a start has now been made and three schools were involved in the pilot in early 2000. These schools
St Peterís High School, Gloucester
Arthur Dye Primary School, Cheltenham
Randwick Primary School, Stroud
were invited because of their previous experience variously in classroom-based research, the professional development of teachers, ICT and the international dimension. Discussions are taking place with a number of other primary and secondary schools to identify the team of UK schools and teachers to participate in the next stage of the SAW project.
Technology
Recent government initiatives are now underway to equip schools and teachers with the resources and training necessary to embed ICT methodology into all teaching and learning. Through a National Grid for Learning, all schools will have access to the Internet, e-mail, etc. This will provide a valuable platform for SAW activities, that hopefully can be enhanced by more sophisticated communications systems to enrich the teachersí interactions.
Introduction
Over the past decade or so, the educational system in England and Wales has become increasingly decentralized in some of its features and increasingly centralized in others. On the one hand, the Education Reform Act of 1988 dispersed educational authority and emphasized local management of schools. On the other hand, the Department for Education and Employment (DfEE) adopted a uniform national curriculum for the first time in the same year. Because of this combination of centralized and decentralized authority, the English and Welsh educational system has been referred to as being "national, but locally administered" (Husen & Postlethwaite, p.6518).
Structure of Schooling
Schooling is compulsory in England and Wales for children between the ages of 5 and 16. The basic structure of the compulsory school years includes:
In England and Wales, participation in primary and secondary education is "virtually 100 percent" (Husen & Postlethwaite, p.6517).
Following the completion of secondary education, a majority of students (about 65 percent; Central Office of Information, p.423) continue on for additional academic or vocational training. These students study to acquire one or a combination of qualifications: the General Certificate of Education (GCE); the broad-based General National Vocational Qualifications (GNVQs); or the job-specific National Vocational Qualifications (GVQs). Of those students who continue with their formal education, approximately 42 percent pursue academic programs, while the remaining 58 percent pursue vocational programs (OECD, p.138).
Academic training takes place either in the "sixth form" of the secondary school or in "sixth form colleges." Students at these schools spend two years preparing for examinations that will allow them access to higher education or professional training. Vocational training takes place primarily in "further education colleges." The system of further education colleges in England and Wales is diverse, but, in general, the system has strong ties with commerce and industry, and employers are frequently involved in designing courses. Many students enroll in further education courses on a part-time basis. (Central Office of Information, pp.424-425).
The "maintained" educational system (see Footnote 1) in England and Wales has a complex administrative and supervisory structure. Maintained schools fall into four categories: (1) county schools, which are wholly funded and operated through the local education authority (LEA); (2) voluntary controlled schools, which are under the purview of the LEA but are owned by charitable organizations, most often churches; (3) voluntary aided schools, also typically owned and operated by a church but with more autonomy - and less financial support - from the LEA than voluntary controlled schools receive; and (4) grant-maintained schools, which are schools that have elected to remove themselves from the authority of the LEA and instead receive their funding directly from the central government.
Governance. Overall responsibility for education rests with the Secretary of State for Education in England and the Secretary of State in Wales; the central offices under the Secretaries are the Department for Education and Employment (DfEE) in England and the Welsh Office Education Department. These bodies are responsible for education policymaking and for maintaining the supply and training of teachers (Central Office of Information, p.410).
Most responsibility for administration and management, however, rests with the LEAs. Functions carried out by LEAs include paying teachers and other school staff, providing and maintaining school buildings, supplying equipment and materials, and ensuring that schools are effectively managed (Central Office of Information, p.410).
In recent years, there has been a shift toward situating more responsibility and control at the school level. Consequently, every county and voluntary school "has a governing body which includes governors appointed by the LEA, elected teacher and parent governors, and people co-opted from the local community" (Central Office of Information, p.411). The governors set goals for the school, and the headteacher is responsible for "the internal organization, management, and control of the school" (Husen & Postlethwaite, p.6519). Each school has a delegated budget, representing approximately 75 percent of the school's revenue expenditures, for which the governors are responsible.
An important recent development in the governance of English and Welsh schools is the opportunity for schools to "opt out" of LEA control to become grant-maintained schools. Schools opt out if "the school's parents support the idea in a ballot and if the Secretary of State approves the school's proposals for [grant-maintained] status" (Central Office of Information, p.411). The governing bodies for grant-maintained schools include parents, teachers, and community members; the governors make "all decisions about school management, employ and pay staff, are responsible for school premises, and may acquire or dispose of land" (Central Office of Information, p.411). Approximately 15 percent of secondary schools in England have elected to opt out (Central Office of Information, p.411).
Finance. LEAs are responsible for most of the funding of primary and secondary schools in England and Wales. In 1992, about 6.5 percent of all funding for primary and secondary education came from the central government, while the remaining 93.5 percent came from local sources (OECD, p.117). However, a large proportion of "local" funds are provided indirectly from the central government through the Revenue Support Grant (Central Office of Information, p.410).
At both the primary and secondary levels, funding varies according to the type of maintained school. Both county schools and voluntary controlled schools are financed entirely by the LEA; voluntary aided schools receive only part of their maintenance costs from the LEA (Husen & Postlethwaite, p.6518). Grant-maintained schools, however, are funded by the central government through an agency within the Department for Education.
Curriculum
As a major departure from past practice, a national curriculum was prescribed in 1988 for all primary and secondary schools in England and Wales (Husen & Postlethwaite, p.6520). The national curriculum includes both the "core subjects" of English, mathematics, and science and the "foundation subjects" of technology, history, geography, foreign language (only at the secondary school level), music, art, and physical education. In Wales (which maintains both Welsh-speaking schools and English-speaking schools), "Welsh may be a foundation subject and the curriculum studied through the medium of Welsh" (Husen & Postlethwaite, p.6520). Attainment targets exist for each of the subject areas.
A National Curriculum Council in England and a Curriculum Council in Wales are responsible for supervising adherence to the curriculum, and local schools are expected to follow the prescribed curriculum and to select appropriate textbooks.
Standards for Student Performance and Gateways to Promotion and Higher Education
A system of national assessments has been developed over the past several years to reflect the core subjects - English, mathematics, and science - of the new national curriculum. Together, the national curriculum and the national assessment system articulate both content and performance standards for the English and Welsh educational system. In addition, the system of examinations taken by students hoping to enroll in universities has also been modified in recent years, encouraging a broader curriculum for these students.
Promotion. Advancement from primary to secondary school is virtually automatic in England and Wales. Decisions on accelerated or delayed promotion are usually made by the school in consultation with the parents. Thus, at about age 11, the vast majority of students (about 90 percent, DFE, p.95) advance automatically to a local comprehensive secondary school, with parents having the right to state a preference for a particular school. In those parts of the country that retain selective secondary schools, a small number of students from the top 20 percent of the ability range advance to secondary grammar schools.
Examinations. National assessments are administered to all students at the ages of 7, 11, and 14 in the core subjects of English, mathematics, and science (ages 11 and 14 only); an assessment in Welsh is also administered in Welsh-speaking schools. (Originally, assessments were to be introduced in more subject areas, but for the moment, the DfEE has decided to limit the national assessments to only the core subjects.) The national assessments are administered under the supervision of the School Curriculum and Assessment Authority. In the case of the assessment administered to 7-year-olds, the assessments are marked by the regular classroom teacher and verified by an external agency; for the 11- and 14-year-olds, the assessments are scored by an external agency. (Central Office of Information, p.419; Garet & Moskowitz, pp.IV-5-IV-7).
At the end of secondary school (at the age of 16), students sit for the General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) examination. The GCSE examination, which assesses student achievement in a variety of subjects, is scored on a seven-point scale, ranging from A to G; grades A through C are usually considered passing grades.
After two years of further study (either at a sixth-form college, at the sixth-form in a secondary school, or in a further education college), students may sit for one of three types of exams:
Access to Higher Education. Admission to university or a polytechnic (most of which are now known as universities) depends primarily upon a student's performance on the national GCE A- or AS-level examinations. Usually, two or more passes on the GCE A- and AS-level examinations "provide normal minimal entry requirements for higher education" (DFE, p.100). In addition, a growing number of adults are able to gain admission to universities after taking "access courses," which provide academic preparation and "an appropriate test" for students who do not possess the typical GCE qualifications (Central Office of Information, p.427).
Teacher Training and Certification
Academic and practical training for teacher candidates lasts between three and five years, depending on the level of school at which the candidate wishes to teach. Initial Teacher Training (ITT) programs are offered by university departments of education and other institutions of higher education. There are two main types of qualifications: the four-year Bachelor of Education and the three-year degree course supplemented by a one-year Postgraduate Certificate in Education (Central Office of Information, p.417). Practical training lasts between 24 and 32 weeks for teacher candidates (U.S. Department of Education, 1993, p.6). After an initial year of teaching, degree-holding teachers receive a teaching certificate. In 1994, legislation created the Teacher Training Agency with the mission of financing ITT courses, ensuring that national standards are met, and promoting the teaching profession (Central Office of Information, p.417).
1. In the United Kingdom, the word "public" in terms of education is actually used to refer to a relatively small number of elite, privately-maintained schools; therefore, the word "maintained" is used to refer to those schools funded and managed by governmental agencies. (Return to text)
General Reference
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (1995). Education at a glance: OECD indicators. Paris: Author.
Husen, T., & Postlethwaite, N. (Eds.) (1994). The international encyclopedia of education (Second edition). Oxford: Pergamon Press.
U.S. Department of Education (1993). Teacher training abroad: New realities. Washington D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office.
References - The United Kingdom
Central Office of Information (1995). Britain 1995: An official handbook. London: HMSO.
Department for Education (1994). Education statistics for the United Kingdom, 1993 Edition. London: HMSO.
Garet, M.S., & Moskowitz, J. (1996). Multilateral comparisons of national assessments in education. Washington, D.C.: Pelavin Research Institute.
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July 2000