UC-NRLF B 4 EMI blfl NATURAL SCIENCE IN EDUCATION LONDON: PUBLISHED UNDER THE AUTHORITY OF HIS MAJESTY'S STATIONERY OFFICE PRICE Is. 6d. NET NATURAL SCIENCE " IN EDUCATION BEING THE REPOET OF THE COMMITTEE ON THE POSITION OF NATURAL SCIENCE IN THE EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM OF GREAT BRITAIN LONDON: PUBLISHED UNDER THE AUTHORITY OF HIS MAJESTY'S STATIONERY OFFICE, 1918, CONTENTS. PAGE TEBMS OF REFEBENCE AND LIST OF MEMBERS - v PREFATORY NOTE - vii CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION 1 CHAPTER II. SECONDARY, ELEMENTARY, AND TECH- NICAL EDUCATION : The Position of Science in Secondary Schools - 9 A. Boys' Schools in England (i) Grant-earning Schools - 12 (ii) Public and Preparatory Schools - - 18 Public Schools 19 Preparatory Schools - 29 B. Girls' Schools in England 33 General Education in a Secondary School Inspection of Schools - 44 The First School Examination - - 46 Content of the Science Course, 12-16 52 Science in Secondary Schools, 16-18 - 72 The Second School Examination - - 80 Secondary Education in Wales - 81 Teachers in Secondary Schools (i) Supply - - 86 (ii) Salaries and other conditions of work - - 87 (iii) Qualifications - 90 (iv) Training 93 Laboratory Accommodation, Equipment, and Libraries - - 98 Scotland : Intermediate and Secondary Schools - 101 Science in Elementary Schools - - 107 Technical Education - 113 x (36)5660 Wt 2784890 5000 6/18 E & S a CONTENTS. CHAPTER III. PROFESSIONAL EDUCATION : PAGE (i) Medicine - -131 (ii) Pharmacy - - - 140 (iii) Engineering - L - 142 (iv) Agriculture - v - 146 (v) Chemical Industries - - 160 (vi) Army and Navy - - 162 (vii) Home and India Civil Service - 167 CHAPTER IV. UNIVERSITY EDUCATION : Introduction . - 180 Admission to the Universities - - - 181 Compulsory Greek - 183 Admission of over -age candidates - - 184 Entrance Scholarships at the Universities 184 University Fees - 191 Pass Degrees in Science at Oxford and Cambridge - 192 Courses of General Lectures - - 193 Degree Courses - - 194 The place of Original Research in University Educa- tion - - 197 Degrees for Research work - 199 Post-graduate Research Scholarships 200 Relation between the Departments of Pure and Applied Science - - 202 Provision for Original Research - . 204 Staff, Buildings and Equipment 206 Stipends of University Teachers - 208 Relation of Universities to Secondary Schools - - 209 Scottish Universities - 210 Adult Education - -214 CHAPTER V. SUPPLY OF TRAINED SCIENTIFIC WORKERS FOR INDUSTRIAL AND OTHER PURPOSES - 220 CHAPTER VI. SUMMARY OF PRINCIPAL CONCLUSIONS 237 APPENDICES '"'. . .. 248 INDEX - - - - - ..... 266 TERMS OF REFERENCE. To enquire into the position occupied by Natural Science in the Educational System of Great Britain, especially in Secondary Schools and Universities, and to advise what measures are needed to promote its study, regard being had to the requirements of a liberal education, to the advancement of Pure Science, and to the interests of the trades, industries, and professions which particularly depend upon Applied Science In considering the provision of Scholarships, Bursaries, &c., the Committee will take into account the Report of the Consultative Committee of the Board of Education on this subject. LIST OF MEMBERS. Sir J. J. THOMSON, O.M., P.R.S., D.Sc. (Chairman). The Rt. Hon. F. D. ACLAND, M.P. Professor H. B. BAKER, C.B.E., D.Sc., F.R.S. Sir GRAHAM BALFOUR. Sir WILLIAM BEARDMORE, Bart. Sir GILBERT CLAUGHTON, Bart. Mr. C. W. CROOK. Miss E. R. GWATKIN. Sir A. D. HALL, K.C.B., F R.S. Dr. HENRY HEAD, F.R.S. Sir HENRY HIBBERT, M.P. Mr. D. H. NAGEL. Mr. WILLIAM NEAGLE. Major F. G. OGILVIE, C.B. Dr. MICHAEL E. SADLER, C.B. Professor E. H. STARLING, M.D., F.R.S. Mr. W. W. VAUGHAN. Secretary, Mr. F. B. STEAD, H.M.I. Note. Owing to his appointment as Chairman of the Calcutta University Commission, Dr. Sadler was unable to attend meetings of the Committee after September 30th, 191 7~ PREFATORY NOTE. The Committee, which was appointed by the Prime Minister in August 1916, sat on 45 days and in addition sub-committees appointed for the consideration of par- ticular sections of the work met on 51 days. We have received the evidence of 52 witnesses, including representatives of Government Departments, of profes- sional bodies, and of a number of important Associations connected with education, as well as individual teachers and persons concerned with the applications of science to industry. A list of the witnesses together with a list of the Memoranda that were presented to us are given in Appendices I. and II., pp. 248-253. We are also in- debted to the Conjoint Board of Scientific Societies for suggesting the names of representative men of Science, who could speak on behalf of Agriculture, Chemistry, Geo- logy, Engineering and Metallurgy; from these we received a number of valuable observations on the educational aspects of their special subjects. A large amount of the information on which our Report is based was obtained in answer to questionnaires which we addressed to schools, universities, and industrial firms. We received, for instance, valuable and detailed replies from nearly all of the 76 schools on the Head Masters' Conference which do not work under the Regulations of the Board of Education. These replies enabled us to form an opinion as to the position of Science in a large number of important schools about which information was not otherwise procurable. Further, all the Universities and University Colleges of Great Britain vii PREFATORY NOTE. furnished us with statements of facts and of opinion, either collective or individual, on a number of points relating to the conditions of science teaching of students of undergraduate age. We thought it specially important to ascertain the views of the Mathematical Association as to the relations between . the teaching of mathematics and science, and have to thank them for a very helpful Memorandum. Special enquiries were made of a number of leading firms engaged in engineering and the chemical industry. Owing to war conditions the response was not as great as could have been wished, but 17 engineering firms and 18 chemical firms replied to our questions. We have devoted our attention in the first instance, and indeed in the main, to the educational system in England and have dealt in separate sections with the conditions special to Scotland and Wales. In the course of our deliberations we have conferred with the Committee appointed to enquire into the position of Modern Languages in the Educational System, and have had an opportunity of seeing their draft Report. We wish to put on record the great assistance we have received in our work from the wide knowledge of educa- tion possessed by our Secretary, Mr. F. B. Stead, and to express our high appreciation of the zeal and efficiency with which he has discharged his duties. vin CHAPTER I. Introduction. NOT for the first time our educational conscience has been stung by the thought that we are as a nation neglecting Science. Attention was called to this neglect by the Report of the Royal Commission on the nine Public Schools in 1864, when it was recommended that all boys should receive instruction in some branch of Natural Science during part at least of their school career. A Committee of the British Association dealt with the subject again in 1866, drawing the valuable distinction between scientific information and scientific training, and making recommendations which influenced the course of science teaching in schools. That there was need for these exhortations can be proved without any elaborate survey of the history of science teaching in England. In 1863, at the very time the Public Schools Commission was holding its enquiry, the only instruction in Science at one of the greatest schools in England was given on Saturday afternoon by a visiting teacher, and his meagre apparatus was stored in so damp a cupboard that his experiments usually broke down. It is not surprising that the headmaster of this school told the Commissioners that " instruction in physical sciences was, except for those who have a taste and intended to pursue them as amateurs or professionally, practically worthless.' 7 Steps had been taken before these dates at certain schools to introduce the teaching of Science, but this work was x 5060 1 A . 1 . ; ; ; ; : INTRODUCTION. done under great difficulties and was regarded with jealousy by the staffs, with contempt by the boys and with indifference by the parents. Gradually, thanks to these reports and to the efforts of gifted teachers within the schools, this Benjamin of subjects won toleration if not affection in the family circle. Meantime public interest in Science was being aroused by the achievements of scientific workers like Darwin and Kelvin and by the writings of Spencer, Kingsley, Tyndall and Huxley, and this interest was reflected in the schools. During these years, however, secondary education was within the reach of but few. The big Public Boarding Schools then to be numbered on the fingers of two hands educated a limited number for whom a road had been made by family traditions or increasing wealth; the old established Grammar Schools scattered sparsely over the country offered to others in their immediate neighbour- hood opportunities of education often most eagerly seized and fruitfully used; but boys, even though they found in most schools science teaching available if they sought it out, were sometimes denied it altogether, and they were certainly discouraged from pursuing it unless they had shown incapacity for Classics or Mathematics. For girls even these limited opportunities did not exist. Information about their education at this period is scanty, but it may safely be said that no organised instruction in Science was available for them. These weaknesses, which per- sisted long after the battle of Science was half won, have never been entirely removed by a great stirring of public opinion, even though our defects in. scientific education have been fitfully pointed out and to some extent corrected. Further, while the secondary school, so far as it existed, remained under the classical tradition, the schools which grew up under the Science and Art Department tended 2 INTRODUCTION. 1-2 to be one-sided in the opposite direction, fostering Science to the exclusion of literature. The river of educational enthusiasm, never too strong, was consequently split into two weak streams. The problem has, of course, been affected by the wide extension of secondary education that has marked the last fifteen years, but the older schools have not yet been entirely freed from all their prejudices, and the newer schools, in spite of their better balance of subjects, may perhaps have missed some of their opportunities. 2. From schools so few in number and so limited in aim recruits for the Universities could not be obtained in abundance. There were professors of scientific subjects at both Oxford and Cambridge all through the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, and no doubt they attracted to their lecture rooms individual students, but it was not until halfway through the latter century that the estab- lishment of Honour Schools in Natural Science gave formal recognition to the position of Science. For some years the scanty class lists bear eloquent witness to the dearth of students. The Reports of the University Commissions show how this dearth was not the only difficulty with which the new subject had to cope. Classics and Mathe- matics certainly held a privileged position, and it required the steady efforts of men who were looked upon as dangerous reformers to win the firm ground which Science now holds. For instance, at Cambridge H.R.H. Prince Albert, though equipped with the prestige of a Prince Consort and a Chancellor of the University, had to exercise all his tact and influence before the possessors of power there could be convinced that reform was needed. But Oxford and Cambridge were not to be left in sole possession of the University territory in England and Wales. Durham had been founded in 1832, London University in 1836. Between that date and the end of 3 A 2 2-3 INTRODUCTION. the century the Royal College of Science* was founded in London and fourteen University Colleges were estab- lished in the more important towns. Many of these subsequently developed into Universities. At both stages of their career they did incalculable service to the cause of Science in offering stimulating teaching and oppor- tunities of research to many men and women who were pressing to enter the realms of new knowledge. But even though there was a bias in favour of Science they were handicapped, as the elder Universities were, by a lack of students. Even those with the enterprise to force their way through the obstacles of their circum- stances came often ill-prepared by previous education, and much ability was left untapped. That so much was done under such conditions only intensifies our regret that so much was lost. Genius has a way of saving itself, but it cannot be doubted that a sad amount of the general ability on which educational tone and steady scientific progress depend ran to waste for want of opportunity or on account of misdirection. 3. And now it is the war and its needs that have made us once again conscious of the nation's weakness in Science. But it is for the sake of the long years of peace quite as much as for the days of war that some improvement in the scientific education of the country is required. Just now, everyone is prepared to receive Science with open arms, to treat it as an honoured guest in our educational system, and to give it of our best. Just now, it seems almost unnecessary to take action to ensure against any relapse into the old conditions, but experience of the past shows us that temporary enthusiasm needs to be fortified by some more binding material. Good will is much, but * The Royal College of Science was incorporated in 1907 with the Royal School of Mines and the City and Guilds (Engineering) College to form the Imperial College of Science- and Technology. 4 INTRODUCTION. 3 good will weakens, and we must not sacrifice the future to our fears or even to our love of liberty in educational matters. It ought not to be beyond the wit of man to devise a scheme of education that will be durable, yet elastic ; a scheme that, while securing that every child should be equipped with a knowledge of Science, will not cramp the teacher by a syllabus or even by a rigid tradition. Some of the advocates of scientific training have damaged their cause by claiming too much for their subject and by seeming to depreciate the value of the literary studies which had tended to monopolise the attention of the ablest boys who enjoyed secondary education. To many Greek and Latin have seemed enemies who, from having occupied the educational ground betimes, have been able to dig themselves in and to hold an almost impregnable position, due not to their merit as educa- tional instruments but to the accident of priority. There is truth in this, but we do not think that the surest method of victory is to be found in the over-statement of the merits of Science or the depreciation of the value of Classics. Some of the ablest minds have received from their classical instruction enduring gifts that have been of great service to the State and of great refreshment to their possessors. It is our belief that a better service can be done and a like refreshment gained by those whom we hope to see educated on the wider lines laid down in our Report. The humanising influence of the subject has too often been obscured. We are, however, confident that the teaching of Science must be vivified by a development of its human interest side by side with its material and mechanical aspects, and that while it should be valued as the bringer of prosperity and power to the individual or the nation, it must never be divorced from those literary and historical studies which touch most naturally the heart and the hopes of mankind. 5 4 INTRODUCTION. 4. There can be no need now to labour the important part that Science should play in our education, but memories are short and it may be well to register in formal words for future comfort, if not reproach, what all would readily grant at this moment. It is not possible to give an exhaustive account of the scope of Science, but it is not superfluous to point out that it has several distinct kinds of educational value. It can arouse and satisfy the element of wonder in our natures. As an intellectual exercise it disciplines our powers of mind. Its utility and applicability are obvious. It quickens and cultivates directly the faculty of observation. It teaches the learner to reason from facts which come under his own notice. By it, the power of rapid and accurate generalisation is A t strengthened. Without it, there is a real danger of the mental habit of method and arrangement never being acquired. Those who have had much to do with the teaching of the young know that their worst foe is indo- lence, often not wilful but due to the fact that curiosity has never been stimulated and the thinking powers never awakened. Memory has generally been cultivated, some- times imagination, but those whose faculties can best be reached through external and sensible objects have been left dull or made dull by being expected to remember and appreciate without being allowed to see and criticise. In the science lesson, the eye and the judgment are always being called upon for an effort, and because the result is within the vision and appreciation of the learner he is encouraged as he seldom can be when he is dealing with literature. It has often been noticed that boys when they begin to learn Science receive an intellectual refreshment which makes a difference even to their literary work. It is possible to imagine a time when the obstacle to progress in scientific education might be the attitude of scientific teachers, but that time is far distant and it is hard to believe that the teaching of a subject whose life depends 6 INTRODUCTION. 4-5 on discovery can for long be sterilised, as has been at one time or another instruction in almost all the other branches of human knowledge. Too few parents of this generation can satisfy their children's curiosity about the wonders of the heavens, the movement of the planets, the growth of plants, the history of the rocks, the dawn of animal life, the causes of tide and tempest. How necessary Science is in war, in defence and offence, we have learnt at a great price. How it contributes to the prosperity of industries and trade all are ready to admit. How valuable it may be in opening the mind, in training the judgment, in stirring the imagination and in cultivating a spirit of reverence, few have yet accepted in full faith. A nation thoroughly trained in scientific method and stirred with an enthusiasm for penetrating and under- standing the secrets of nature, would no doubt reap a rich material harvest of comfort and prosperity, but its truest reward would be that it would be fitted by "an ample and generous education to perform justly, skilfully, and magnanimously the offices both private and public of peace arid war/' 5. Our Terms of Reference have been stated above. We are conscious that in some directions we have not carried out our instructions to the extreme limit of their interpretation. Time and the circumstances of the war have prevented us from probing by personal inspection the way in which the work in the universities and schools of all kinds is actually being done. We have taken good faith for granted in all cases and have on this basis tried to assess the aims professed and the material arrangements made. Our recommendations in the main refer to the multiplication of opportunities, to the creation of a suitable environment and to the removal of hampering restrictions ; we must not be taken to under-estimate the less ponderable 7 5 INTRODUCTION. elements of a scientific education. If on the other hand we may seem to have over-stepped our terms of reference in some directions, it must be remembered that scientific education cannot be disentangled from the general educa- tional problem. Boundaries that in theory seem to the looker-on well defined are in practice obliterated . The war, as we have said, has continually hampered us in our enquiry, and it must sadly retard the realisation of our hopes on the other hand, it has increased the urgent need of action and maybe it has silenced some opposition. It certainly gives no excuse for the postpone- ment of a start to recover lost, and to win new, ground. Such ground, it is true, will never be surely held unless it is slowly won. But it will never be won at all unless the present opportunity is seized. To postpone action until equipment and buildings are perfect, or the supply of wise teachers abundant, until the enthusiasm of the parent is roused or the patronage of the employer is secured, until all fear of officials has vanished and complete confidence exists between the literary lion and the scientific lamb, is to place an obstacle in the way of progress, an obstacle greater even than the war. Scattered throughout our Report will be found many recommendations and suggestions the most important a/nd the most urgent of these are summarised at the end. Even whilst we have been sitting measures we have advocated have been taken by more than one of the institutions we have criticised and some of our statements have happily become out of date. But unless the national character suddenly changes there is little danger of chaos being created by a hurried adoption of too many reforms at the same time ; so many difficulties clog the feet of advance in all its stages that the competitors are hardly likely to be crowded. What is important is that the course should be cleared and the starting signal given. 8 CHAPTER II. Secondary, Elementary and Technical Education. IN our Terms of Reference special emphasis is laid on the consideration of the position of Science in Secondary Schools and Universities. As it is in Secondary Schools that questions as to the neglect of Science and improvements in science teaching are raised in the most acute form, we think it desirable at the outset to consider at some length the conditions at present existing in these schools and the modifications which, in our opinion, are desirable. THE POSITION OF SCIENCE IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS. A. BOYS' SCHOOLS IN ENGLAND. 7. Under this heading we propose to deal with those schools which educate boys up to the age of 16 or over, and whose curriculum covers the subjects generally regarded as essential for a liberal education. These schools comprise : (a) a number of well known endowed schools commonly described as " Public Schools." including the seven Public Schools of the Public Schools Act, 1868 ; 9 7 THE POSITION OF SCIENCE (6) a number of Grammar Schools and County and Municipal Schools which receive grants from the State.* (c) Proprietary and Private Schools. Included in group (a) are the 76 schools in England and Wales represented on the Head Masters' Conference! which do not receive a Government grant. Of these schools, 38 have at their own request been inspected by the Board of Education. The number of boys attending the 76 schools is, approximately, 25,000. Group (6) in 1916 included 374 boys' schools and 224 mixed schools, with a school population of 103,000 boys. With regard to group (c) we have not been able to obtain any statistics which would enable us to estimate the number of pupils attending private schools, or even the number of these schools. Four private schools for boys and one mixed school have been officially recognised as '' efficient " after inspection by the Board of Education. It is not possible * Groups (a) and (6) are not mutually exclusive. t The qualification for membership is best explained by quoting the regulation : In considering applications for representation on the Head Masters' Conference the Committee shall have regard to the scheme or other instrument under which the school is administered, the numbers in the school, and the number of resident undergraduates of Oxford or Cambridge educated at the school. As a 'general rule there should be 100 boys at least in any school represented at the Conference, and about 10 resident undergraduates at the Universities who have gone direct from the school, but regard is to be paid to the proportion of undergraduates to the total number of boys in the school. The total number of schools represented on the Head Masters' Conference is 119 (including 10 not in England and Wales) of which 33 are in receipt of Parliamentary Grant under the Regulations for Secondary Schools in England and Wales 10 IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS. 7-8 to say what proportion of the remainder can claim to be considered as Secondary Schools in any proper sense of the term or what is the nature and extent of the provision they make for the teaching of Natural Science. We cannot regard it as anything but unsatisfactory that it should be impossible to form even a rough estimate of the number of children receiving secondary education in this country or of the value of that education. 8. To avoid any misunderstanding with regard to the classification of schools which we have adopted as a matter of convenience, two considerations must be borne in mind : (1) Whether a school applies for the Parliamentary grant or not may depend on financial or other considerations which are only indirectly of educational significance. The character and status of a school are not necessarily determined by its relations to the Board of Education. There is, indeed, from the educational point of view no sharp dividing line which separates schools receiving grants from those which are independent of State aid. (2) Again, so far as the science subjects studied and the scope of the instruction in Science are con- cerned, no real distinction can be drawn between those state-aided schools which succeed in keep- ing a number of their boys up to 18 and other schools with the same leaving age. In both groups of schools the science teaching is in general confined to the elements of physics and chemistry; botany and zoology are, as a rule, taught only to those boys who intend to enter the medical profession, while geology, as far as it is taught at all, is taken in connection with geography, or informally as part of . the activities of the school scientific society. 11 9 THE POSITION OF SCIENCE I. GRANT-EARNING SECONDARY SCHOOLS. 9. Nearly 30 per cent, of the boys in grant-earning schools enter before the age of 12 and nearly 90 per cent, before the age of 14. Under favourable circumstances, where entry takes place not later than the age of 12. there is usually a course of work in physics and chemistry extending over four years up to the age of 16 and leading up to an examination such as the Senior Local or the Matriculation Examination of the University of London or the Northern Universities. The provision of science teach- ing, which must include practical work, is not a matter of choice but of regulation. Each school must submit its curriculum for the approval of the Board of Education and mustfurther satisfy the Board that the provision made in the time-table for the teaching of Science is adequate in amount, having regard to the legitimate claims of other subjects. If it is desired that individual pupils should omit Science applications of this kind are rare in boys' schools the reasons must be stated to the Board's Inspector, and the exemptions approved. Science is thus included in the normal course of all boys attending these schools, and the course in Science will continue to about the age of 16, except in a small number of schools in which the curriculum includes three languages other than English. The control exercised by the Board through their Regulations is supple- mented by the system of inspection and allows wide freedom to the schools in devising their curricula. Apart from the control exercised by the Board of Educa- tion, there is the influence of tradition. Some grant-earning schools were at one time Organised Science Schools under the Science and Art Department. In these schools specific and considerable requirements were made by the Depart- ment with regard to the time to be given to Science, and special grants were paid for science teaching. Though these 12 IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS. 9-10 conditions no longer hold, their effect to some extent persists. In the schools which have been established since the Act of 1902, Science has from the first been included on an equal footing with other subjects as an essential element of the curriculum. 10. The weight which is attached to Science in the curri- culum varies from school to school, being dependent on local circumstances the character of the boys' after-careers, the influence of public opinion as reflected in the views of school governors, the predilections of the headmasters, and so forth but in regard to grant-earning schools taken as a whole, we feel able to accept the assurance of the representatives of the Assistant Masters' Association that " Science occupies a position in no way inferior to that of any other subject." Indeed, so far as work beyond the age of 16 is concerned, there are more grant-earning schools providing organised instruction of an advanced kind in Science and Mathematics than in Classics or Modern Studies.* The result is seen in the scholarship awards at Cambridge. For a large group of colleges statistics covering a period of 10 years show that 249 scholarships and 96 exhibitions were won in all subjects by boys from 113 grant-earning schools, and that of these scholarships and exhibitions the number awarded for Science (88 scholarships and 45 exhibitions) was larger than for any other subject on which awards were made.f These figures show that the number of the abler boys who * Under the Regulations for Secondary Schools (1917) a special grant is payable by the Board of Education to schools providing organised Advanced Courses. Out of 95 Advanced Courses recognised up to November, 1917, 63 are courses in Science and Mathematics, 13 in Classics, and 19 in Modern Studies. f The numbers were Classics 34 and 12; Mathematics 82 and 26 ; Science and Mathematics 9 and 1 ; other subjects 36 and 12. 13 10-11 THE POSITION OF SCIENCE specialise in Science is a satisfactory proportion of all those who receive advanced instruction at grant-earning schools. 11. It must not, however, be assumed that the condi- tions of science teaching in grant -earning schools are wholly satisfactory. (i) It is agreed that entry into grant-earning Se- condary Schools should not, as a rule, be deferred to a later age than 12 ; but many boys are ad- mitted at 13 or 14, in some cases unsuitably or ill prepared, with the result that their progress in school subjects is adversely affected, and harm is done to those with whom they are classified. (ii) It is even more serious that large numbers leave before completing the course required to carry them up to the stage marked by a first school examination appropriate for boys of about 16. Statistics published by the Board of Education show that in the three years ending July, 1913, nearly 71 per cent, of the fee -paying boys and 49 per cent, of the boys who paid no fees left- after having spent less than three years at a Secondary School ; and that 34 per cent, of all the boys who left in this same period had not attained the age of 15. The large proportion of boys leaving at this early age is due to (i) the parents' inability or reluctance to forego the wages which boys of 14 can earn ; (ii) the want of appreciation of the value of secondary educa- tion, even from the point of view of success in after life ; (iii) the tradition of beginning work at as early an age as possible; (iv) the desire of the boys themselves to escape from the restraints of school life. 14 IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS. 11 We shall return to these matters again, but in the meantime we would point out that the position of Science, or indeed of any other subject, in the grant- earning schools will never be satisfactory until the schools can depend on the great mass of their pupils entering at an age which should certainly not be later than 12, and remaining at least to the stage marked by the First School Examination. (iii) We have already pointed out that in respect of advanced work Science in grant-earning schools stands generally in a better position than other subjects. But the actual number of schools providing properly organised advanced instruc- tion in Science, that is to say, not merely giving teaching to isolated individuals, is all too small, not from lack of will on the part of the schools or of ability to give advanced instruction on the part of the teachers, but chiefly from dearth of pupils willing or able to remain at school for a further course of instruction from 16 to 18. Only a very small proportion of boys who attend grant-earning schools pass on to the universi- ties. The resulting deficiency in advanced instruction is perhaps the most serious source of weakness in these schools. It affects not only the work done in the highest forms, but also the whole course, for the existence of a class of boys carrying the study of Science up to a relatively high standard is a stimulus to the teachers and reacts favourably on the work throughout. (iv) If adequate provision is to be made both for the general work of the school and for advanced courses, it is clearly necessary that the schools 15 11 THE POSITION OF SCIENCE should be suitably staffed and equipped. These matters are further dealt with in a later section of the Report, but we would here point out that the scale of staffing is not always sufficiently generous and that often it is devised without regard to the fact that advanced work involves a larger proportion of masters to boys in the school as a whole. Unless this fact is recognised the work either of the advanced classes or of the main part of the school is bound to suffer. Inasmuch as the extent of the science instruc- tion will necessarily vary in different schools, it follows that the requirements of each indi- vidual school require to be separately considered by the responsible authorities. (v) The amount of time to be allotted to Science is not specified in the Regulations of the Board of Education, but must come up to the mini- mum Avhich the Board, having regard to the circumstances of the school, are prepared to accept. Though in many schools the time actually given to Science in the third and fourth years of the period 12-16 amounts to one-fifth of the whole time spent in school, we were informed that in a considerable number of schools the time for Science might be as little as four three-quarter-hour periods a week, or even less. In some schools, owing to the pressure of other subjects, the time allotted to Science has been reduced in recent years, and the minimum which the Board has accepted is in our opinion, too low to ensure that sufficient opportunity is afforded for the carrying out of a satisfactory course. As a consequence of an 16 IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS. 11 inadequate allowance of time, either physics or chemistry is not uncommonly dropped at the age of 15, with prejudicial results if no other science subject is taken. (vi) Again, the scope of the work is often too re- stricted, even within the two main subjects to which it is almost universally confined. Thus important branches of physics, such as light or electricity, may be wholly omitted, and we were informed that in some cases physics up to the age of 16 means little more than practical measurements and heat, while in chemistry the theoretical foundations of the subject are often neglected. (vii) Further, in spite of the fact that the majority of boys leave at or before 16, the schemes of work are often only the initial stages of a plan which will never be completed. They are, in fact, influenced indirectly by the requirements of university entrance scholarship examinations, which are designed for those boys who have specialised in Science. This holds good even in those schools in which few boys intend to go to the universities or remain after the age of 16. (viii) Lastly, we are in agreement with the view that there might be a greater differentiation between the curricula of Secondary Schools in the more thickly populated areas where several schools are easily accessible. There is room indeed for the modification of curricula, so as to allow of less time being allotted in some of the schools to the study of languages other than English, and of more time being given to Science, Mathematics, Manual Instruction and 5660 17 B 11-12 THE POSITION OF SCIENCE Drawing (including Mechanical Drawing) in the last year or two years of the course. This would not be difficult to arrange, at any rate in those schools where a large proportion of the boys learn only one language other than English. A curriculum of this kind is more especially to be desired in schools from which boys pass into engineering and other industries of a scientific character, and might well be framed with an eye to its suitability for pupils who will enter Senior Technical Schools. What we are here suggesting is already done in a few schools, and we understand that the work as a whole has become more effective and is more successful in stimulating the interest of the boys just because it has a more obvious purpose. We think that the plan might usefully be extended to a larger number of Secondary Schools where local circumstances are favourable. We would go further and suggest that in some Secondary Schools no foreign language should be compulsory, In all schools where no time or only a limited time is given to the teaching of a modern language it is essential that English subjects should be regarded as of at least equal im- portance to Science and receive corresponding attention. (See also 95 (x).) II. PUBLIC AND PREPARATORY SCHOOLS. 12. In a large number of Public Schools the practice is for boys to enter at 13| to 14, after having spent three or four years at a separate Preparatory School. Some schools have preparatory departments for boys between the ages of 9 and 13; but even in these schools the 18 IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS, 12-13 majority of boys over 13 have come^from Preparatory Schools under separate control. Inasmuch as the Preparatory Schools are concerned solely with the preliminary education of boys who will enter the Public Schools or the Royal Naval College, Osborne, it will be convenient to consider Public and Preparatory School education in close connection, dealing first with the position of Science in the Public Schools, and afterwards with the problem as it presents itself in Preparatory Schools. The system by which a boy receives his school education between 9 and 19 at two schools under different management has its inconveniences, but it corresponds to a certain public demand and is probably too well established to be replaced in the near future by a more coherent school organisation. We would however point out that the present custom by which boys pass from Preparatory to Public Schools at the age of 13J to 14 there is reason to think that the age of transference is on the average nearer 14 than 13^ is not justified by the existence of any natural break at this stage in a boy's intellectual development, and has from our point of view the serious disadvantage that entry into the Public Schools which are better staffed and equipped for the purposes of Science teaching is unduly delayed. We consider that it would be to the educational advantage of the country if boys entered Public Schools at a somewhat earlier age, and we accordingly recommend that the normal age on entry into the Public Schools should be 13, that the maximum age for entrance scholarship examinations should be lowered to 13, and that easier papers should be set* UBLIC SCHOOLS, 13. While grant-earning Secondary Schools are com- pelled by regulation to make provision for the teaching 19 B 2 13 THE POSITION OF SCIENCE of Science, those Public Schools which are not state-aided are under no such obligation except so far as Science may be prescribed by scheme as part of the curriculum. Forty or fifty years ago higher secondary education in this country was to all intents and purposes an education in Classics and Mathematics. Since then it has come to be recognised that other subjects, including Science, have a claim on school time-tables and curricula. The problem of finding room for what are called modern subjects was not everywhere dealt with on the same lines. The schools have responded to a varying extent and in different ways to the claims which have been made on educational and utilitarian grounds for the recognition of subjects formerly left out of account. Nor is it only in the schools of com- paratively modern foundation that such claims have found recognition. The older schools, too, have estab- lished laboratories and provided opportunities for a considerable amount of instruction in Science for those boys at least who desire to learn the subject. With a view to arriving at the facts with regard to the present position of Science in the Public Schools, we issued at an early stage of our proceedings a questionnaire to those schools which are represented on the Head Masters* Conference but are not in receipt of Parliamentary grant. We wish to express our obligations to the head masters concerned for their courtesy in replying so fully to our questions and for the valuable information which they have placed at our disposal. An examination of the answers shows that while the great majority of these schools offer adequate opportunities for the study of Science to those boys whose parents desire it, there has in the Public Schools as a whole been no general recogni- tion of the principle that Science should form an essential part of secondary education. If this principle were recognised, all boys would receive a reasonable amount of 20 IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS. 13-14 instruction in Science, extending over a substantial part of the school course. They do not now. 14. The majority of the larger schools are organised into separate classical and modern sides,* the division between the two sides extending half or two-thirds of the way down, or even from the top to the bottom of the school. On the modern side the time given to Science is as a rule adequate, and full opportunities are provided for boys who wish to specialise in the subject in the upper forms. On the classical side the position is very different. It varies, however, greatly in different schools. In one famous school no provision is made for any teaching of Science on the classical side as part of the regular school curriculum. In another, boys on the classical and modern sides have equal opportunities for receiving instruction up to the stage at which specialisation begins. More com- monly some small provision for Science is made in the time-table of the lower or middle forms of the classical side. It should be observed that if the teaching of Science on the classical side is confined to the lower forms, a clever boy who is placed on entry high up on the classical side may altogether miss instruction in Science. Again, in certain schools Science can be taken in the upper forms of the classical side as an alternative to a modern language, but here it tends to be neglected by boys aiming at classical scholarships. Lastly, where Science appears as a necessary subject in the classical side curriculum, the time given to it is usually limited to two periods or even to one period a week. The evidence justifies us in saying that Science * The term " Modern Sides " is here used to include what is sometimes called a " Science Side " In a few schools the organisation includes separate Classical, Modern and Science Sides. In these the opportunities for Science instruction are less on the Modern Sides than when no separate Science Side exists. 21 14-15 THE POSITION OF SCIENCE has received scant attention on the classical sides of the public schools. 15. It is not, however, always realised that in the bigger schools a large and increasing majority of the boys are to be found on the modern sides, where, as a rule, the time given to Science is reasonable.* But any satisfaction that might conceivably be felt on this score must be largely qualified by the following considerations. The modern sides in the older public schools are a later growth, originating in response to a demand for an education of a non-classical type. It cannot, however, be said that up to the present there has been either in the schools or in the universities any clear conception of modern studies which might give these sides a meaning and an aim. The teaching of Classics has behind it a longer tradition and is on the whole better understood, with the result that teachers are on surer ground. It looks forward to an end which is clearly marked by the Oxford School of Literae Humaniores or the Cambridge Classical Tripos. The modern side teachers, on the other hand, have to deal not only with the future candidate for a university honours degree in Science, Mathematics, or Modern Languages, but with a large number of boys who will pass directly into the ranks of commerce or industry. Again, the classical sides have all the advantages of a more effective working of the form system than is easily attainable on the modern sides, where the work is so much distributed among a larger number of masters that no one master sees any group of boys for a large part of the school week. The modern sides suffer, in fact, from diversity of effort and indenniteness of aim, and these * In 15 of the schools, each containing more than 400 boys, the total numbers of boys on the Classical and Modern Sides were in the ratio Classical 100, Modern 192' 22 IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS. 16-16 conditions do not make for strenuous work. These weaknesses are aggravated by the fact that for reasons dealt with elsewhere the classical sides include a large proportion of the abler boys. Further, the establishment of modern sides had the unforeseen result of providing an excuse for the neglect of Science on the classical sides. In our view it is a very real defect in Public School organisa- tion that boys should in many schools have to make their choice between a classical side in which Science is almost wholly neglected and a modern side in which the general educational conditions are in many ways unfavourable. We believe that if these defects are to be remedied it will be necessary to secure firstly, that the character of the existing entrance scholarship examinations both at the schools and at the colleges of Oxford and Cambridge should be altered so as to get rid of the excessive specialisa- tion by which the work in all subjects is now characterised ; secondly, that the aims and character of a modern educa- tion should be more clearly defined, not only in schools but also at the universities. School organisation is still further complicated by the existence of Army sides to meet the supposed requirements of those boys who are competing for cadetships at Wool- wich and Sandhurst. In this connection it seems to us most important that Science should be made a compulsory subject for entrance to the Royal Military College, for, apart from the importance of the subject for an officer, dealt with elsewhere in our Report, the present liberty to neglect it would thwart any scheme for a general education such as we recommend in 31, and perpetuate the existence of special Army sides. We see no reason why the education of Army candidates should differ from the education of other boys of the same age. tGj .16. The foregoing observations refer to a number of the larger schools in which there is a strongly marked 16-17 THE POSITION OF SCIENCE division into sides. In a certain number of schools this division does not exist except in the highest forms. In one such school there is a very complete organisation which secures for all boys equal opportunities for the study of Science up to the stage marked by a School Certificate Examination. In two other large schools in which there is a strong classical tradition, Science is not taught in the lower forms, is compulsory for two or three periods a week in the middle forms, and can be taken as an alternative to a language in the higher forms. Arrange- ments of this kind do not secure for the abler boys who enter the school in one of the higher forms a satisfactory course of instruction in Science. In other schools with no very clear division into sides, it is common to find a certain amount of compulsory Science in the middle forms, while the subject can be taken as an alternative to Greek by non-classical boys in the upper forms. 17. It is noticeable that in several of the larger Public Schools no provision is made for the teaching of Science in the lower forms, which often contain a substantial proportion of the total number of boys in the school. This implies that, except in the case of those boys who will later specialise in Science, instruction in the subject is confined to a period of two years, i.e., from about 14 J to 16J. In view of the fact that in state-aided schools introductory work in experimental Science is commonly begun at 12 J and of the experience of the Royal Naval College, Osborne, that satisfactory work can be done by boys of this age, we can see no reason in the nature of the subject for the postponement till 14 or 14 \ of similar work in Public Schools. We are confirmed in this opinion by the evidence of one of the representatives of the Head Masters' Association, who stated that " between 12 and 13, boys arrived at a stage when they could appreciate experimental investigation," and added that " a beginning IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS. 17-18 would then be made with general chemistry and physics." The postponement of such work till 14 J results in limiting unduly the period over which science teaching is given, and setting boys of 14| to do work which is too elementary for their years. 18. It has already been pointed out that the abler boys at the Public Schools tend to pursue a classical course. This is largely due to the influence of (a) the school entrance scholarship examinations and (6) the entrance scholarship examinations at the colleges of Oxford and Cambridge. (a) In the examination for entrance scholarships at most of the Public Schools, the papers set in Classics are of such a character that to do well in them a boy must have devoted much more time to this subject than to any other. As great weight is assigned to these papers, it follows that many of those who compete for these scholarships have already specialised to a very consider able extent in Classics, and before leaving the preparatory schools have received a bias which makes them choose Classics as their main subject of study at the Public Schools and the Universities. It results from this that (i) some boys whose abilities lie in other directions than Classics miss the encouragement which is legitimately attached to the winning of a scholarship; (ii) others are enticed along a path which does not lead them to their true destination; (iii) the curricula of many Preparatory Schools are unnaturally distorted. (6) The system by which entrance scholarships are distributed among the different subjects is not the same in the two Universities. At Oxford the practice is to announce that a definite number will be given to Natural Science and to each of the other subjects. For the period 1906-15 the total number of scholarships and exhibitions awarded for all subjects at the Oxford Colleges was 25 18 THE POSITION OF SCIENCE 1,028 scholarships and 615 exhibitions. Of these, 115 scholarships and 59 exhibitions were awarded for Science, 650 scholarships and 358 exhibitions for Classics, 122 scholarships and 137 exhibitions for History, 141 scholar- ships and 61 exhibitions for Mathematics, and 61 scholar- ships and exhibitions for other subjects or combinations of subjects. The number of scholarships and exhibitions awarded for Science, 10-6 per cent, of all the awards, seems to us far too small in comparison with those awarded for some other subjects, and we think that an increase in the number would promote the study of Science at the Public Schools. As things stand there is a definite financial inducement for the abler boys to pursue a classical course. At Cambridge there is, in general, no allotment of scholarships to special subjects before the examination, and the number of scholarships in any subject is deter- mined by the relative performance of the candidates who reach scholarship standard in the several subjects. There is reason to believe that Science is, in respect of entrance scholarships, on an equal footing with other subjects. For instance, at the large group of Colleges already mentioned, out of 895 scholarships and 378 exhibi- tions in all subjects, 228 scholarships and 109 exhibitions were awarded for Science or for Science and Mathematics combined. That a substantial majority of the abler boys present Classics as their subject in the scholarship examinations even at Cambridge is evident from the fact that out of 646 scholarships and 282 exhibitions awarded to boys from schools which do not receive state aid, by the same group of Cambridge colleges during a period of ten years, 310 scholarships and 130 exhibitions were awarded for Classics, the corresponding numbers for Science being 122 and 59, and for Mathematics 125 and 46. IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS. 18 Further, the scholarship winners at the Universities are, as might be expected, largely drawn from those who have already won entrance scholarships at the Public Schools. For example, 68 per cent, of the boys who gained entrance scholarships or exhibitions in Classics from 20 of these schools in the three years ending July 31st, 1914, had already won entrance scholarships at their schools. If attention is confined to the seven Public Schools of the Public Schools Act, 1868, which are not included in the Public Schools just mentioned, the figures are even more striking. The total number of classical scholarships gained from these seven schools in the same period was 117, the total number gained for Science was 19, of which 6 were gained from one school. Of the 117 classical scholarships, 99, or nearly 85 per cent., were won by boys who had been awarded entrance scholarships on the foundations of these schools. The significance of these facts is unmistakable. Not only is it true that a considerable majority of the abler boys in many of the Public Schools pursue a course designed to lead up to university entrance scholarship examinations in Classics, but these abler boys are. to a large extent directed towards a course of this kind by the character of the entrance scholarship examinations conducted by the schools them- selves. We cannot think that there is any natural distribution of ability in relation to literary and scientific studies which corresponds in any way to the actual distribution of scholarship awards for these two kinds of study; and it is impossible to avoid the conclusion that the effect of existing entrance scholarship examinations at the Public Schools is to divert to specialised literary and linguistic studies of a particular kind boys who might have been successful in other fields. In this view we are confirmed by the evidence given by the Headmaster of Rugby, who 27 18-19 THE POSITION OF SCIENCE remarked " that it was perfectly true that the scholarship system as it was at present worked at schools and the two universities (Oxford and Cambridge) had the effect of encouraging boys to pursue classical studies when they might have taken up other subjects." University entrance scholarship examinations have a further effect in that they influence the character of the science work of the schools from which scholarship candi- dates are drawn. We have already referred to this point in connection with the state-aided schools; the same criticism applies, though in a less degree, to the Public Schools, as they lose many of their boys at 16-17. We deal further with the character of entrance scholarship examinations in 135-141 of this Report. 19. We have had some criticisms to make on the organisation and curricula of Public Schools, but it is a mistake to regard the Public School curriculum as something for which headmasters must bear the sole responsibility. The schools are influenced not only by the requirements of the universities, but also by the changing values which are attached to different branches of study and by the pressure of public opinion; and our main concern must be to secure that all who guide such opinion should recognise that a living knowledge of the facts and principles of Science forms an essential part of every well-balanced educational course. To sum up, we think it is manifest that so far there has been no general and sufficient recognition of Science as an essential part of the curriculum for all boys in the Public Schools, .that the effect of the scholarship examina- tions, both at the schools themselves and at the universities, and the inequality in the number and value of the scholar- ships awarded in different subjects tell against such recognition ; and that many of the ablest boys who enter the Public Schools pass on to the Universities ignorant 28 IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS. 19-20 of Science and with little or no idea of its importance as a factor in the progress of civilisation or of its influence on human thought. PREPARATORY SCHOOLS. 20. For information in regard to preparatory schools we are chiefly indebted to the witnesses who spoke for the schools represented on the Association of Preparatory Schools and to the summary of answers to a questionnaire circulated by these witnesses before they gave evidence. From these answers it appears that in the majority of the 307 preparatory schools replying, no provision is made for the teaching of Science (including under this head nature study and practical measurements) as part of the regular curriculum. It is even more significant that, while the Report drawn up by the Joint Committee of the Head Masters' Conference and the Association of Preparatory School Masters and adopted in 1916 includes an appendix on elementary science training, no time is allotted for science teaching in the time-table suggested for preparatory schools. There are, in our opinion, sound educational reasons for postponing the beginning of the systematic study of chemistry and physics till the age of 12J or 13, apart from the fact that the schools in question have not the necessary staff or equipment to undertake work of this kind. But it is much to be regretted that as an introduction to more formal work in Science, there should be no preliminary instruction in nature study, broadly interpreted, or in practical measurements. Further, it does not appear that the omission of such teaching is compensated for by increased attention to hand work and drawing. There is no doubt that in framing their curricula the preparatory school masters have been largely influ- enced by the requirements of the entrance examinations 29 20-21 THE POSITION OF SCIENCE and entrance scholarship examinations at the Public Schools. It is also clear, from the answers to the ques- tionnaire circulated to the Public Schools, that while these examinations are designed to test the knowledge and ability of boys in English subjects, French, Latin, Mathe- matics, and sometimes Greek, knowledge of such Science as might properly be taught to boys of preparatory school age is either not tested at all or tested only in an incidental manner. Again until three years ago nature study was included as an optional subject in the common entrance examination for Public Schools, but we were informed by one of the representatives of the Preparatory Schools Association that " few candidates took it, the reason being that the subject was not required as a condition for entrance into Public Schools." 21. It is most unfortunate that the curricula of many preparatory schools should be so far determined by the examination requirements of the Public Schools as to lead to the omission or comparative neglect of subjects which are appropriate elements in the education of boys of preparatory school age. Quite apart from the question of examinations, we are of opinion that all preparatory schools should make regular provision for the teaching of the elements of natural science with handicraft and drawing. By the Elements of Natural Science we here understand what is known as nature study, i.e., physio- graphy and an elementary study of animal and plant life 1 together with practical exercises of the kind referred to in 48. The Elements of Natural Science thus defined should, in our opinion, be a necessary subject in the entrance examinations of Public Schools. We also recommend that steps should be taken to secure that this subject should be included in the entrance scholarship examinations at Public Schools, and that IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS. 21 failure in it should have as much influence as failure in any other subject in disqualifying a candidate for election to a scholarship. There is, it is true, some difference of opinion as to the advisability of imposing any test in Science for boys of 13 or 14, but so long as entrance scholarships are awarded on a strictly competitive exami- nation the position in the curriculum of subjects which, for good reasons or bad, are not included in the examination is inevitably prejudiced. Our proposals are put forward in the first instance with the object of securing the necess- ary modifications in preparatory school curricula. As a considerable number of boys from Preparatory Schools pass into the Navy, these modifications will not have their full influence unless a corresponding change is made in the regulations for admission to the Royal Naval College, Osborne. Apart from this consideration, we are of opinion that this change is desirable in the interests of naval education. Experience alone can show how the difficulties of examining boys of the age of 13 or 14 in Science, admittedly greater than in the case of Classics or Mathematics, can best be overcome. If the necessary reforms are to be effected in preparatory school time-tables and curricula, it will be clearly desirable to secure the maximum amount of co-operation between the head masters of the Preparatory Schools and of the Public Schools. The establishment of the Joint Com- mittee is a step in the right direction. We recognise in particular the efforts which have been made to give more importance to English subjects in the entrance scholarship examinations, and we think that, in the best interests of later science teaching, great importance should be attached to sound work in elementary mathematics and physical measurements and to familiarity with the use of decimals and the metric system* 31 22 THE POSITION OF SCIENCE 22. It scarcely falls within our reference to deal with the larger questions connected with the present system of entrance scholarship examinations, except in so far as it affects adversely the interests of those who might later specialise in Science if the way was open to them. Attention was drawn to the evils of the system by the Royal Commission on Secondary Education which reported in 1895, and to the need for united effort on the part of head masters to devise a better plan for awarding scholar- ships, but the system remains almost unchanged. In our view the examinations for entrance scholarships, if they are to continue, should be designed mainly to test intelligence and general ability. They should not be used primarily for the purpose of picking out likely specialists in Classics, Mathematics, or any other subjects. Neither should they be of such a character as to demand or favour special intensive preparation. The evils of the present system would be mitigated by reforms in the character of the examinations, in particular by a reduction in the range and difficulty of the questions set and by the recognition of subjects at present largely or wholly ignored. The main justification of the award of scholarships to boys of this age is that, without their help, sons of poor parents cannot receive the benefits of a public school education, but these benefits are often monopolised by boys whose parents have been able to give them an expensive preliminary training. It is a most serious anomaly in our system of education that scholarships, which are primarily intended to .put a public school education within the reach of able boys who could not otherwise obtain it, should in practice be available only for children of the class which can afford to pay from 100Z. to 150Z. a year for special preparation for their sons from the age of nine or ten to thirteen or fourteen, to the 32 r IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS. 22-23 practical exclusion of boys, however brilliant, who have followed a normal course of education elsewhere. We recommend that such scholarships, when first awarded at the Public Schools, should be of a nominal value, and should be increased only on application by the parent or guardian of the scholar, and on submission of adequate evidence of need for further help. To effect this change statutory powers would be required in the case of many endowments. Where under the terms of the instrument by which the school is governed the scholars live together under special conditions, this principle should be recognised by a payment on behalf of the scholar of the balance between the nominal value of the scholarship and the estimated cost of the scholar's education and maintenance, except so far as the need for further help has been proved. We think it desirable that such scholarships should be regarded as honours bestowed on intellectual distinction and should not be withheld from the sons of weU-to-do parents. It is most necessary, however, that public money should not be given to those who do not need it, but should be econo- mically employed in the assistance of as many as possible who would profit by the higher education, which they could not otherwise receive. B. GIRLS' SCHOOLS IN ENGLAND. 23. In considering the facilities for instruction in Science which are available for girls of secondary school age, it is necessary to refer in the first place to the character and extent of the existing provision of secondary schools for girls. At present 333 girls' schools and 224 mixed schools (with a school population of some 95,000 girls) are in receipt of Parliamentary grant. In addition, 4 mixed schools and 65 girls' schools (of which 17 are 33 23 THE POSITION OF SCIENCE private schools, the remainder being company or founda- tion schools or schools under the control of religious societies) have been inspected by the Board of Education and declared " efficient " There is also a large number of private schools which have not been inspected, and in regard to which no official information is available.* There can, indeed, be little doubt that private schools play a much larger part in the educational provision for girls than for boys. In the last forty years the ideals of women's education have been raised and the opportunities vastly increased, but there still remains some uncertainty in the public mind, if not in the minds of those best qualified to speak for education, as to the nature of the education to be provided for girls and the relative importance of the various subjects. Some parents still confine their ideas of education to the literary subjects together with music and art. Among the schools, whether grant -earning, " efficient, " or uninspected, which provide secondary education for girls, there are a certain number of well-known schools which are more or less comparable to the large public schools for boys schools from which a proportion of girls normally pass on to the universities and other places of higher education. But the custom by which boys are sent to Preparatory and Public Schools for a course of education extending from 8-or 9 to 18 or 19 is not followed to the same extent in the case of girls. A certain number of girls of secondary school age belonging to the wealthier classes of the community receive their education largely or wholly at home; others spend a short period at a secondary day or boarding school often a private school * The same is true of a large number of schools under the control of religious communities, 34 IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS. 23 and later go abroad. A considerable proportion of those attending schools in which the course extends over a period up to the age of 18 or 19 have not in the past looked forward to entering any professional occupation; indeed, few professions except that of teaching have been open to them. There is in consequence proportionately less advanced work done in girls' than in boys' secondary schools of similar type. It can, we think, hardly be questioned that while the majority of the parents of these girls desire or are at least prepared to acquiesce in a secondary education for their sons in Which Science shall find a place, the recognition of Science as an essential element in the secondary education of girls is far less general. This applies with even greater force to Mathematics. We are not suggesting that this implied distinction between the educational requirements of boys and girls in respect of Science is justified, either by the evidence of psychology or by considerations based on the competing claims of other subjects in a crowded curriculum or by the nature of the after-careers to which girls may properly look forward. We are only calling attention to the fact that, consciously or unconsciously, a distinction of this kind is not infrequently made. * When we turn to consider the actual position of Science in girls' secondary schools, it becomes necessary to point out that in regard to the great majority of private schools we are unable to speak with any certain knowledge. These schools exist because they meet a certain public demand. They include some schools of high standing, and, in addition, to the other good work they do, provide useful opportunities for experiments in education, but it can scarcely be doubted that they are more likely to be influenced by that traditional conception of girls' secondary education which lays special stress on languages, literature m 35 23-24 THE POSITION OF SCIENCE and art, and are less likely to be adequately equipped for the teaching of Science than schools which are in receipt of public funds. We were not, indeed, surprised to learn from the representatives of the Association of Science Teachers* that in a large number of private schools Science was altogether omitted from the curriculum. 24. In the important group of Secondary Schools in receipt of grant it is noticeable that the Regulations of the Board of Education require that provision should be made for the teaching of Science, including practical work, but allow girls who have reached the age of 15 to omit Science or Mathematics (other than Arithmetic) in order to take an approved course in Domestic Subjects. From the evidence before us, it appears that in inspected girls' schools the time given to Science between 12 and 16 is not more on an average than 2 hours per week, representing one-tenth or less of the whole time spent in school. Except in the forms preparing for an examination, such as the Senior Local, it is quite commonly 1J hours per week. That a much smaller amount of time is given to Science in girls' schools than in boys' schools is due to various causes : (i) the shorter school week, the increased pressure on the time-table, caused by the inclusion of Domestic Subjects, and the greater attention given to Music and Drawing; (ii) the lack in some schools of adequate laboratory accommodation; (iii) a shortage of teachers qualified to teach Science. The last two points are dealt with elsewhere in this Report. With regard to the first, it should be noted that in some schools which meet only in the mornings (though provision is made for a certain amount of laboratory and other work in the afternoons) the school week may be limited to approxi- * This is an Association of women teachers, mainly in secondary schools. 36 IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS. 24 mately 19 hours. The number of subjects taught is however the same as in schools in which the week extends to about 24 hours, and the pressure on the time-table is consequently greater. It must be added that the witnesses who appeared before us were unanimously of opinion that no attempt should be made to increase the total school hours for girls ; and the suggestions made to us in regard to the time which should be allotted to Science were put forward on the basis of the existing school week of 19 or 24 hours. In the memorandum of evidence submitted by the Association of Science Teachers, it is suggested that between the ages of 12 and 16 not less than one-seventh of the total school time, say, 3 hours, should be devoted to Science. We think this is desirable if serious attention is to be given to science instruction in girls' schools. But it is necessary to add that the representatives of the Association of Head Mistresses, who were no less anxious that Science should be regarded as an essential element in the secondary curriculum for girls, thought " it would be difficult to find the time for other subjects if three hours a week were allotted to Science as proposed by the Association of Science Teachers." Under the circumstances it is difficult to make a recommendation which can be carried out in all types of schools. But for schools where the school week approximates to 24 hours, and these schools are a large and increasing proportion of the day schools, we agree with the Association of Science Teachers in thinking that at least 3 hours should be given to Science. It must be left to schools having a morning session only to approach as near to this recommendation as possible, or to meet it, as is already done in some schools, by providing for some laboratory work in the afternoons. In boarding schools the allotment of at least 3 hours of the teaching time in the week to Science should not prove a difficulty. 37 25 THE POSITION OF SCIENCE 25. There can be no doubt that the problem of the curriculum is more difficult in girls' schools than in boys' schools. Existing girls' schools have for the most part grown up during a period which has seen a great increase in the number and variety of the callings followed by women. Despite the increasing prominence of these vocational aims, it is still true that the curriculum remains something of a compromise between conflicting ideals of women's education. It is not within our reference to deal with the larger questions involved, but we feel bound to express our opinion that there is real need at the present time, both for a clearer definition on the part of those principally concerned of the scope and aims of secondary education for girls and for a franker recognition of the limitations imposed by the shorter school week. We have faced these limitations by acquiescing in a smaller minimum of time for Science for girls than for boy-s ; even this is an increase on the time commonly given at present. It is possibly outside our province to make proposals for the consequent adjustment of the time-table, but in view of the importance of the matter two suggestions may be thrown out : (i) In many girls' schools (and indeed in many boys' schools also) a greater amount of time is devoted to the study of Mathematics than is really needed to attain the standard aimed at. This is largely due to the division of the subject, for teaching purposes, into three compartments arithmetic, geometry, algebra often taught to the same class by different teachers. Experience has shown that the ground can be covered at a much more rapid rate^if the subject of Mathematics is treated as a whole, and that a shorter time suffices if the mathematical mistress can distribute 38 IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS. 25-27 it as she thinks fit. Still greater saving of time can be effected if Science and Mathematics are taught in proper relation to one another, (ii) In schools which keep the greater proportion of their girls to the age of 18, some time might be spared from other subjects in the 12-16 period. This could be fully compensated for by giving increased attention to these subjects in the 16-18 period. 26. With regard to the general conditions affecting the education given in grant-earning girls' schools, the observa- tions we have made in 11 in connection with boys' schools on the desirability of securing early entry and a longer school life apply equally to schools for girls. The statistics published by the Board of Education show that in the three years ending July 1913, nearly 70 per cent, of the girls who pay fees and nearly 24 per cent, of those who do not left after having spent less than three years at a secondary school, and that 29 per cent, of all the girls who left did so before they had attained the age of 15. These figures, though far from satisfactory, are an improve- ment on those quoted for boys,* the reason probably being that girls of that age have been less in demand as wage- earners, and that more of them remain at school in order to prepare for the teaching profession. 27. Turning to the nature of the science teaching which is actually provided in inspected girls' schools, we find that, after a course of nature study in the earlier years, and elementary physics and chemistry between 12 and 14, botany is the subject taken from 14 or 15 on- wards in the majority of schools. The number of schools in which there is any serious teaching of physics apart * The corresponding figures for boys are 71 per cent., 49 per cent., 34 per cent. 39 27 28 THE POSITION OF SCIENCE from the introductory work between 12 and 14 is quite insignificant. Advanced work takes the form of botany or, less usually, chemistry, or both of these subjects. There has been a striking improvement in the teaching of botany in the last ten years, due to the greater insistance on the physiological aspects of the subject for which the earlier introductory study of physics and chemistry is a necessary basis. The continued prevalence of botany as the chief science subject in girls' schools, and the position formerly held by descriptive botany as the sole science subject in many schools, can be explained by the belief that the subject is in itself better suited to girls than sciences which demand some knowledge of mathematics, and also by the absence in some schools of adequate accommodation for work in experimental science. These conditions explain that general neglect of physics in girls' schools to which our attention was called by more than one witness. It was strongly urged upon us that the neglect of physics in these schools is much to be regretted, not only in virtue of the importance and interest of this branch of natural knowledge, but also because ignorance of physics is a hindrance to the proper training of future science teachers and a serious impediment in the way of increasing the number of women who look forward to entering the medical profession. We think these considerations deserve serious notice. 28. We have already remarked that the amount of advanced work attempted, especially in science, is less in girls' than in boys' schools of similar standing. Among other reasons for this, mention must be made of the altogether inadequate provision of scholarships at the women's colleges. It was pointed out to us that the number of such scholarships needs to be largely increased, and that there should be an age limit for some of these scholarships at the women's colleges at Oxford and Cam- 40 IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS. 28-30 bridge. We think that immediate steps should be taken to remedy these defects, so as to secure that a larger number of young women qualified in Science may pass on to places of higher education. If there were more scholarships the evils resulting from the severity of the existing competition would be reduced. 29. The general conditions of science teaching in girls' schools are less favourable than in similar schools for boys; and it would appear that, despite the progress made in recent years, the results are less satisfactory. We feel, indeed, that there is need for a fuller realisation than has so far existed of the importance of Science in the secondary education of girls. Every young mind, whether of boy or girl, should be led to appreciate the wide field of interest opened out by the study of Natural Science and should be trained to understand and apply the methods of scientific reasoning and investigation. Moreover, without wishing to press too far the claims of vocational instruction, we would point out that, in con- nection with a large number of the after-careers followed by women, a knowledge of Natural Science and a training in scientific method is much to be desired. We are thinking not only of those girls who are destined to under- take science teaching or to enter the medical profession and closely allied careers ; there will be many others who will take up industrial research, different types of social work (factory inspection, welfare work, sanitary inspection, health visiting, and so forth) ; others again will be mainly concerned with domestic duties. For all a training in Science is invaluable. GENERAL EDUCATION IN A SECONDARY SCHOOL. 30. We consider that the best preparation for any occupation or profession is a general education up to 41 30 GENERAL EDUCATION the stage reached by the average boy at the age of 16,* followed, where possible, by a more specialised course on a limited range of subjects. This general education should provide normally for the study of English, including History and Geography, Languages other than English, Mathematics and Natural Science ; each of these subjects should be regarded as an integral part of the education of both boys and girls, and a fair balance should be main- tained between the time allotted to them ; we are supported in this view by the unanimous testimony of all the witnesses who have given evidence on this point. It is contended by some that a general education need not include all these subjects; there is, however, no consensus of opinion in favour of the omission of any one of them. We have ourselves suggested that there might well be some schools doing work of a secondary grade in which no foreign language would be compulsory. (See 11 (viii) and 95.) The point is sometimes made that the study of Science can be more effectively pursued if it is taken up in the later stages of school life. This may be true for the boy of marked ability who at a certain stage throws his whole energies into the intensive study of Science. But we are concerned with the education of the citizen, with the diffusion of scientific conceptions and the habit of mind their study induces among the general mass of the educated population. If the practice were adopted of making no provision for the study of Science till 16 or later, the majority of students would miss the opportunity of gaining any knowledge of the subject. We suggest that for boys' schools,t when the secondary school course covers a period of 4 years from 12-16, the * It may often be desirable for girls to take the First School Examination at a somewhat later age. f For girls' schools, see 24t IK A SECONDARY SCHOOL. 30-31 time given to Science should be not less than four periods in the first year, nor on the average less than six periods in each of the following three years. When the course begins at a later age not less than six periods in each year will be required. It may be convenient at some stages to give more than six periods, at others less, but we consider that nothing less than an average of six periods at the later stages will provide for a satisfactory training in Natural Science. It is not within our reference to suggest the minimum time to be given to other subjects, but we have satisfied ourselves that the time we have suggested for Science is compatible with English and Mathematics receiving as much time as they have hitherto done in the great majority of schools in this country, that it would admit of attainment by the age of 16 of a sub- stantial knowledge of two foreign languages if the study of one of them is begun at an early age, and that students with special linguistic ability should be able to make good progress in a third. In addition, we think that time would be available for the study of such subjects as Drawing and Music, and for Manual Training. 31. A practical and beneficial consequence of the establishment of a general course for all boys up to the age of about 1(5 would be the abolition of the existing division into sides now so usual in the larger schools. This would involve the provision in the main block of the school of a system of options or alternatives. The last thing we would suggest is that there should be for all boys, even in the same school and during the stage ending at 16, one cast-iron curriculum. As long as the division into sides persists, not only is a bias inevitably given to a boy's education, involving sometimes the sacrifice of his abilities and tastes, but it is very difficult to prevent the intellectual strength of the school being concentrated on one side. 43 32 INSPECTION OF SCHOOLS. 32. We recommend that systematic instruction in Science should be part of the general course of education up to 16 in every Secondary School, and that Science should be included among the compulsory subjects for the First School Examination. We do not, however, think that examination by itself will be able to secure the efficient teaching of Science in schools, and we are strongly of opinion that it would be in the interests of education in general and of Science in particular that all schools should be inspected. It is disconcerting to find that the total number of children receiving secondary education in Great Britain at the present time is quite unknown; no estimate even has been attempted since Dr. Sadler's inquiry in 1897, and the figures disclosed 20 years ago afforded ground for the most serious dissatisfaction. Provision is made in the Education Bill for " requiring particulars from every school or educational institution," but we think that this collection of information is not sufficient to enable an effective judgment to be formed as to the nature of the education offered by the school. The information supplied by the school must be checked and its value determined by independent inspection. Serious obstacles, no doubt, exist; it is not easy to define " a school " ; a great increase in the numbers of the inspectorate will be required at a time when many more inspectors will be needed for the new continuation schools ; an inspectorate ought to be recruited from among good teachers, of whom there is already a great dearth. But the* facts must be known and the whole ground covered. The task is not insuperable, and much of the work is already done. It is true that some of the Public Schools 44 INSPECTION OF SCHOOLS. 32 are not at present subjec': to inspection, but, as a matter of fact, out of the 109 sch:ols for boys in England and Wales which are represented on the Head Masters' Confer- ence, only 38 have not been inspected by the Board of Education. This number would have been further reduced but for the war, and most, if not all, of the 38 have been inspected by one or other of the Universities. The amount of Science taught at these schools may require to be increased or its quality improved, but it is not here that entire absence of such teaching will be found. The grant- earning schools are all fully inspected by the Board of Education, and the fullest information concerning them is obtainable. There are, however, many schools for boys, and even more for girls, which are under no obligation whatever to provide any instruction in Science. Many of these, as a matter of fact, either do not teach the subject at all, or teach it in a most incomplete and unsatisfactory manner. In the national interest it is essential that this neglect should be remedied, and to this end we strongly urge the introduction of compulsory inspection. We consider that this should be applied impartially, and that no discrimination should be made in favour of any one class of schools. It has been urged on behalf of Private Schools that much valuable progress in education is due to experiments made in schools where the teachers have been free to disregard tradition and convention* and to follow the promptings of their own genius. But it is not schools of this type which would be checked or extinguished by inspection. The object of modern inspection is not to impose uniformity or to destroy individual effort, but rather to obtain and record information as to the work * See Royal Commission on Secondary Education, Vol. V page 14. 45 32-33 INSPECTION OF SCHOOLS, and efficiency of the schools and to give advice, based on a wide experience in other schools. We recommend : (i) that periodical inspection should be compulsory on all schools ; (ii) that this inspection should be under the direction of the State. This last recommendation need not preclude the State from making use of any existing inspecting bodies, e.g., the Universities, which have already had experience in this field. This expedient would also mitigate the diffi- culty of dealing with the increased number of schools, and render it possible for a general system of inspection to be introduced at an early date. THE FIRST SCHOOL EXAMINATION. 33. At the completion of the general course of study at a secondary school there should be an examination to test the results of the instruction given in English subjects, Languages, Mathematics and Science. The passing of an examination in some of the subjects of general education is required as a condition of admission to most of the profes- sions and to the Universities. At present the number of such examinations is large ; the differences between them are not of educational importance though enough to cause a great waste of time and energy. A system of examina- tions sufficiently elastic to meet diverse requirements and at the same time so far co-ordinated that proficiency in secondary school subjects could be tested by any one of them would bring about a real and valuable simplification for the schools, provided that the results were accepted so far as they went by the Universities and professions We are of opinion that, subject to one important modifica- 46 THE FIRST SCHOOL EXAMINATION. 33-35 tion, the First School Examination proposed by the Board of Education is well suited for this purpose. 34. In the scheme outlined by the Board the subjects for examination are treated as falling into three main groups : (i) English subjects, (ii) Languages, (iii) Science and Mathematics, and (iv) a subsidiary group containing Drawing, Music, Manual Instruction, Housecraft, &c. Every candidate will be expected to show a reasonable amount of attainment in the first three of these groups the group of subjects, and not the individual subject, being the unit in respect of which success or failure will be determined. It will be seen that Natural Science and Mathematics are placed together in the same group, and it would appear as the proposals now stand that a candi- date might pass in this group, even if he did not present himself in Science at all. We consider that it is essential that every boy should be required to satisfy the examiners both in Science and in Mathematics, subject to the generous application of the principle of compensation hereinafter mentioned. In many boys' schools the teaching of Mathematics through- out the school is much more developed than that of Science and there will, if Science is not required, be a tendency to concentrate on Mathematics and to neglect the teaching of Science. If teachers and boys know that while it is necessary to pass in English subjects and in a foreign language the omission of either Mathematics or Science does not involve failure in the examination, it is quite safe to predict that one or other of these subjects will receive less attention ; and the subject which is the more costly to equip, and in some ways the more difficult to teach, is likely to be the one which will suffer. 35. To make any subject compulsory in an examination in order to guard against its neglect is not the ideal method of obtaining the best education, but in the present 47 36 THE FIRST SCHOOL EXAMINATION. condition of affairs it seems to be the most efficacious means we can find. It may be urged that all the grant - earning schools are under the inspection and control of the Board of Education and that in such schools Science is a necessary part of the curriculum, but this argument leaves out of sight the fact that many of the most important Public Schools are under no compulsion in this respect, while there are in existence numerous private schools of various kinds which do not submit themselves to any inspection at all. The effect of the present freedom is indicated by the following statistics. At the School Certi- ficate Examination of the Oxford and Cambridge Board in July 1917, which is taken mainly by Public Schools, out of 699 boys only 226 offered one or more Science subjects. It is proposed in some quarters that " in inspected schools boys should be certified by the science master as having taken a -proper course and reached a satisfactory standard in Science." But we have had 110 satisfactory reason presented to us for the treatment of Science in a different way from all other school subjects in respect to examinations, and even if such ground were shown we should still find it impossible to recommend the adoption of this plan. The inequalities of experience among teachers would render it almost impossible to attain any common standard of judgment. It has also been suggested that inspection alone might suffice. There is, however, an essential difference between the tests provided by inspection and examination. Inspection tests the character of the curriculum, the adequacy of equipment, the competence of the staff, and the general efficiency of the work of the form; it shows what opportunities the school gives to its pupils,* but it is not primarily intended to be a test of attainment of individuals. One of the chief uses of a general school 48 THE FIRST SCHOOL EXAMINATION. 36-37 examination would be to exempt successful candidates from the necessity of passing separate examinations for admission to the professions or the Universities ; for this purpose nothing but an individual test could possibly be accepted. Though there is some danger of exaggerated importance being attached to the results of examination, it would be unwise to lose sight of the value of the test both to teachers and pupils. The examination should be regarded as a test of satisfactory work during the pupils' school course and should be of such a character that it can be taken without any special preparation which would interfere with that course. The work of each candidate in the examination should be regarded as a whole, and the principle of com- pensation should be recognised both between the different groups, including group (iv) and the different subjects of the same group. By this we mean that comparative weakness in one part of the examination should not necessarily involve failure if the candidate has done really good work in other parts. 36. We recommend that in the First Examination there should be as close co-operation as possible between teachers and examiners. Not only should the examination be adapted to the curriculum of the particular school, but great weight should be attached to the teacher's estimate of the merits of the pupils and to their school record. An examination conducted on these lines would not have the effect often ascribed to external examinations of cramping the curriculum but would permit of all reasonable freedom of teaching. Nor could it be fairly said to discourage either wide variation in types of curricula or liberty for educational experiments. 37. There is much difference of opinion on the question whether any modification of the arrangements is needed for girls. On the one hand representatives of the Head 5660 49 c 37-38 THE FIRST SCHOOL EXAMINATION. Mistresses' Association stated that the Association was opposed to making Mathematics a compulsory subject in the examination, but felt less difficulty about compulsory Science. On the other hand representatives of the Asso- ciation of Science Teachers thought that all girls should be required, for a mere pass in the examination, to satisfy the examiners in Science and arithmetic, and that for a pass with credit in Mathematics a knowledge of algebra and geometry should be required. If success in the examination is to carry the same privileges for boys and for girls it is difficult to see that variation of its essential features is possible. We are therefore of opinion that the minimum requirements for passing the First Examina- tion should be the same for girls as for boys. If it is urged that the largest amount of time which our witnesses have demanded for Science in girls' schools (see 24) is not more than what is now regarded as inadequate for boys' schools, we would point out that many girls will take the examination at a somewhat later age than boys and that the wise application of the principle of com- pensation should meet any remaining difficulty, especially if sufficient attention is paid to proficiency in the subjects of group (iv). 38. We concur with the proposal of the Board of Education that a certificate should be given to those who pass this examination, and that on the certificate only those subjects should be recorded in which the student has reached a recognised standard considerably higher than that required for a mere pass. The Board proposes that a full certificate bearing the name of the school and particulars as to the course pursued at it should be given only to candidates who have followed an approved course at a school inspected by the Board and recognised as " efficient," and that other candidates should receive a certificate stating only that they had passed the examina- 60 THE FIRST SCHOOL EXAMINATION. 38-39 tion. Tbis latter proposal seems to us to require con sideration in relation to two classes of candidates, those who have attended Secondary Schools which have not been inspected by the Board of Education and those who have not attended Secondary Schools at all. We think it very important that the full certificate which gives evidence of continuous attendance at a Secondary School should stand on a much higher level in public opinion than the one which merely shows that the holder has reached a certain standard in an examina- tion. Unless, however, some change is made in the regulations proposed by the Board of Education boys from some of the most celebrated schools in the country will only receive the second form of certificate ; this will increase the prestige of this certificate, and the public will think that one form of certificate is as good as the other. We have recommended in another part of the report a general inspection under the direction of the State of all schools, private as well as public, but we recognise that it will take a long time to come into effect and will require the services of a large staff. Pending the establishment of such a system we think the State might utilise the services of the universities for inspection in connection with these certificates. We recommend that the full certificate should be granted to those who have passed the examination and who have attended a con- tinuous course at a Secondary School which has after inspection by a university been certified as satisfactory by the State. 39. The proposals of the Board of Education are based on the view with which we are in accord that examinations should be determined by curricula, not curricula by examinations. It is difficult to decide how far an exami- nation, designed to suit the curricula of existing Secondary Schools and intended for pupils of about the age of 16 51 o 2 39-40 CONTENT OF THE who have followed an approved course in those schools, would be suitable for other pupils. There are already pupils who have followed approved courses in schools not now technically described as Secondary Schools, but who might quite properly take a similar examination. The abolition in the near future of all exemptions from ele- mentary school attendance until the age of 14 is reached, and the establishment of compulsory part-time continua- tion schools up to 18 would provide a class of pupils who, though they have not attended Secondary Schools, have had a continuous course of instruction in approved schools. An examination analogous to the first school examination, and carrying the same privileges, might with advantage be established for this class an examination which would be open, for example, to pupils who had attended Central Schools and Junior Technical Schools. There are, again, students who have not followed an approved course of instruction in any school. Any examination for such students ought to explore the work done by the candidates in the different groups of subjects more thoroughly than would be necessary in the proposed First School Examination for candidates who had taken an approved course in a Secondary School. The necessity of giving this wider scope to an examination for such students arises from (i) the absence of inspection ; (ii) the impossibility of securing the co-operation of the teachers ; and (iii) the absence of any school record of the candidate's work in subjects not tested in the examination. CONTENT OF THE SCIENCE COURSE, 12-16. 40. The question of the choice of the Science subjects to be included in a school course and of the method of teaching these subjects is so important that somewhat detailed consideration of the problem is necessary. 52 SCIENCE COURSE, 12-16. 40-41 We have recommended elsewhere that Science should form part of the school course for all boys and girls up to the age of 16, and that more time should be given to it than is at present usual. But these recommendations must not be taken to mean that we should like to see a great extension of science teaching exactly on the lines now customary. We consider that the conventional curriculum is in great need of reform, in respect of two important points : (a) the choice of subjects to be included and (b) the manner of treating them. 41. (a) At present the curriculum up to the age of 16 in a large number of boys' schools consists of nature study in the lowest forms, followed by a laboratory course in at least one branch of physics and in chemistry; in very few boys' schools is there any attempt to give a knowledge of the main facts of the life of plants and animals. Physics and chemistry must, we think, continue to be the fundamental subjects in the school curriculum, because every other Science requires some knowledge of them, and also because no other Science lends itself so well to a study of experimental method under the limita- tions of time which are inevitable in school work; but no boy should leave school with the idea that Science consists of chemistry and physics alone. It is agreed on almost all hands that the customary course, which is a growth of the last 20 years, has" become too narrow, not only because physics and chemistry are the only sciences included in it, but because the choice of subject matter within these sciences is unduly restricted. Further, it is out of touch with the many applications of Science. The principles are often taught without reference to the phenomena of nature which they explain ; the course does not satisfy the natural curiosity of the pupils; it may give them some knowledge of laboratory methods, but little idea of wider generalisations, such 53 41-42 CONTENT OF THE as the principle of the conservation of energy, which are quite within their powers of comprehension. Again, in many schools the course is planned as if its sole object were to lay the foundations for specialised study in Science at a later period. 'But if nothing is built on these foundations the time may have been spent to little purpose; many boys will give up the study of Science when they know but little of the scientific principles which underlie the most familiar natural phenomena, or of the most important applications of Science to the service of man. Their position is analogous to that of a student of a language who stops after learning some of the grammar without acquiring any knowledge of the literature. , 42. (6) For the last twenty years the attention paid to laboratory work has been an outstanding feature of the" Science teaching in English schools, and results of great value have arisen from it. We need not go back many years to reach a time when there was little practical work in schools and any Science that was done, " apart fronTchemistry, was taught by class lessons, or by lectures with occasional demonstrations of experiments by the teacher. The practical work in chemistry consisted of exercises in qualitative analysis; it had little bearing on the rest of the work, and could be learnt, up to a certain point, by"routine methods. But in the last twenty years circumstances have altered; laboratories have multiplied, and it has become the practice to make the laboratory work the central feature in school science. This change of'point of view has had both good and bad results.*' On" the one hand it has brought home to~many boys and^girls the funda- mental notion of an experimental science^that the answers to questions on its subject matter can be got directly by experiments which* they can do themselves; they 54 SCIENCE COURSE, 12-16. 42 have seen how a series of experiments leads up to a result, how the result of one experiment suggests that another is needed; they have, in fact, learnt something of the experimental method of the sciences. Such teaching and experience is of the greatest value, and any change which would diminish its effectiveness would be a step in the wrong direction. But on the other hand there have been unfortunate consequences ; many teachers have become so dominated by the idea of the supreme value of experimental work that they have left on one side and neglected those sciences which do not lend themselves to experimental treatment in school; the tendency has been to restrict the work to parts of physics and chemistry in which the boys can do experiments for themselves. We are driven to the conclusion that in many schools more time is spent in laboratory work than the results obtained can justify. We do not underrate the importance of such work; on the contrary, we regard it as an essential part of Science teaching. But sometimes the performance of laboratory exercises has been considered too much an end in itself such an exercise loses the educational value of a real experiment when it becomes a piece of drill; often exercises succeed each other without forming part of a continuous or considered scheme for building up a boy's knowledge of his subject. Sometimes a very imperfect experiment is done by all the pupils, when the point which it brings out could be better illustrated by an experiment performed by the teacher, on a scale and in a manner which would not be possible for the whole form. Insist- ence on the view that experiments by the class must always be preferred to demonstration experiments leads to great waste of time and provides an inferior substitute. The time gained by some diminution in the number of ex- periments done, and especially by avoidance of unnecessary 55 42-^3 CONTENT OF THE repetition of experiments of the same type could be well used in establishing in the pupils' minds a more real connection between their experiments and the general principles of the Science or the related facts of everyday life. Much of this waste of time is due to a conscientious desire of the teachers to encourage the spirit of inquiry by following the so-called heuristic method; the pupils are supposed to discover by their own experiments, with little or no suggestion from the teacher, the solutions of problems set to them or of problems which they themselves suggest. The spirit of inquiry should run through the whole of the science work, and everything should be done to encourage it, but it seems clear that the heuristic method can never be the main method by which the pupil acquires scientific training and knowledge. He cannot expect to rediscover in his school hours all that he may fairly be expected to know; to insist that he should try to do this is to waste his time and his opportunities. 43. Some of the defects of school courses are ascribed to the influence of external examinations in limiting the freedom of the teacher to choose his material and to treat it in the way suitable to local conditions or the special needs of his form. In all examinations, especially if they are competitive, there is a tendency to set questions of such a character that there would be no serious differ- ence between the marking of different examiners. In an examination in elementary science the questions on general principles are admittedly more difficult to mark than those which are of the nature of little sums, such, for example, as to calculate the change in temperature when a piece of hot metal is dropped into a vessel of water. The result of this is that the questions tend to concentrate on a limited range of subjects, which are 56 SCIENCE COURSE, 12-16. 43-44 not of the highest educational value, and in which the majority of students find but little to interest them. But examinations cannot be blamed for all the faults which have been pointed out to us ; it seems certain that a great part of the difficulty arises from the fact that the teachers, from lack of training and of knowledge of the methods of other teachers, tend to go on teaching as they were taught themselves, and thus the work becomes stereotyped. 44. Much stress has been laid in the evidence before us on the need for correlation of school teaching in Mathematics and Natural Science. There is evidently a strong feeling, both among school teachers and among those who have to deal with the products of the secondary schools at the universities and in the industries, that both subjects would gain if they were taught with more reference to each other, and, so far as possible, by the same teachers. At present it is easier to get a science master who is able to teach elementary mathematics than a mathematical master with a corresponding knowledge of Science ; but few schools can spare a science master for any part of the mathematical work. The need for co-operation is not felt only on the side of the natural sciences ; the Committee of the Mathematical Association express the views that effective correlation between the two subjects is rare and is not increasing, that an ideal arrangement would assign the teaching of mathematics and of physics largely to the same masters, and that the education of teachers of mathematics should be conducted with this end in view. We agree that there are very great advantages in putting the teaching of mathematics and physics to boys up to the age of 16 into the hands of the same master; it would, we consider, improve the teaching in both subjects by giving point to the mathematics and precision 67 44-46 CONTENT OF THE to the physics; it would also increase the time the boy spent with this master, whose influence and opportunities would be considerably enhanced. Any want of co-ordination between Science and Mathematics has a particularly unfortunate effect on the teaching of mechanics. This subject is rightly regarded as of the greatest importance. It js the basis of most parts of physics, and most schools make some provision for teaching it, either as a branch of Mathematics or as an experimental subject, or from both points of view; but the evidence we have received indicates that in a consider- able number of schools the results obtained are far from satisfactory. This is much to be regretted, for the subject is especially suitable for training the student to use his mathematics and to apply it to the problems which he may have to face. The power of doing this is a very valuable asset for those who will become engineers or be occupied with other applications of Science to industry, while, apart from this aspect, it affords a mental training of the highest importance and gives to many an interest in mathematics and a grip of its principles which without it they would never acquire. 45. The evidence we have received as to the present position of science teaching in secondary schools of all types has impressed us with the zeal and devotion of those who are engaged in teaching Science in these schools and the considerable amount of success they have obtained in spite of difficulties ; it has, however, revealed some features which have proved unsatisfactory and to which we have thought it desirable to draw attention. 46. A general course in Science should fulfil two functions : (a) it should train the mind of the student to reason about things which he has observed for himself and develop his powers of weighing and interpreting evidence; (b) it should also make him acquainted with 58 SCIENCE COURSE, 12-16. 46-47 the broad outlines of great scientific principles, with the way in which these principles are exemplified in familiar phenomena and with their applications to the service of man. The evidence we have received shows that there is a tendency to over-emphasise the first of these functions and to neglect unduly the second. We think it essential that the importance of both objects should be recognised, and that the choice of the subjects to be studied and of the method of instruction adopted should be made with both objects in view. The training for the first of these functions must be given by practical work in the laboratory. The second can best be carried out by demonstration lessons from the teacher, together with practical work in the laboratory planned to illustrate the principles discussed in the lecture; laboratory work alone is not sufficient. We are of opinion that this plan would not impair the efficiency of the science teaching as a training in reasoning and observation. The age of the pupils and the time at their disposal make it impos- sible to include more than a limited range of subjects in the course, but the need for careful arrangement to avoid waste of time only becomes the greater on this account. . The very last thing we should wish is to lay down a hard and fast rule which would stereotype science teaching throughout the country. We think it essential that the teacher should be allowed as much freedom as possible in his choice of method, and that he will probably get the best results with the one which he himself prefers. He should however realise that the power of settling for himself the particular course he adopts carries with it greater responsibility for seeing that it is the best which can be devised under the circumstances of the school. 47. In framing a course in Science for boys up to the age of 16 it should be recognised that for many this will be the main, for some the only, opportunity of obtaining 59 47-48 CONTENT OF THE a knowledge of Science, and that the course should there- fore be self-contained, and designed so as to give special attention to those natural phenomena which are matters of everyday experience, in fine, that the Science taught in it should be kept as closely connected with human interests as possible. The keen interest which many boys feel at this age in the applications of Science, such as aeroplanes, steam engines, wireless telegraphy, motor cars and the like should be utilised to the fullest extent. There are great advantages in introducing the study of the principles of Science by starting from a machine or a striking physical phenomenon and working backwards to the principle, rather than by starting from the abstract and proceeding to the concrete ; such a method is in no way inconsistent with a logical and continuous develop- ment of the subject. The advantage of the method is that the impetus due to a boy's interest in the subject helps to carry him through the lessons, while in the ordinary method interest may be aroused only after the lessons are nearly completed. This method is in many respects analogous to that which has been introduced in the teaching of mathematics, where the old plan of beginning with a series of axioms and definitions and then deducing the properties of triangles and circles has been superseded by a course which begins by making the boys familiar with the properties of these figures, leaving the logical deductions from the axioms and definitions to a later stage. 48. (i) Preliminary Course. There is general agree- ment among science teachers that the best preparation for the study of Science at secondary schools is a course of nature study up to the age of 12. This course should be of as practical a character as possible and should aim at arousing an interest in natural phenomena and developing the powers of observation. Full use should be made of 60 SCIENCE COURSE, 12-16, 48-49 the opportunities afforded by the school garden to make the pupils acquainted with the spirit of scientific investiga- tion. We attach great importance at this stage to manual training, both for the sake of the discipline it supplies for hand and eye, and as making an excellent introduction to laboratory work. We think that advantage should be taken of the opportunities which nature study and manual training afford for practice in free-hand drawing and drawing to scale. From the evidence we have received we have come to the conclusion that at present the teaching of nature study is far from satisfactory and demands immediate attention. In some schools it is quite admirable, in many however it is worthless and is frequently given by those who take but little interest in this subject. We have been informed that the teaching of elementary physics and chemistry in the Public Schools is often hampered by the fact that the boys are ill-prepared in arithmetic and want practice in mental arithmetic ; that they lack facility in making calculations, have an uncertain knowledge of decimals and of the metric system and have no clear understanding of the meaning of measurement. The right remedy lies in a more intelligent treatment of arithmetic and handwork in the Preparatory Schools. Advantage should be taken of the opportunities afforded by lessons on arithmetic, geometry, geography and hand- work to introduce the idea of measurement, to give practice in the use of simple measuring instruments a valuable exercise in manipulation and lastly, to develop both readiness in the making of calculations and an appreciation of the degree of accuracy to. which results may be stated. 49. (ii) The next stage of instruction in Science is one which presents special difficulties arising from the two systems of school organisation to which we have referred 61 49 CONTENT OF THE in 9 and 12. We have to distinguish and to treat separately : (a) The system which transfers a boy from a Preparatory to a Public School at 13| or 14 without any continuity of curriculum in Natural Science. (6) The system which provides a continuous course of instruction in one school from 12 to 16 or longer. (a) The interruption of a boy's education which is brought about by his transference from a Preparatory to a Public School is specially detrimental to science work, because (i) most of the Public Schools pay no serious attention to a knowledge of Science in selecting boys, either for entrance or for scholarships, and thereby dis- courage any teaching of the subject; (ii) many of the boys who come from Preparatory Schools, though they know no Science, are placed at entrance high up in school because of their knowledge of other subjects. If Science were taken in the lower forms either these boys would have to omit the elementary stages of a systematic course, or boys who begin in a lower form would have to take these stages over again. On this account it is considered impossible in some Public Schools to begin systematic work in Science in the lower forms, with the result that there is not enough time left for a satisfactory course before the age of about 16J. The difficulty arising from this breach of continuity between Preparatory and Public Schools is one of the main obstacles to good science work in the Public Schools. We do not suggest that elaborate arrangements for practical work should be made in Preparatory Schools, as the small size of many of them would put efficient provision out of the question, but we think that much of the earlier part 62 SCIENCE COURSE, 12-16. 49 of the course we suggest might be taught without such provision. Much improvement could be effected by a wise and effective co-operation between the Public and the Preparatory Schools. The stage immediately after the age of 12 might begin with a course on the simpler parts of that branch of knowledge which Huxley called physiography. One of the advantages of this subject is that it gives opportunities for out-of-door observation, to which we attach great importance, not only at this stage but throughout the school course ; it is unfortunate if pupils are left with the impression that physical principles operate only in a physical laboratory ; it should be the object of the teacher to train the pupil to see illustrations of these principles in the experiences of every-day life. The course in physiography should include the simpler astronomical phenomena, which in the hands of a good teacher may be made an excellent training in reasoning and observation. At this early stage there should be practical work involving measurements of simple physical quantities, while a valuable introduction to some important branches of physics can be given if the manual training includes the making of some simple practical instruments and machines such as electric bells, small induction coils, telescopes, pumps and so on. This plan has been tried at some of the Central Schools and has given very satisfactory results. The introduction of practical work into the curriculum widens the opportunities of discovering ability which might otherwise be overlooked. One witness writes : " Often, very often, the dunce of the form when put on to practical work becomes brilliant." It is the function of any system of education to discover ability as well as to develop it, and under a system in which the curriculum is entirely bookish many able boys may be depressed and 63 49-50 CONTENT OF THE lose all interest in their work from want of success and of opportunity to reveal their ability. (6) In schools provided with laboratories and having a continuous curriculum, a course of elementary general science, including work of an introductory kind on hydro- statics, heat and the properties, both physical and chemical, of air and water is common at present; it serves as a satisfactory introduction to later work, but it is important, especially in town schools, that what we might call the physiographical aspect of these subjects, to which we have called attention in a preceding paragraph, should always be before the mind of the teacher. 50. The more systematic study of Science begins about the age of 13; while we do not consider it desirable to suggest a detailed syllabus, we think it important to state what in our view are the principles on which it might be framed. For the sake of definiteness we will consider the case of a syllabus in physics ; the principles however apply to chemistry and biology. In the first place the object of such a course is not to train specialists in physics nor to give dexterity in making accurate measurements of physical constants ; it should be designed to give as good a mental discipline as possible and to make the student acquainted with the principles involved in familiar physical phenomena. Even if, as we suggest, the time allotted to science teaching is increased, it will not be possible to study the various branches of physics such as heat, light, sound, electricity and magnetism in as much detail as when only one or two are attempted. There must necessarily be great gaps in the students' knowledge of these branches, but in the general course we think these gaps should be distributed rather than that one or more of these branches should escape consideration altogether. The problem the science master has to face is how to simplify the courses so as to be able to complete them 64 SCIENCE COURSE, 12-16. 50 in the time at his disposal. To make our meaning clear we give an example in some detail showing how a course in heat might be arranged. The science master would first ask himself what are the most important physical phenomena and industrial applications for which a know- ledge of heat is essential ; let us suppose he decided that these were the domestic fire, the warmth of the sun, the heating of buildings, changes of state of water to ice or steam, the formation of rain, fog, clouds, snow, hail; the steam engine and internal combustion engine. He would then build a course round these topics, in which attention was mainly directed to the subjects most closely connected with them, namely, the sources of heat, the expansion by heat of liquids, the changes of state of water, vapour pressure, the thermal effects due to compression, and the transformation of heat into mechanical work, the other parts of heat being only dealt with so far as they are necessary for the study of these subjects. He would then consider at what stages these subjects should be taken, for it is desirable that the study of heat, as of other branches of physics, should not all be done in one term, but resumed from time to time; this gives opportunity for revision and for postponing the more difficult parts until the students are more mature and have more mathe- matical knowledge at their disposal than at the beginning of the course. It is essential that the parts on which it is decided to concentrate should be done very carefully and in detail, with much practical work in the laboratory. It is better to curtail the number of subjects discussed than to save time by slurring over difficulties. We should like to lay stress on the fact that the con- ventional subdivision of physics into branches such as heat and light is apt to lead to neglect of very important parts of the subject, either because they are related to 65 50-51 CONTENT OF THE several of the branches, e.g., the conservation of energy, or because they lie outside the customary divisions. Few boys get in a school course any idea of subjects such as surface tension and diffusion through membranes, which are well within their comprehension and are of the greatest importance in biology. It is very undesirable that the work of a form should be confined for a whole year to a single branch of physics ; at least two of them should be taken ; further, the scheme of work should provide for the recurrence of the various branches of physics in the course, to afford opportunity not only for revision of what has been previously done but for extension of the ground covered. The subjects included in the course might vary with the locality and type of the school. Thus, for example, in a town which is the seat of an important industry some phenomena might be matters of daily experience which would rarely come under observation in a different district. These would naturally be included in one case and not in the other. 51. In chemistry restriction of the field on the same principle is needed, but the problem of choice is easier because the field is less varied. It is essential that the work shall be brought as closely as possible into relation with the things of daily life. No attempt should be made to study in detail more than a small number of the chemical elements. A choice must be made which should include the -most important elements, enough to illustrate the principles on which the elements may be classified. In discussing these elements opportunity should be taken to explain important points of general chemistry such as diffusion, the laws of combination, equivalence, solution and electrolysis ; no course can be considered satisfactory which does not lead up to the general laws of chemical combination ancl the explanation of them in terms of SCIENCE COURSE, 12-16. 51-52 atoms and molecules. Quantitative experiments which take a long time can often be replaced with advantage by simpler descriptive exercises, not involving measure- ments but requiring some independent thinking. The description of manufacturing processes should not be neglected although minute details would naturally not be introduced. Boys are always keen about large scale work, and while such work is being described many opportunities will occur to the teacher of exemplifying principles which the boy will already have come across in his work in mechanics and physics. The sharp division which is at present made between inorganic and organic chemistry should disappear, and ideas such as fermentation, saponi- fication, &c., should find a place in the course. The chemical processes in the life of a plant should not be omitted, for example, the way in which carbon dioxide is transformed into sugar, the utilisation of atmospheric nitrogen by the leguminous plants, and the part played by nitrogen compounds in the food supply of plants could be pointed out while carbon and nitrogen were being studied. Similarly, the study of silica would naturally lead to a discussion of the part played by air and water in the weathering of rocks. 52. We have already laid stress on the point that some knowledge of the main facts of the life of plants and animals should form a regular part of the teaching in every secondary school. Systematic work in zoology, including dissection of animals and the use of the com- pound microscope, belongs to a later stage of school life, but {he main facts as to the relation of plants and animals to their surroundings, the changes in material and in energy involved in their life and growth should form part of a well-balanced school course. There is a considerable measure of agreement among our witnesses to the effect that the course might include 67 52-53 CONTENT OF THE the main anatomical features of the higher plants, the elementary physiology of plants, especially their relations to the soil and to the atmosphere, together with some quite general knowledge of animal metabolism. We think that in a boy's school career room could be found for this work by devoting to it part of the science time in the summer terms. Our object would not be attained by the establishment of courses of elementary biology at all analogous to those which are found at present in the higher forms of schools. Many of them are modelled on the first year's course for medical students at the Uni- versities, and contain an amount of morphological detail which would be altogether out of place in a general science course for middle forms. The kind of instruction which we have in view need not be in the hands of a teacher qualified only in biology and responsible only for that particular section of the science work. We realise that it is not easy at present to find teachers who can give adequate instruction in the various subjects which we should like to see represented in the curriculum, and that therefore only gradual development and improvement can be looked for. The separation of the biological sciences from the physical sciences at the Universities has made it extremely difficult to find a competent biologist who can teach even the most elementary plrysics with the requisite accuracy and definiteness : the want of teachers with wider scientific qualifications is at present the real difficulty in the introduction of biology into school work. 53. Girls' Schools. There is some difference of opinion as to the science subjects which can be most usefully taught in girls' schools. For many years little beyond descriptive botany was attempted. Botany is still the chief subject, but it is becoming more and more common to treat the plant as a living and growing organism, rather than as a specimen to be classified in a herbarium ; SCIENCE COURSE, 12-16. 53 the physiology of the plant and its relation to its sur- roundings have become more important than the identi fication of wild flowers. But a study of plant physiology is impossible without some knowledge of physics and chemistry, and partly for this reason these sciences have gained increased importance recently in girls' schools. Several witnesses emphasised the fact that the study of physics is still unduly neglected, especially in schools where a low standard in mathematics has become con- ventional. This has proved a serious obstacle to students who wish to enter the medical profession. It is most desirable that girls should have an opportunity of dis- covering whether they have a taste for physics or chemistry and of developing such a taste where it exists. The main difficulty of the schools is to secure science mistresses who can undertake all the subjects which are required. This difficulty will tend to disappear as the recommendations made in our Report bear fruit. It is to be hoped that ultimately a mathematical mistress will not be considered to be fully equipped unless she is at least capable of teaching the physics needed between the ages of 12 and 16. Two special points deserve notice. It is important that Hygiene should be well taught in girls' schools. We agree with the opinion of some of our witnesses that the subject should be taken as late as possible in the school course, preferably at the 16-18 stage, after a course of systematic work in the sciences on which it depends. Where this is impossible, definite teaching on the laws of health and on personal hygiene may well form part of the work of the lower forms, but it cannot be properly considered as a part of the science course. Similarly lessons on the every day affairs of the house- hold are obviously of practical importance, and they may form a part of scientific education if they are given bv a 69 53-54 CONTENT OF THE teacher who has a real background of scientific knowledge. But much of the domestic science taught in schools has no claim to the name of science at all; it would be less pretentious and more accurate to call it housecraft, and find a place for it outside the hours allotted to Science. 54. Time. Teachers will very naturally ask how time is to be found for the extension of the range of science teaching which we propose. Some of it will have to come from time now given to other subjects. There are several possibilities in different parts of the curriculum. There can be little doubt that if a considerable part of the ordinary mathematical work were done by teachers who are also teaching Science much overlapping would be avoided and much loss of time prevented. Practical exercises in physics give better practice in rational arithmetic than the very unreal problems common in text books, and help to familiarise pupils with the metric system. The question as to the advantages and disadvantages of the metric system of weights and measures has many aspects which it is not within our province to discuss. As far, however, as education is concerned the introduction of the metric system would be attended with great advantages. Arithmetic would be much simplified, and time saved, which could be devoted to other subjects. Again, there is much overlapping between the subject matter of physical geography and of elementary science lessons; frequently a question such as the causes of the fall of rain is treated from one point of view in a" physics lesson without much reference to the natural phenomenon, while this natural phenomenon is explained in a so-called popular manner in the geography lesson. There is a clear opportunity here for saving time. The time given to mechanics might come from the time allotted to mathematics; if we put this at one period per week, and allot the equivalent of one period per week on the average to biology and two 70 SCIENCE COURSE, 12-16. 54-55 to chemistry there would remain, if our proposals are carried out, at least four periods per week for physical subjects, including mechanics. This suggestion is only intended to give an idea of the proportion of time to be assigned to each subject and should not be taken as a recommendation that a week's science work can be wisely broken up among so many subjects. But we must indeed trust mainly to wiser, more economical and more effective use of the hours spent in the laboratory, and this can only be attained by the constant care and attention of the teacher, and by careful planning of the practical work of the forms (see 42). If the periods of practical work are too short, a dispro- portionate amount of time is lost in starting and stopping. In many schools time is wasted in making fair copies of laboratory notes instead of writing a concise description as the experiment proceeds, and in making unnecessary sketches ; nothing is more useful than a sketch of apparatus in describing an experiment, but it is a waste of time to take five minutes to draw a crucible with the aid of ruler and compasses. 55. English. All through the science course the greatest care should be taken to insist on the accurate use of the English language, and the longer the time given to Science the greater becomes the responsibility of the teacher in this matter. It is not always recognised that there are excellent opportunities for teaching clear writing in connection with everyday laboratory work. A boy may fail to write a good essay because his command of English is insufficient to express what he would like to say, or because he has little or nothing to say on the subject ; but if he has been doing an experiment he should at least be able to describe what he did and what he saw in simple and comprehensible language, in the plain English of educated people. The conventional 71 55-56 SCIENCE IN jargon of laboratories, which is far too common in much that is written on pure and on applied science, is quite out of place in schools. The science master cannot be allowed to repudiate responsibility for the English in which the work of his class is written. There is a tendency at present in some schools to discourage boys from reading anything about their science work except the notes which they take in class and in the laboratory. We consider that this policy is most per- nicious. If a boy is interested in his subject he will naturally wish to read about it and should be encouraged to do so. A part of the time given to preparation, which is now often devoted to the mere transcription of laboratory notes, might be spent in this way and boys should have access to good scientific books suitable to the stage of knowledge reached. The practice of discouraging private reading is responsible for the tendency, which has become more noticeable in recent years, for students of Science at the Universities to rely entirely on the instruction they get in lectures. Some of them seem to have lost any desire to read for themselves and from want of practice lack the ability to use books to any advantage. Boys who have acquired the habit of reading books on Science when at school are more likely to keep alive in after life their knowledge and interest in the subject. SCIENCE IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS, 16-18. 56. We have already recommended that there should be a general course in secondary schools up to the stage reached by boys of about 16 and marked by the First School Examination; that the course should not be uniform for all schools or for all the pupils in a school, but that a substantial scheme of work in Science should form an integral part of it. This general course should 72 SECONDARY SCHOOLS, 16-18, 56-57 in our opinion be followed by a period of study covering about two years in which attention is concentrated on a more limited range of subjects. In this connection we shall first refer to the age of transfer from the secondary school to the university. Hitherto it has been customary for many boys passing on to Oxford and Cambridge to remain at school till 19 or even later; on the other hand, those entering the Modern Universities have not infre quently done so at 17 or even earlier. In our view it is desirable on educational and other grounds that boys who intend to pass on to a university should as a rule remain at the secondary school up to the age of 18, prqvided that the school is so organised as to furnish satisfactory courses in the various groups of subjects appropriate for them. Wherever this condition is fulfilled we consider that it will be for the advantage of the pupils, and not less advantageous to the schools and to the universities, that after the general course there should be a two years' period of advanced work at school. When the condition is not fulfilled, the right remedy lies in raising where possible the standard of the work under- taken by the secondary school. We recommend that 18 should be the normal age of entry from secondary schools to the universities ; and in making this recom- mendation we are supported by all the witnesses who have given evidence to us on the subject. 57. We recommend further that the usual age limit for entrance scholarships for boys awarded by the colleges of Oxford and Cambridge should be 18 rather than 19, for it is not generally advantageous to a boy's intellectual development that he should remain subject to school conditions much after the age of 18. Further, university courses for science students will normally extend over a period of four years, and may often be usefully pro- longed to a fifth year. The increasing requirements of 73 57-59 SCIENCE IN professional study at the universities and elsewhere (especi- ally in medicine and engineering), and the development of advanced courses in applied science, which presuppose a thorough knowledge of pure science, alike involve a lengthening of the period which intervenes between the end of a boy's school life and his entry into industry or professional practice; while under the conditions which are likely to obtain after the war young men will need to enter on their life work at an earlier age than has hitherto been customary. It follows that the age of leaving the secondary school should not be unduly postponed; and we do not consider that it can be wisely postponed much after the age of 18. We have already recommended that the age of entry into the Public Schools should be 13 rather than 14 : we are not therefore suggesting any curtailment of the period spent in the secondary school. 58. It is generally agreed that the greater part of a boy's time between 16 and 18 should be devoted to the study of a group of subjects, the choice of which will depend upon the tastes and aptitudes he has developed and the career to which he looks forward. Specialisation at this period is desirable because the imaginative and logical faculties can be best trained by the intensive study of a few subjects. Advanced work, too, is necessary to enable the learner to appreciate and attain a high standard of accuracy and thoroughness. 59. Under existing conditions the amount, of time devoted to subjects other than those in which a boy is specialising is often extremely limited. The science specialist gives little time or attention to literary studies he may even, though his main work is concerned with physics and chemistry, neglect Mathematics ; the specialist in Classics or Modern Languages omits . any study of Science. Without wishing to lay down any hard-and- fast rule in the matter, we suggest that^an apportionment 74 SECONDARY SCHOOLS, 16-18. 59-62 of time by which a boy devotes not more than two -thirds nor less than half of the school week to work in his special subjects may be regarded as reasonable. Some literary study including English should have the first claim on the balance of the time of all science students. Further, just as the science specialist should, in the best interests of his education, widen his outlook and enlarge his interests by continuing some literary study, so the student of Classics or Modern Languages should give time and attention to science work of an appropriate kind. fe? 60. Those whose main subject is Natural Science will not all be candidates for entrance scholarships at a university; there will be boys who do not propose to proceed to a university at all, and will pass direct into industry or a profession; and others, again, who will enter universities with a view to taking Pass degrees. All these will be specialists in the sense that their work will be limited to fewer subjects than those taken in the previous general course and their interests cannot be ignored. 61 . The kind of work and teaching appropriate for the science specialist as such will consist, broadly speaking, in carrying forward to a higher stage the work in two or more of the sciences, physics, chemistry, biology which have formed part of the general course, and will present to the schools only those difficulties with which many of them are familiar. It will usually be accompanied by further study of Mathematics. Those who take biology should certainly continue the study of physics and chemistry, but we think it is not necessary to insist that they should do advanced work in Mathematics. 62. The work we suggest as appropriate for boys who are not specialising in Science differs altogether from this advanced work. It cannot aim at the same measure of completeness even in a limited field, and there will not 75 62-63 SCIENCE IN be time for extended laboratory teaching. There is at present little experience to guide us when we come to consider the character of the work in Science suitable for such boys. The matter is however one of the first import- ance, and science masters could do no more useful service to the cause of Science than to think out the problem for themselves and to make their own experiments. The course, or courses for it is not desirable that there should be a uniform course must satisfy certain necessary conditions. Firstly, they should presuppose a general course in Science including laboratory teaching up to 16 somewhat on the lines we have suggested, Secondly, they should be planned on a scale consistent with the comparatively small amount of time available for them, and not all of them need involve practical work in a laboratory. Thirdly, their scope and character should be suitable for boys of 16-18 who are doing advanced work in other subjects. The last condition is vital. It implies that the teaching must, if it is to have any real value, be given by thoroughly competent teachers with a sound background of scientific knowledge and a wide outlook. It must not be merely discursive or disconnected or journalistic ; it should deal with scientific questions of general interest, and discuss them on a basis of definite knowledge. Above all it must not aim too low. If it does not stretch the wits of the cleverer boys and give them something to think about it will have failed. 63. The choice of the subjects must lie with the teacher. There is great wealth of material and a wide scope for teachers of varied gifts who know how to use their opportunities. We cannot do more than make a few tentative suggestions as follows : <& A. (i) A course on the outlines of cosmical physics and astronomical principles of general interest, such as the measurement of time, the calendar, the size and mass 76 SECONDARY SCHOOLS, 16-18. 63 of the earth and sun; the applications of spectroscopy to elucidate the composition of the stars, nebulae, &c. ; (ii) A course on the general principles of geology, without too much technical detail, illustrated by local examples and the use of geological maps ; (iii) A couVse on physio- logy and hygiene, which would include a discussion of the part played by bacteria and other lower organisms in fermentation and in the spread of disease; (iv) A course on physical meteorology; the composition and general circulation of the atmosphere, relation of wind to pressure, storm, clouds, rain, snow, thunderstorm, the aurora, weather mapping. B. Courses on the history of Science, e.g., (i) The history of astronomy from the Greeks to Newton including some account of the geocentric and heliocentric systems, (ii) The history of mechanics on the lines of the earlier portions of Mach's " Principles of Mechanics." C. Courses on the development of scientific ideas, e.g., the constitution of matter, the conservation of energy, the doctrine of evolution, heredity, immunity. D. The lives and work of scientific men e.g., Leonardo da Vinci, Galileo, Newton, Lavoisier, Cavendish, Faraday, Clerk Maxwell, Kelvin, Pasteur, Darwin, Helmholtz. E. The bearing of scientific inventions on industrial progress, e.g., in connection with the history of farming, or with other local industries ; methods of transport by land, water and air ; means of communication such as signalling, telegraphy, telephones ; methods of lighting. F. Courses of a more practical kind than those men- tioned above on the particular applications of Science, e.g., on the internal combustion engine or the dynamo ; such courses would appeal to boys of a mechanical turn of mind. G. A course on the method and philosophy of Science, historically treated, with special reference to the work^ of 77 63-64 SCIENCE IN Aristotle and his predecessors, Archimedes, Galileo, and Bacon, and the later experimental philosophers. It will be seen that many of these courses and the list does not pretend to be exhaustive give special opportunities to a teacher who combines some knowledge of history with his knowledge of Science, and should appeal to boys with historical tastes. It is not, of course, suggested that they could all be profitably undertaken by any one teacher, or included in the work of any one school; they are quoted only as suggestions from which a selection might be made depending on the teacher's own interests and the circumstances of the school. The fact that a teacher has quite rightly devoted himself during his university course to the special study of a few branches of Science is no reason why he should limit himself in school to the teaching of these subjects. The courses indicated would be profitable also to Science specialists and would do much to counteract the narrowness of view which sometimes accompanies specialisation. Teachers will have their own views as to the methods by which such subjects can be most effectively presented. It may be assumed that the teaching will for the most part take the form of class teaching with illustrative experiments, diagrams, and specimens from the school museum; but every encouragement should be given to the pupils to supplement this by private reading. It is essential in the interests of precision and accuracy that the boys should be required to write about their work; opportunity should be taken to set them questions of the essay type which would test their knowledge and powers of expression. !*>' 64. The pupils who are specialising in Science will generally fall into one or more of the following groups : (1) Scholarship candidates and others who will give their 78 SECONDARY SCHOOLS, 16-18. 64 attention to two or more of the subjects physics, chemistry, and biology with a view to an Honours or Pass Degree in Pure Science; (2) those looking forward to entering the medical profession ; (3) those who intend to enter the engineering profession or one of the industries; (4) those who will be connected in one way or another with the land. The special needs of the last three groups are considered elsewhere; the needs of the first group are influenced by university entrance scholarship examinations which are dealt with in a later part of this Report (see 135-141). For all of these it is important that, in addition to their Science work, the school should provide appropriate courses of work in other subjects. The value of a knowledge of French and German at least sufficient to enable a student to use these languages as tools in his work is obvious, and there is no reason why anyone who has got beyond the elementary stages should not read a French or German textbook, or use books of reference in these languages. The need for Mathematics for the majority of science boys is no less urgent, and should not be difficult to meet if the recommendations which we make elsewhere as to the relation between the teaching of Mathematics and Science can be carried out. It is the study of English subjects which is at present most neglected in science forms. Just as we recommend that a special kind of appropriate science teaching should be provided for the non-scientific boys, so we think that the schools should grapple with the problem of helping mathematical and scientific boys in the study of subjects of a general education which will be of value to them in later years. It happens too often at present that the time which is not given to the pupils' special work is used in a haphazard manner without a definite plan. 79 65-66 THE SECOND SCHOOL EXAMINATION. 65. The Board of Education have made proposals for the establishment of a Second School Examination suitable for pupils of about 18. Such an examination should, in our opinion, test the work in a few selected subjects which would include not only those in the group to which the candidate's main attention has been given, but some other subject or subjects as well. It should not be on the lines of the First School Examination; for merely to test the subjects of a general course carried to a higher stage would be to throw away the intellectual opportunity offered by concentration on a more limited range. 66. We consider that, while there should be reasonable freedom of choice in regard to the subjects offered in the examination, a candidate whose main subject is Natural Science ought to offer at least one other subject, History or an Ancient or Modern Language, or English Literature. We should not consider the combination of Science and Mathematics without any literary subject as satisfactory. Conversely a candidate whose main subject is a literary one should be expected to offer a branch of Natural Science or Mathematics. We presume that the examination will always test the candidate's power of writing English. The standard set in the subjects offered should not however be so high as to preclude the possibility of giving time to other studies which might be considered appropriate at this stage of education. It is not, in our view, necessary or desirable that a boy should present for examination, least of all at this stage, all the subjects to which he is devoting school time. Art and Music or a Modern Language might for example occupy some of his time; but there is no reason why they should be offered for examination. Lastly, it is essential that the regulations 80 THE SECOND SCHOOL EXAMINATION. 66-68 for this examination should be so framed as not to be inconsistent with the scheme for widening the basis of College entrance scholarship examinations which we recommend in 139. The scheme for the Second School Examination outlined by the Board of Education appears to meet some of our requirements, but until experience has been gained of how the proposals work out in practice, it would be premature to express any opinion as to their merits. 67. A considerable number of those proceeding to the Second School Examination have to pass the Inter- mediate examination at one or other of the universities. All the witnesses representing Secondary Schools whom we have examined on the point are unanimous in their view that the work appropriate for the higher forms of schools is of the same general character as the work required for these Intermediate examinations. The matter is further dealt with in the University part of this Report (see 147). SECONDARY EDUCATION IN WALES. 68. The observations we have made in regard to the position of Science in English state-aided schools hold generally for similar schools in Wales, but it is desirable to draw attention to certain features of Welsh secondary education. Secondary schools in Wales are, with few exceptions, subject to the regulations of the Board of Education and must submit their time tables and curricula for the approval of the Board. This ensures that Science is taught in all these schools. The state-aided schools include 100 Inter- mediate or County Schools established or reconstituted 5660 81 D 68 SECONDARY EDUCATION IN WALES. under the Welsh Intermediate Education Act of 1889,* 5 endowed schools not so dealt with, 12 municipal secondary schools and one Roman Catholic school. Of these schools 30 are for boys, 29 for girls, and 59 are mixed schools, with a total school population of 8,400 boys and 8,750 girls. It is noticeable that there is a larger proportion of mixed schools and that the schools are smaller than in England. Nearly half of the state-aided schools have less than 150 pupils: nearly a quarter have less than 100; while there are only nine with more than 300. As many as 90 per cent, of the pupils in state-aided secondary schools have come from elementary schools. There are few private schools for either stage of education. The secondary schools are consequently relieved of many of the difficulties of classification which arise when their pupils enter from schools of different types at very various stages of preparation. On the other hand, the age of beginning the secondary school course is for the mass of pupils somewhat later than in many parts of England. Under this same Welsh Intermediate Act there was established a Central Board whose functions are to examine and inspect the Intermediate Schools and to report to the Board of Education to enable them to decide whether the school fulfils the conditions of the Treasury Grant. This Board is composed of representatives of the county councils and county governing bodies, teachers, and universities. The constitution of the Board thus recognises the unity of education from the elementary school to the university. Its establishment made it possible to get rid of the multiplicity of examinations and to provide a system of examinations linked with inspection. It is clear from the evidence that it exercises * For an account of the Welsh Intermediate Education Act, its origin and working, see Vol 2 of Special Reports on Educational Subjects, issued by th*e Board of Education. SECONDARY EDUCATION IN WALES. 68-69 a very vigorous and paternal control over the education given in the Intermediate Schools. The remaining secondary schools, including some established since the Act of 1902, are inspected solely by the Board of Education and are not bound to take the examinations of the Central Welsh Board. 69. On the examinations conducted by the Central Welsh Board, Junior, Senior, and Higher Certificates are awarded. For all of these Science is a possible, for none of them is it a compulsory subject and it is only for the Higher that there is a practical examination. In these examinations the regulations are such that Science is at no disadvantage compared to other subjects. The following table gives the number of candidates who entered and the number who passed in the Senior Certificate Examination, 1917, of the Central Welsh Board ; and the corresponding figures for those taking one or more Science subjects : No. of candi- dates for Senior Certificate. No. of candidates taking one or more Science Subjects. Entered. Passed. Entered. Passed. Boys - Girls % 702 1,259 532 934 634 909 392 675 These figures show that 90 per cent, of the boys, and 72 per cent, of the girls, who entered presented themselves for examination in one or more Science subjects. It is further noticeable that of the seven Advanced Courses in Welsh schools which have been conditionally 83 D 2 69-70 SECONDARY EDUCATION IN WALES. recognised by the Board of Education six are for Science and Mathematics. Apart altogether from these statistics we have been assured by the Assistant Inspector of the Central Welsh Board that these examinations have had great influence on the teaching of Science in the intermediate schools. Further, we have heard no critisism that makes us think that the examinations restrict the freedom of the teacher in handling his subject. As in England when similar liberty is allowed it is noticeable that though the schools have the right of submitting alternative schemes, they rarely avail themselves of this privilege. Though the constitution of the Central Welsh Board facilitates co-operation between examiners and teachers and the smallness of the area makes it specially easy, 110 attempt is made in the actual working of the examination to obtain the judgment of the teachers as to the pupils' merits or to make use of the pupils' school record. A proposal to associate the teacher with the examination in a more definite way is now under consideration and we hope that it will be carried out. Some discussion has also taken place as to the advisability of abolishing the junior examination. We recognise the possible value of such an examination for small schools in rural areas, but we feel that under existing circumstances there is a risk of the pupils being over-examined, especially in Science. 70. Coming to the actual conditions affecting science teaching in the schools, we find that though the time given to the subject varies in different schools, it is rather less than we recommend as desirable. We have been given to understand that the laboratory accommodation is generally adequate in the intermediate schools and that the municipal secondary schools are even better off in this respect. 84 SECONDARY EDUCATION IN WALES. 70 There is little that calls for special notice with regard to the subjects of instruction in Science. Some weakness is however indicated by the plan that has to be adopted in many mixed schools of teaching girls separately in botany, partly because of their inability to cope with the difficulties of physics. This reacts harmfully on the university career of women, especially of those who are preparing for the medical profession. With regard to teachers, before the war there was little difficulty in getting properly qualified men and women. Wales has in this respect been luckier than England, no doubt because the position of teacher is there held in greater respect. The Welsh have earned a reputation for being specially zealous in the cause of education. This zeal is reflected in the movement for the creation of University Colleges, in the establishment of the Central Welsh Board and in the fact that boys and girls of the lower middle class, even in rural districts, avail themselves fully of the oppor- tunities offered by the intermediate and other schools. There is however another side to the picture. There is a serious waste of good material. Owing to the insuffi- ciency of maintenance allowances many boys of the industrial classes leave the secondary schools prematurely, tempted by the high wages that result from the demand for boy labour in pit and factory. The fact that not more than 5 per cent, of those who enter the secondary schools ever reach a university is to be explained by the leakage mentioned above and by the absence of scholarships and leaving exhibitions to enable those who stay to the natural end of their school career to proceed to a university. It is also noticeable that while 1,599 students have taken the B.A. Degree in the University of Wales in the last nine years, only 511 have taken the B.Sc. Degree, a considerable proportion of the 85 70-71 TEACHERS OF SCIENCE latter becoming teachers. It would appear that despite the manifest importance of scientific industries in South Wales a comparatively small number of university students pass into the local industries. TEACHERS OF SCIENCE IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS. (i) SUPPLY. 71. The first and indispensable condition for any real improvement in the teaching of Science in schools of all kinds is that effective steps should be taken to secure an adequate supply of properly qualified teachers. The supply is inadequate for existing needs, quite apart from the abnormal conditions created by the war, and it will be still more deficient after the war. Representatives of the Head Masters' Association and of the Assistant Masters' Association were agreed as to the dearth of teachers, even if the amount of instruction in Science were not increased in secondary schools. The witnesses representing the Public School Science Masters' Association drew our attention to the fact that formerly it was possible for science masters to devote time to boys who came voluntarily to do work in the laboratory ; this extra work, which was most valuable to the boys, had become much less common. Representatives of the Association of Science Teachers stated that there had been a " great shortage of science teachers for some years before the war," and quoted figures with respect to schools with from 200-400 girls of all ages, showing that out of 72 such schools only 39 had the services of two full-time science mistresses. The dearth was attributed to long hours, inadequate salaries, the extra cost of a university course in Science, and the rapid development of other openings for women qualified in this subjects S6 IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS. 71-72 We have suggested elsewhere that the time to be given to Science should be augmented, that the subject should be taught in schools and parts of schools where it is omitted, and that advanced work should be further developed, especially in state-aided schools. If these suggestions are to be carried out it is clear that, quite apart from the demand entailed by the continued growth of secondary schools which has been a striking feature of the educational history of this country in recent years, the supply of science teachers must be further increased. On the other hand, industry has already begun to compete for the services of those who in former times would have looked forward to science teaching as a profession, and the competition is likely to grow more severe in the future. (ii) SALARIES AND OTHER CONDITIONS OF WORK. 72. To secure the requisite supply of teachers it will be necessary to improve, and improve substantially, the salaries of teachers of both sexes, and to provide a satisfactory national system of pensions and retiring allowances. On the question of the need for an improvement in the position and prospects of teachers, Mr. Fletcher, the Chief Inspector of Secondary Schools, was quite explicit. " Until the teaching profession was made more attractive he did not think it would be possible [in secondary education] to do more than keep things going and make minor improve- ments." We accept this statement, but we doubt whether even this will be possible, so far as Science is concerned. The teachers are, in fact, the key to the educational situation. Unless a sufficient supply of properly qualified men and women teachers can be secured all our proposals will be futile. Another Committee has been appointed to consider the whole question of salaries. It will have at its disposal 87 72 TEACHERS OF SCIENCE information that we have not, and it can concentrate on the consideration of principles and may be on the deter- mination of details outside the scope of our inquiry. But we should be faithless to our duties did we not assert as emphatically as possible that the conviction formed at an early stage of our proceedings that no suggestion we might make would be of avail to improve the position of Science in education unless the salaries at present offered to teachers were considerably raised, has been strengthened at every step we have taken in our journey. It is not merely an improvement in the salaries that is needed, but a revolution in the attitude of the public towards them. Exceptional teachers will always join the profession for the love of the work it offers and the opportunity it presents of fulfilling themselves. These must be a minority : invaluable it is true, but not to be reckoned with as part of the normal supply. We have spoken of a revolution. What we mean is that present salaries should no longer be taken as the basis for a future arrange- ment. To add ten or twenty per cent, is useless; a much larger increase is necessary to attract the number of better qualified men and women that our proposals necessitate. The new basis for the calculation of salaries must be what the men or women of intelligence, education and vigour might gain in any other profession. There are no doubt compensations in the life of a teacher, e.g., longer holidays ; but there are counteracting disadvan- tages. Whilst term lasts the work is peculiarly exacting. The salary-earning life is shorter. In no profession is it more important that the members should have reason- able opportunities of foreign travel and the wherewithal to purchase books; but foreign travel and the purchase of books impose a heavy tax on scanty incomes. But a scale of salaries even a reasonably generous scale will not be sufficient. We attach equal, if not 88 IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS. 72-73 greater, importance to the attractive value of posts carrying a salary and influence more considerable than any that can be recognised by an automatic scale. The annual increment and the fixed minimum must be tempered and vivified by better paid posts. All schools should be enabled to offer to one or more of their masters as a reward for teaching gifts, as distinct from administrative ability or mere seniority, salaries not confined within a scale. The very existence of such prizes would serve as an encouragement and a stimulus to teachers to cultivate their abilities, even in the middle years the most dangerous years of their career. 73. It is also desirable that the conditions under which the teacher works should be such as will improve his efficiency. The preparation of successful experiments to illustrate lectures makes demands on the time of a science teacher and on the accommodation at his disposal, which under present conditions are in many schools very difficult to meet. We think that this fact should receive recogni- tion in the arrangement of secondary school time-tables especially for those teachers primarily responsible for the organisation of the science work. In some schools the teaching is handicapped by the fact that teachers are without the services of a laboratory assistant.* This handicap will be increased when our proposals are adopted. It has been pressed upon us that teachers in secondary schools should have opportunities for independent research. We are in general sympathy with this suggestion, and think that much more might be done in the direction of establishing points of contact between the work of university teachers and investigators and that of teachers in secondary schools. But the number of teachers in * Out of 67 Head Masters' Conference Schools which returned answers on this point, 10 stated that in July, 1914, they had no laboratory assistant. 89 73-74 TEACHERS OF SCIENCE secondary schools qualified to conduct scientific research, except of a quite unambitious kind, will probably never be large; and necessary school duties must remain, save in exceptional cases, a bar to any considerable develop- ment of this kind. There should in any case be room enough in a school laboratory for the masters to carry on experimental work of their own. It is beyond question that a great stimulus is given to the better boys where they see that a science master is engaged in independent investigation, and can help him in operations incidental to it. A junior master who has had experience in a research laboratory could find in many of the sciences problems within the range of his resources. But as his work must be intermittent he must have some place where his apparatus can be left undisturbed. It is especially important to keep the need for this accommoda- tion in mind in the designing of new laboratories. Facilities for independent work would increase the attractiveness of the career of a science master, and research would have a great effect in refreshing and stimulating his mind. There is also work of the first importance to be done in the direction of improving the methods of science teaching, e.g., the devising of new experiments and the improvement of schemes of practical instruction. These, under the influence of text-books and examinations, tend to get stereotyped. Such pioneering, which might be described as educational research, is badly needed, and can only be done at the schools. (iii) QUALIFICATIONS, 74. We pass on to consider the qualifications of science teachers, both as they are and as they should be. In regard to the first point, science teaching in secondary 90 IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS. 74 schools is almost exclusively concentrated in the hands of those who have obtained a university degree in Science. Science, unlike some other subjects, is seldom entrusted to a teacher who has no special knowledge of the subject he is required to teach. On the other hand, it is only an insignificant minority of teachers who have received any training in the art of teaching their own subject, and the opportunities afforded to science teachers of seeing work in schools other than their own and profiting by the experience of their colleagues are extremely limited. We were indeed informed by the Chief Inspector of Secondary Schools that " there was need for science teachers with a wider outlook and a more developed skill in handling their subject." With regard to the qualifications which science teachers should possess, it is clearly desirable that they should have taken a university course in Science, and should have come under the influence of inspiring university teachers. It is also desirable that future science teachers should, so far as possible, avail themselves of opportunities for experimental work of a research type, whether before or after taking their degrees. But if science teaching in secondary schools is to follow the lines we propose and be something more than teaching adapted to the future science specialist, it is necessary that the teachers should have received a school and university education calculated to give them that wider outlook without which their teaching is only too likely to be wooden and uninspiring, an education which would enable them to deal with the relations of Science to the progress of civilisation, its influence on human thought and the history of scientific discovery. It is probable that the pressure of examinations, the laudable desire to carry the school work in physics, chemistry or botany up to a high standard, and an undue emphasis on practical 91 74-75 TEACHERS OF SCIENCE work in and for itself, are contributory causes which may account for that failure to deal with the wider aspects of Science of which science teachers are themselves increasingly conscious. 75. It is one of the unfortunate results of the lack of teachers qualified in Science that they are commonly under the necessity of devoting their whole teaching time to their own special subject and that alone. In many schools this is carried so far that a master will be engaged in teaching only a single science subject e.g., physics or chemistry. There is no doubt room in the more highly organised schools for a certain number of teachers whose work is specialised in this way, but we certainly hope, in the interests alike of Science and of those who are concerned to teach it, that they will be encouraged to devote a portion of their time and energies to teaching some subject other than the one in which they are specialists. In particular, we agree, as we have already said, with the view expressed in one of the answers to a questionnnaire which we sent to the Mathematical Association that the best method of securing co-ordination of the work in mathematics and science is to assign the teaching of mathematics and physics largely to the same teachers. To do this it would be necessary to have a supply of teachers who had had sufficient training in both mathematics and physics to enable them to enter into the spirit of both subjects. Too few science teachers with Cambridge degrees have hitherto taken advantage of the opportunity of taking the first part both of the Mathe- matical and of the Natural Science Tripos. It would be well if those concerned with the appointment of teachers let it be known that they would give preference to candi- dates with qualifications of this kind. School science would gain if its teachers could take a share in some subjects other than Mathematics. The abolition of water-tight 92 IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS. 75-76 compartments in which even closely allied subjects tend to be isolated would benefit both teachers and pupils, It has been suggested to us that science masters are at a disadvantage in obtaining head masterships ; we think that any such disability will disappear when the import- ance of Science is more fully recognised and when science masters undertake a wider range of school work. We desire to express our agreement with the view that some knowledge of the history and philosophy of Science* should form part of the intellectual equipment of every science teacher in a secondary school. The effectiveness of science teaching as an instrument of mental training would, in fact, be greatly enhanced if teachers were themselves more critical of loose reasoning and were better able to instil precise and accurate habits of thought. (iv) TRAINING. 76. We have already pointed out that teachers, especially men, have so far availed themselves to a very slight extent of such opportunities as exist for professional training. This is due in part to doubts entertained in regard to its value and in part to the fact that, owing to the dearth of teachers, head masters and governing bodies have not been in the position to insist on training as a necessary qualification for appointment. We are * Such a knowledge as might be gained by the study of chapters of Mill's Logic ; Jevons' Principles of Science ; Merz' History of European Thought in the 19th Century; Mach's Principles of Mechanics ; Karl Pearson's Grammar of Science ; Ward's Naturalism and Agnosticism; H. Poincare's Science and Hypothesis (and his later works); J. Arthur Thomson's Introduction to Science, to mention only a few well known works. A full and well arranged bibliography, prepared by Prof. R. A. Gregory, is given in the " School World " for November 1917. 76 TEACHERS OF SCIENCE ourselves convinced that a suitable course of training would add to the efficiency of science teachers, and that the doubts which are felt in some quarters are due to the unsuitability of existing schemes and to limited experience of their effects on teachers otherwise well qualified. For us the question is not whether teachers should continue to lack the guidance which a suitable form of training might provide, but what sort of training is likely to be most effective. In regard to this there was a remarkable consensus of opinion among our official and other witnesses. There was general agreement that training should be centred in the secondary school and that it should consist mainly in practice under proper supervision in the art of teaching the subject or subjects with which the teacher is concerned. We think that a full year's training should be provided after the completion of a university course of study and before appointment to a permanent post in a school. The first portion of this time should be spent in a secondary school and the second, which should not exceed a third of the whole, in some academic or other training centre. In regard to the conditions of training at a secondary school, we suggest : (i) that not more than half the time should be devoted to actual teaching; (ii) that the teacher in training shouJd be regarded for the time being as a regular member of the staff ; (iii) that he should work under the full control of the head master and under the immediate guidance of an experienced member of the assistant staff qualified to assist him in his special work, but that the authorities of the academic or other training department should have full opportunities of co-operating with the school authorities and advising the teacher in training as to his course of study; (iv) that opportunity of seeing work in subjects other than his special subject should be given to the teacher in training ; 94 IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS. 76 and (v) that board and lodging, or their equivalent, should be provided by the school. The second portion of the training should comprise attendance at courses of instruc- tion in the technique of science teaching, as well as other subjects, and we hope that such courses will be organised at the Universities. The adoption of a scheme of this kind should not prevent teachers who had attended an elementary training college or the elementary training department of a uni- versity from taking posts in secondary schools if suitably qualified. It will be noticed by those acquainted with present arrangements for the training of secondary teachers that the scheme we have proposed is a combination of the second and third types of training recognised by the Board of Education, and we think it may claim to have the advantages belonging to both. It is essential that until training is made compulsory for all teachers, the year spent in training should count as a year's service in considering a teacher's status and seniority in a school.* Uritil salaries are considerably improved some arrange ment must be made for giving further financial help to the teachers in training. The financial help might take the form of (a) direct payment by the school out of money contributed by the State in recognition of the fact that schools undertaking this work perform a national service, * The present custom obtaining in some Public Schools, by which teachers who allow an interval of a year or more to elapse between the completion of their degree course and the date of their joining the permanent staff of a school, are placed at a material disadvantage through loss of seniority, deters men who think of becoming schoolmasters from obtaining experience which would make their work more fruitful. It is obvious that a period after a teacher has taken his degree may often be most usefully spent either in post graduate study at home or abroad, or in gaining some experience of teaching in some other school. 95 76-77 TEACHERS OF SCIENCE or (6) a loan from a fund administered by the University or College to which the teacher in training belonged. We wish to emphasise this point, for the fact that a teacher may begin his work immediately after he takes his degree and without further expenditure has had an important effect in attracting men and women to the profession. Under the existing regulations the Board of Education may pay grants to approved secondary schools on account of any teacher in training who has fulfilled certain conditions, but grants will, as a rule, only be paid if the school is on the list of secondary schools recognised for ordinary grant. In our opinion any such grants should be equally available for all suitable inspected schools. To limit grants for teachers in training to state-aided schools would be educationally inadvisable, as it would mean that some of those schools which teachers might most usefully attend would be excluded from the scheme. 77. The one year's course of training proposed as the normal course for all Secondary teachers in the future will need to be supplemented in various ways. As things are, teachers tend to be isolated in their work, especially in the smaller schools. Further it is difficult for them to keep even tolerably well abreast of the progress of knowledge in a subject in which rapid advances are being made. Something might be done to remedy these defects by encouraging teachers to visit other schools. Such visits are of little value unless they are of at least a week's duration, and their value is much increased if the teacher makes a record of his experience, of course only for his own benefit and that of his colleagues. Again, it is well worth considering whether some organisation might not undertake the task of issuing a journal (not necessarily appearing at regular intervals) or a series of leaflets in 96 IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS. 77-78 which teachers who have devised new lecture or laboratory experiments or new methods of dealing with particular problems in connection with their work might bring them to the notice of their colleagues. 78 Apart from these expedients there is need for the establishment of short courses for teachers, which should be held preferably at university centres. These courses might be of the following kinds : (i) Courses consisting of lectures given by university teachers on recent advances of Science. Opportunity might be afforded to the teachers attending such courses of working in a fully equipped laboratory and of obtaining instruction in laboratory arts, (ii) Courses given by those who had had experience of school teaching on the methods of teaching the several sciences. These courses would normally include laboratory work, and no small part of their value would lie in the interchange of experience among those who attended them : they would enable teachers to acquaint themselves with new experiments and improved methods of over- coming difficulties in the school treatment of Science, (iii) Courses adapted for teachers who wished to familiarise themselves with a subject in which they felt their knowledge deficient. Thus courses might be provided to help teachers of nature study in preparatory schools or the lower forms of secondary schools, courses in practical physics for teachers of mathematics, or in geology or astronomy for science masters who had not taken these subjects as part of their university studies. To many an additional attrac tion of a return to the university would be the possibility of access to a large library. In existing circumstances there will be need for a somewhat extensive provision of courses of the third type to tide over temporary difficulties arising out of the dearth of properly qualified teachers. It is very important that the universities should regard it as a normal part of their 97 78-79 LABORATORY ACCOMMODATION, duty to provide courses of the first two types to supple- ment the one year's course of training. LABORATORY ACCOMMODATION, EQUIPMENT, AND LIBRARIES. 79. In the matter of laboratory accommodation and equipment it is necessary to distinguish between state- aided and other secondary schools. Those state-aided schools which date back to the days of the Science and Art Department are well provided with laboratories and lecture rooms, while in the newer state-aided schools the Board of Education have always insisted on the provision of properly equipped laboratories. The schools which do not receive grant are under no compulsion in the matter. We were, however, informed by witnesses representing the Public School Science Masters' Association that during the past twenty years there had been great improvement in the provision of laboratories.* An analysis of the answers given by 55 Head Masters' Conference schools to our questionnaire shows that 30 of these schools have three and more laboratories, 21 have two laboratories, and only four schools (with less than 200 pupils) are limited to one. In certain schools the laboratory provision would appear to be either insufficient for the needs of those taking Science or sufficient only because so many boys do not learn Science. Thus, five schools with more than 400 pupils have each only two laboratories ; though in one of these schools substantial additions are under consideration. * Full details in regard to the provision at 46 schools represented on the Association are given in the Report on Science Teaching in Public Schools : Educational Pamphlet No/ 17, issued by the Board of Education, 1909. EQUIPMENT, AND LIBRARIES. 79-80 In girls' secondary schools, including some which are state-aided, the provision is less satisfactory. The Associa- tion of Science Teachers laid before us figures showing that out of 28 schools with between 200 and 300 pupils, 20 had only one laboratory, and that 10 out of 13 larger schools were no better off. Even if we take into account the fact that a certain number of pupils in these schools have not arrived at an age at which Science with practical work forms part of the course, the figures show that the laboratory accommodation is quite insufficient. Our proposal for the increase of science teaching will make greater demands on laboratory accommodation. We would point out (i) that the number of the laboratories must be determined by the number of forms who have to do practical science simultaneously ; (ii) that in planning new schools it is much more important to secure ample space than to provide elaborate and costly fittings. School laboratories are sometimes constructed complete in every detail because it is thought necessary to include as much as possible of the initial cost in the builder's contract; it would, as a rule, be better to supply at the outset only the absolutely necessary fittings and to hold over a portion of the intended expenditure for the numerous minor adjustments and additions which are best made after experience of actual work in the room. 80. We pass on to consider an important point affecting the provision of necessary apparatus and equipment. It is usual in newly built schools maintained by Local Educa- tion Authorities to supply apparatus on a liberal scale out of capital at the time when the school is first opened; but satisfactory provision is not always made for the purchase year by year of new apparatus, for upkeep, and for materials. The regular procedure should be that head masters and mistresses should be allowed a fixed annual amount to be determined by the size of the school and 90 80-81 LABORATORY ACCOMMODATION, the character of its science work, that they should be given full discretion as to the manner in which, after consultation with the science teachers, the money was spent, subject to an account being rendered at the end of the school year, and that it should be possible for them to carry over any surplus under this head to the next year.* The system by which in some areas all laboratory supplies have to be requisitioned from the local authority results in vexatious delays and may result in apparatus being provided which is not of the kind required. If greater freedom were given to the schools in this matter, the money would be more usefully spent and science teachers would be encouraged to take a more personal and active interest in the problem of equipping their laboratories to the best advantage than is to be expected under existing regulations. It is impossible to leave the subject of apparatus without pointing out that it is desirable on educational as well as on economic grounds to make the utmost use of the school workshop, the skill of its manual instructor and the help of the boys. Wherever it could be afforded it would be an advantage to have a mechanic sufficiently skilled to be able to repair instruments and to make simple pieces of apparatus for use in teaching. The services of such an assistant would tend to a great economy in time, and his wages would be to some extent recouped by the saving in the purchase of apparatus. 81. One of the most valuable things which a school can do for its pupils is to teach them how to make an intelligent use of books, but in many schools this need has not been sufficiently recognised for science students. * The objection will probably be made that the Local Government Board Auditor will not allow a surplus to be carried over in this way, but the difficulty has been met in the analogous case of Games Funds by a direct payment for the purpose to the Head Master. 100 EQUIPMENT, AND LIBRARIES. 81-^2 Two classes of books should be provj4e4 ky thth in chemistry and engineering, and it is, therefore, 194 UNIVERSITY EDUCATION. 145-147 doubtful whether the universities should attempt a course of training giving anything like full professional qualifi- cations in the two subjects within the time limits of an ordinary degree course. 146. Before leaving the subject of degree courses, we desire to add that in our view it is most important that the courses in question should be so arranged that students who come well prepared from secondary schools should not be put back to do elementary work which they have done already. This does not mean that there should be no elementary lectures. Such lectures will be necessary to meet the needs of students who have not pursued a full course of science at a secondary school and may sometimes be attended with advantage by those who have; but attendance should not be compulsory, and there should be nothing in the university arrangements to prevent well prepared students from proceeding to the more advanced studies which it is the special function of the university to foster. In no case should the period spent at the university be shortened ; the student should be able to spend three years of uninterrupted study on the more advanced parts of his subject. 147. One method of securing this end would be to allow the Intermediate Examinations for the B.Sc. degree to be taken direct from school. This raises the question at what point in the course of a student's scientific training does the province of the secondary school end and that of the university begin? We have asked the universities for their views on this point. The answers disclose conflict of opinion. It may be asked, in the first place, what is the aim of the Intermediate examination for the B.Sc. degree ? To this question three different answers have been given. Some maintain that the examination aims at finding out whether the undergraduate possesses the general and 95 147 UNIVERSITY EDUCATION. elementary knowledge of Science needed as a foundation for the more advanced and specialised part of the degree course, and assume that secondary schools are not so equipped with teachers and laboratories as to be able to impart that fundamental knowledge of Science which is needed as an introduction to advanced university teaching. This assumption is already antiquated as a general statement. Others urge that the examination is designed to show whether the undergraduate has followed with intelligence the course of instruction given to him during his first year at the university under conditions freer and more stimu- lating than those which can possibly prevail at a school. This view takes it for granted that the lectures and laboratory instruction given in a university in preparation for the Intermediate B.Sc. examination are in the hands of the most brilliant and experienced professors under whose inspiring leadership the young student is privileged to make his entrance into the university study of science. This assumption is not always justified by the facts. A third group regard the Intermediate course (tested by an examination) as a year of probation during which the university teachers watch the student's abilities and judge his promise for further work. This view assumes that the Intermediate course at a university is a sort of shunting ground, in which each student, according to the ability which he shows, is put upon the line of rails which will carry him forward into the course of advanced study most fitted to his powers. This assumption does not correspond with usual university practice. A majority of our university witnesses, however, reply that the Intermediate examination for the B.Sc. Degree should be allowed to be taken from school. This privilege is already granted in one university to all students and in several others to students who enter for an honours course 196 UNIVERSITY EDUCATION. 147-148 in Science. The principle, therefore, has already been conceded. In view of the facts (1) that the work of the last two years in a secondary school well organised for science teaching does usually include the necessary subject matter of the Intermediate B.Sc. examination; (2) that actually the ground covered by the first year's work at the university is much the same as the higher work of schools ; (3) that school methods, for most students, are more suitable for those beginning a subject; and (4) that two years are insufficient 1 for ah Honours course at the university, we recommend the universities to allow candidates to take these examinations direct from such schools. But a still more helpful arrangement would be that candidates in a Second School Examination (see 65) who do satisfactory work in any of the subjects required for the Intermediate examination should be exempted from further examination in these subjects. It is not desirable that the work of pupils between 16 and 18 should be disturbed by their having to prepare for an examination not primarily designed to meet school needs. THE PLACE or ORIGINAL RESEARCH IN UNIVERSITY EDUCATION. 148. The training afforded by the study of Natural Science will be incomplete unless the student undertakes some piece of research, in which, relying as far as possible on his own resources, he applies his knowledge of Science and of the methods of scientific investigation to the solution of some scientific problem. The effect of a year's work of this kind on the general mental development of the student is most striking. He gains independence of thought, maturity of judgment, self-reliance; his critical powers are strengthened, and his enthusiasm for Science 197 U8 UNIVERSITY EDUCATION. increased; in fine, he is carried from mental adolescence to manhood. We think that whenever, possible a year spent mainly on research should form part of the course at the university of those whose work in life will be concerned with the industrial applications of Science, as well as those who will devote themselves to research and teaching. It is important, however, that at this stage the teachers at the universities should regard research mainly from the point of view of its value as an educational training and not as a means of getting within the year as many new scientific results as possible. The student should be encouraged to overcome his difficulties by his own efforts, and the assistance given by the teacher should not be more than is necessary to keep him from being disheartened by failure and to prevent the work from getting on lines which cannot lead to success. Work of this kind should in general be taken after qualifying for the Bachelor's degree, and should be recognised by the grant of some additional distinction.* We think that original work should not be required for the first degree in Science. The period, usually three years, spent in preparation for this degree is none too long for wide reading in all branches of a student's main subject and in those branches of other subjects which have an intimate connection with it. We regard it as of the utmost importance for the student's future success that he should not confine his studies to some particular branch, say, of physics or chemistry, but should gain a general knowledge of the conception and results of the whole range of his subject. Such knowledge is most easily acquired at this stage, and experience shows that, unless this oppor- * Such a system has been introduced in the University of London, where the M.Sc. degree may be obtained by Bachelors of Science as the result of one year spent in research after taking the B.Sc. 198 UNIVERSITY EDUCATION. 148-149 tunity is seized, the student's knowledge throughout life is specialised to an extent which is unfavourable to the highest success. It must be remembered that research work to be useful demands a great deal of time and great concentration of mind on the subject under investigation and would curtail to a serious extent the time available for general reading. For the sake of widening the outlook of students of Natural Science as well as for increasing their equipment for successful investigation, it is of especial importance that opportunities should be given for combining the study of Mathematics with that of Natural Science, and we welcome the efforts which most universities have made and are still making to effect this object. DEGREES FOB RESEARCH WORK. 149. The Universities have not adopted a common policy in regard to Research Degrees. As a rule the degree of B.Sc. marks the end of an undergraduate course and in many universities the degree of D.Sc. is given a few years later for a specific piece of work, often undertaken with a definite view to the degree. Other universities give a degree of Master of Science, under conditions which vary so much that the precise meaning of the degree in different universities is obscured, and reserve the degree of D.Sc. for still more senior candidates. If the object of granting a degree is to encourage research there seems to be little reason for postponing the grant of it to a period so late that the hope of obtaining the degree is not likely to be a serious stimulus. If the number of students who come to this country for advanced work increases, the need for a uniform and comprehensible system of research degrees will become even greater than it is at present, 199 149-150 UNIVERSITY EDUCATION. We are in general agreement with the following Resolu- tions which were passed at the Universities' Conference held on May 18th, 1917 : That, for the wider promotion of research in this country, as well as to encourage the attendance of graduate students from the British Dominions and foreign universities, a degree of Doctor shall be attainable after not less than two years' advanced study and research. That the existing Doctorates shall, if possible, be retained without lowering their standard. That the title of the degree shall be the same for all Faculties. That it is highly important that the same title for this degree be adopted by all universities. That the title of the Doctor should be " Doctor of Philosophy " (Ph.D.). That it is essential that the period of two years contemplated should be a period of whole-time study or its equivalent. POSTGRADUATE RESEARCH SCHOLARSHIPS. 150. It is a matter of great importance for the advance- ment both of pure science and of technology that students who have shown capacity for research should be able to remain at their university, in order to continue their studies and to acquire experience in a research laboratory under competent guidance; but there are often serious financial difficulties : a student who has been able to support himself for the three years of an ordinary degree course by means of scholarships is often at the end of his resources and is compelled to take up some remunerative work at once. If he does this the chance that he will ever be able to return to research is small. Thus the 200 UNIVERSITY EDUCATION. 150 critical time when such students are most in need of the help which a scholarship can give is at the end of the undergraduate course. There is already some provision for such students. The exhibitions given by the Com- missioners of the 1851 Exhibition Fund have helped many students to prolong their period of study, and the work which the holders have carried out has been of real value to Science. At the older universities the need is partly, but only partly, met by research fellowships, by the prolongation of the tenure of scholarships and by special scholarships for senior students. But it is the almost unanimous opinion of the universities that far larger provision is needed, and the Consultative Committee in its Interim Report on Scholarships expresses the same conviction. Assistance is now given to research workers by the Committee of the Privy Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, which was established in 1915, and a few trade associations have founded university student- ships for the furtherance of sciences in which they are specially interested. We are convinced by the evidence that has been placed before us that no expenditure of public money on scholar- ships holds out more prospects of valuable returns. It has been pointed out to us as a serious difficulty that the tenure of scholarships given by local authorities is often shorter and less easily prolonged than that of other scholarships, so that the holder of^such a scholar- ship may find his income diminished just at the time when he begins to get the greatest benefit from a ^university education. It has also been pointed out that there is a special want of senior scholarships for women. Both these defects ought to be remedied. Even where the tenure of a scholarship can be prolonged another difficulty may arise. It cannot be expected that all the universities should provide equal facilities for the 201 150-151 UNIVERSITY EDUCATION. study of all subjects : in particular the elaborate special appliances needed for higher work in some branches of technical science may exist only in one or two institutions in the country, so that it becomes necessary for students to migrate from one university to another. The uni- versities have expressed very definitely the view that such migrations should not be encouraged during a three-year undergraduate course except under special conditions, on account of the dislocation of the general scheme of the student's work which would result ; but they almost all approve of the migration of graduates and have made arrangements to facilitate it. The conditions of tenure of scholarships should be sufficiently elastic to permit of such migration. Some laboratories can provide their senior students with opportunities for research by employing them as demonstrators for part of their time, on condition that the rest of their time is given to research ; this arrangement is warmly advocated by those who have experience of it, as it provides the student with two different kinds of training and experience, each of which has its special value. But the number of students who can be helped in this way is necessarily small. RELATION BETWEEN THE DEPARTMENTS OF PURE AND APPLIED SCIENCE. 151. In all universities there are departments for the study of medicine and engineering, in many of the Modern Universities there are also departments for the study of the applied sciences which are of special importance in the district. We consider that these departments promote not only the particular industry or profession with which they are connected, but also the study of pure science and the interests of the university as a whole. They promote 202 UNIVERSITY EDUCATION. 151-152 the industry by giving to those who enter it the oppor- tunities of getting the broader outlook and wider interests which life at a great university affords. Association with other departments of the university promotes and facili- tates the application of Science to industry as it gives opportunities for intercourse between those who are proficient in the sciences on which the industry is based and those who are conversant with its practical needs. The purely scientific departments gain because more students pass through their classes and there is conse quently a wider field from which to select those who show outstanding ability in pure science. There are, for example, not a few eminent physiologists who began the study of their subject as part of a medical course, and who might not have devoted themselves to pure science but for the existence of a medical department. The technical depart- ment strengthens the university by bringing it into close touch with the life of the district and by increasing both the scale of its operations and the number of its students. 152. We consulted the universities as to a number of plans which have been suggested for bringing their depart- ments of applied science into closer relation with the industries. The universities which have had experience in the matter are unanimous in thinking that the head of every technological department should be allowed and encouraged to take part in private professional practice, so far as it is consistent with the discharge of his university duties, in order that he may keep abreast with the developments of the industry which he is serving by his researches and for which he is training students. There is some difference of opinion as to the value of Advisory Committees consisting of representatives of the university and of the industries for which students are trained, but the universities which have instituted such committees are convinced of their usefulness, provided that their 203 152-153 UNIVERSITY EDUCATION. functions are clearly denned and are advisory, not executive. Much of the research work needed for the industries can only be done with advantage at the works where the problems arise. But frequently questions of a more general kind present themselves which need not, or cannot, be dealt with in the works laboratory, but could be investigated at a university or technical institu- tion. Two plans have been adopted to utilise university laboratories for such work. In one the university merely allows an investigator appointed by the firm to use its laboratories for his work; in the other the head of the university department undertakes some responsibility for the general supervision of the work done by investigators sent from the works laboratory, who are sometimes assisted by senior students; this method has been tried and found advantageous in several of the largest chemical laboratories in this country. PROVISION FOR ORIGINAL RESEARCH. 153. The importance of research in pure science, the life blood of applied science, is recognised on all hands, and there is general agreement that it ought to receive more encouragement from the nation than it has done in the past. It is as difficult, however, to organise the production of the highest type of research in pure science as it would be to organise a method of producing great poems. The greatest advances in pure science are often the outcome of investigations which, until they are justified by success, appear fantastic and unpromising, and meet with little approval from orthodox scientific opinion, and it is often, too, a long time before any tangible results are obtained; for this reason they are not of a kind which could be expected from workers in a great institution supported by public funds. Such an institution would naturally be expected to furnish year by year a report of 204 UNIVERSITY EDUCATION. 153 progress, but in research on entirely new lines a year may easily go by without any definite results being obtained, and the investigator would be in the invidious position of having little to show that he had earned his salary. There would thus be a strong inducement for him to pursue a lower type of work on more conventional lines in which he could feel assured of a fairly continuous progress. One cannot hope to get great discoveries simply by paying for them ; those in the past have for the most part been made in the laboratories of the universities and, we think, will continue to be so. The most hopeful way of promoting discoveries of this kind is to ensure that these laboratories are as efficient as possible, and that the professors and other teachers who work in them have enough free time for original research. As Science progresses, the instruments necessary for research become more and more numerous and more costly, and to equip and maintain the laboratories in the most efficient state is beyond the resources of most of our universities. One of the best methods of advancing pure science would be to ensure the efficient equipment of the laboratories in our universities. The answers of the universities to our questions show that they consider their present resources insufficient to provide ah 1 that is needed. Apart from more general questions of expansion an increase of research work would require increase of staff and improvement of equipment. It is extremely un- desirable that research should be confined to the larger universities, but in the smaller institutions where a Science may be represented by only one Professor the amount of routine and organising work which falls to him may be so large that he cannot give enough time to research students. In the early stages such students need much assistance and advice; there is consequently often a definite need for some arrangement to relieve the Professor 205 153-154 UNIVERSITY EDUCATION. of some part of his routine work, and leave him more time for the organisation and supervision of research. With regard to the equipment, the needs vary so much from place to place that it is difficult to say more than that the universities consider them very urgent, and it is clear that they can only be met by further financial assistance. PROVISION FOR STAFF, BUILDINGS AND EQUIPMENT. 154. In this connection we cannot do better than to quote certain of the answers we received to the question : " Are larger subsidies from the Treasury now required (a) for the adequate development of the work of the university in pure and applied science ; (6) for the general purposes of the university ? Is it desirable that the Government should make building and equipment grants for the provision of new laboratories in the English Universities ? " (i) " Immensely larger subsidies are required for all these purposes." (ii) "To all questions in this section the answer is emphatically in the affirmative. For its buildings and development this College has hitherto depended mainly upon private muni- ficence. Private munificence alone cannot, in our opinion, be expected to provide in the future, and especially immediately after the War, the whole of the funds for salaries, building, equipment and upkeep that the University Institutions of the country require. It is, however, of the utmost importance that, if the State subsidises the universities, it should in no way restrict or interfere with their freedom of development," 206 UNIVERSITY EDUCATION. 154-155 (iii) " (a) Yes ; for both purposes, provided that the autonomy of the universities is preserved, (6) Yes, on the same condition." (iv) " The University . . . has in the past depended mainly upon the generosity of corporate bodies and individuals for the endowment of fresh posts and for the erection and equipment of laboratories and other University buildings. The resources of the University do not enable it either to make adequate provision for the upkeep and full equipment of the existing institutions, or to provide the Staff and the buildings that are necessary for teaching and research in new and rapidly developing branches of Science. It is feared that after the War the financial position will be still more difficult." 155. In several of the answers stress is laid on the point that Treasury grants should be made in such a way that the universities will have a free hand in administering and applying them. The principles which in our opinion should be maintained are well set out in the following reply with which we are in complete agreement : " The answer is in the affirmative, but I would couple with this answer the observation that however much the amount of Government assistance may grow to be, it is of vital importance that the uni- versities should retain full independence. The State obviously, if it finds the money, has the right to know how the money is spent, and the right also to inspect the institution under all reasonable condi- tions; but the whole future of English university work and efficiency depends on the universities being left free as societies to do their work upon their own 207 155-156 UNIVERSITY EDUCATION. impulse and not upon the dictation or suggestion of a department of State. The principle involved here goes to the very root of university well-being; and no financial gain could ever compensate for its sacrifice." We are not in a position to make specific recommenda- tions as to the distribution or the total amount of such grants or as to the conditions under which they should be given, but we have no hesitation in expressing our conviction that larger grants to the Universities are necessary, and should not be subordinated even to the needs of other branches of education. STIPENDS or UNIVERSITY TEACHERS. 156. The Universities and University Colleges which receive Exchequer Grant spend a large proportion over 51 per cent.^-of their income on the salaries of the teaching staff; more than half of the amount goes to Professors and Heads of Departments. There is widespread and serious discontent with the salaries and prospects of the Junior Staff in the Scientific Departments. The initial salaries for such posts are so low as to be out of all relation to the capital expended on the education of the holders, and there are many competent men doing responsible work at salaries far below what they could have earned in other walks of life. It must be remembered, however, that there are compensations in the opportunities for further study and research, and there is a strong feeling that the inducements to junior demon- strators to remain long in their posts should not be made too great. It is in the interest of the Department that there should be opportunities of testing the capacity of students for teaching and research at as early a stage as possible ; in the interests of the man that he should not 208 UNIVERSITY EDUCATION. 156-157 remain too long in a post where, unless he is of peculiar ability, his horizon is necessarily limited; and in the interests of the teaching profession and of applied science that there should be a supply of men who have had experience of work in a research laboratory. We think that on the whole the best way of improving the position of the junior staff is to decrease the time required for their official duties rather than to make large increases in their salaries. At present the tendency is to require so much teaching work from them that they have few opportunities for research, and so are at a disadvantage when competing for posts for which distinction in research is an essential qualification : and in addition to this the progress of Science is retarded as many of those best qualified for original investigation are debarred from pursuing it. We are of opinion that the official duties of the junior scientific staff should be confined to at most four days per week, so that they may have at their disposal a considerable amount of time for original research. This plan is already in force in some laboratories and we have reason to believe that the results have been satisfactory. There will, however, always be men whose best work can be done in laboratory teaching and organisation, and it is desirable that the universities should be in a position to retain them by providing for senior men a small number of permanent posts of substantial value; at present this is seldom possible. RELATION OF UNIVERSITIES TO SECONDABY SCHOOLS. 157. The relations between the universities and the secondary schools need careful adjustment, more especi- ally at such times of transition as the present day, and it is desirable to provide at each university regular 5660 209 H 157-158 UNIVERSITY EDUCATION. opportunities of discussion and negotiation with the repre- sentatives of secondary education. For the most part, such facilities have been provided by occasional but not infre- quent conferences held chiefly between the representatives of the universities and those of the various Teachers' Associations, but there appear to us to be considerable advantages in the establishment of a more regular and systematic machinery organised on a broader basis for this purpose, such as has recently been set up by the University of Durham and the representatives of education in the adjacent counties. (See Appendix V., p. 265.) THE SCOTTISH UNIVERSITIES . __J8. We forwarded, to the Scottish Universities the same questionnaire, which we had sent to the Universities of England and Wales, with a covering letter stating that we recognised the questions were not in all cases applicable to the Scottish Universities, where the conditions were different, and adding that we had thought it best not to attempt the preparation of a separate paper of questions, but to forward the same questions with this explanation. We have received a number of replies from the Scottish Universities; some of these replies represent individual opinions, others the collective opinion <5f a Faculty or Senatus Academicus. In the University of Glasgow eleven professors and lecturers sent detailed statements of their views, but the Senatus felt that our questions did not apply sufficiently closely to Scottish conditions to make an official reply possible, and passed the following resolu- tion : " That it is desirable that the position of Science in Scottish education should be reported on and investigated by a Committee specially appointed for that purpose." 210 UNIVERSITY EDUCATION. 168-159 There was no great difference between the English and the Scottish points of view on many of the general questions on which an expression of opinion was invited and on which we have reported above : we can therefore confine ourselves here to the consideration of those which are affected by special circumstances in Scotland. 159. There is more conflict of opinion than we found in England on the question whether the Universities should allow the first examination for the Degree of Bachelor of Science or the First Professional Examination for the Degree of Bachelor of Medicine to be taken from school, and in the more general question whether and how far work done at school should be recognised in lieu of the first year's work at the universities. The Faculties of Science at Edinburgh and Aberdeen are prepared to recognise work at schools where there are adequate arrange- ments for teaching and for laboratory work, and would allow the First B.Sc. Examination to be taken from school. On the other hand, the Faculty of Medicine at Glasgow goes so far as to state that it is " not within their knowledge that any Secondary School did, or could, under any circumstances teach scientific subjects of the scope or up to the standard required for the First Pro- fessional Examination in Medicine " ; and in the Faculty of Medicine at Edinburgh " the general feeling is against the recognition of such courses of instruction as exempting from courses in the preliminary scientific subjects in the Faculty of Medicine. Courses at school can only be general, whereas the courses in the Faculty of Medicine are specially adapted for the purely medical student.'] But the Professor of Physiology at Edinburgh dissents strongly from this view, and holds that in some subjects the instruction in Secondary Schools " is far more thorough than in the relatively short courses which are all that a medical student has time to attend at the University." 211 H 2 159-161 UNIVERSITY EDUCATION. We feel that the time which can be given to the basic sciences in a course of one year is quite insufficient, unless the students have some considerable knowledge to start with : if they have such knowledge the universities should give them credit for it; no student should be required to mark time because others know less. The root of the difficulty seems to lie in the requirement of attendance at general courses of lectures not differentiated to suit the needs of students at different stages of knowledge. In spite of the objections we have quoted, we adhere to our recommendation that students should be allowed to take the First Professional Examination before entering the university or medical school, and similarly the First Examination for the B.Sc. Degree. (See 100, 101, 147.) 160. Degree courses in Scotland offer a wide choice of alternative subjects : in particular, there is ample oppor- tunity for combining mathematics with science, and there is no general demand for any change. Our attention has been drawn to one feature of the arrangements which affects many secondary teachers who are educated at the universities. It is considered a great advantage for a teacher to have a degree both in Arts and in Science,; but if he offers Mathematics and Natural Philosophy as subjects for the Arts degree he need only offer one further subject, which need not be an experimental science, to complete his course for the degree of B.Sc. He may therefore begin to teach with very little laboratory experience. 161. The proportion of teachers in primary schools who have passed through a University course is much greater in Scotland than in England ; but the responsibility for the professional training of all teachers falls not on University Departments but on Provincial Committees which work in close relation with the universities. All teachers of Science go through a ten weeks' course of special 212 UNIVERSITY EDUCATION. 161-163 training under a master of method; many of them also acquire a general certificate of training which is open to teachers of all subjects. The universities do not as a rule provide any special instruction for intending science teachers during their degree course, though at St. Andrews the Professor of Chemistry gives regular instruction in laboratory management. Several of our correspondents think that the universities could and should do more on these lines. 162. The need for assistance from public funds, both for the development of research and for the improvement of the. teaching work of the universities, is still strongly felt, although half of the large endowment of the Carnegie Trust for the Universities of Scotland, which was estab- lished in 1901, was rendered available for such purposes. For the five years 1913-18 the Trustees were able to allocate 203,250 to the Universities, four-fifths of this amount being granted towards the cost of new buildings and permanent equipment. The Scottish Universities are fortunate in possessing a relatively large number of valuable Senior Scholarships which can be used to help young graduates to spend a few years in further study or in research, and these are supplemented by scholarships, fellowships and research grants provided by the Carnegie Trustees. Nevertheless, money is wanted for new buildings, for better equipment in existing buildings and for the general expenses of the scientific departments, and the want is greatest in the departments of Pure Science. 163. It was suggested to us by several witnesses that the conditions under which Entrance Bursaries are awarded at the Scottish Universities are responsible, in part at least, for the great diminution in the number of pupils taking science subjects between the Intermediate and the Leaving Examinations (see 84). So far as the choice of subjects to be offered in the open competition is 213 163-164 UNIVERSITY EDUCATION. concerned, it cannot be said that the existing regulations are unfavourable to a candidate whose main interest is in Natural Science : he can always offer one, and usually two, science subjects out of the four required by all the Universities. These regulations are, however, of very recent date, and it seems probable that the complaints which reached us were based on the results of the previous method of award, under which Dynamics was the only possible science subject in the Bursary Examinations. Statistics supplied by the University of Glasgow show that a considerable number of the better candidates offered science subjects, even when it was not their intention to carry the study further at the university. Some of the more general conditions of tenure of the bursaries seem to us, however, to press hardly on science candidates : many of the bursaries were founded at a date before the establishment of separate Faculties of Science, and are therefore limited to students in the Faculty of Arts, with the result that " the most capable students are attracted away from the Science into the Arts Faculty against their own inclinations." We recommend that power should be taken to remove this limitation. Hitherto science has been represented in the Uni- versities' Preliminary Examination only by an optional paper on Dynamics ; but the Universities are not satisfied with this arrangement, and have taken common action to remedy it. ADULT EDUCATION. 164. For the most part we have hitherto been con- sidering education organised and systematised in schools and universities, and we have been dealing with students as yet youthful and immature. There is, however, a class of learners who are at last making their demands felt, and justly insisting that they should receive, however late 214 UNIVERSITY EDUCATION. 164 in life, the educational opportunities which are due to them ; these are largely men and women who have reached maturity without receiving any education which they regard as adequate, and who are eager to make good their deficiencies in knowledge. We are glad to see that a Sub-Committee has been set up by the Reconstruction Committee to consider the needs of these adult students. The movement is not a new one; in a certain sense it began a hundred years ago with the foundation of Mechanics' Institutes and the work of Dr. Birkbeck, when elementary and technical education were less generally diffused than now. Forty years ago the University Extension system began to provide a considerable amount of extra-mural teaching for students who could neither come into residence nor take a full university course, and though the greater part of the science teaching originally so organised has passed into the hands of Local Education Authorities, it is directly from University Extension that the later tutorial classes and study circles have been developed. It is only in the last few years that there has been a considerable growth of adult classes, and it was not until 1904 that the Workers' Educational Association was founded. This latter organisation has created, or at any rate focussed, a remarkable demand for adult education, but up to the present that demand has been chiefly for knowledge of economic, social and historical subjects. At present, so far as we can learn, the little instruction which is given in Science to adults, apart from that provided in technical schools and universities, is conveyed chiefly through the agency of field clubs, natural history societies and mechanics' institutes. If this movement for adult education is to take the important part in the national life which seems to be opening up before it, it is essential that the education which it provides should be 215 164-165 UNIVERSITY EDUCATION. wide and liberal, and should give opportunities for study not confined to a limited range of intellectual interests. If it is to fulfil this requirement it must assign an adequate place in its scheme to the teaching of Natural Science. No modern intellectual system can afford to neglect the realm of natural knowledge : to be ignorant of its influences and lessons is to belong to the past and to distrust the future. 165. We are aware that those responsible for the Workers' Educational Association recognise in their programme for Educational Reconstruction the position of Science as " a staple part of an education of the tradi- tional secondary type," and that they recommend that the Technical Schools should include in their curriculum " the study of the sciences upon which different industries' are based." These few words are, however, the only explicit references to Science in the programme and its exposition ; partly it would seem from a fear lest scientific teaching should be devoted wholly to increasing the manual efficiency of artisans the subject has been to a certain extent discredited, and is not even yet appreciated as an integral part of a liberal education. There has, in fact, been no serious demand for instruction in Science from the students who compose the classes organised by the Association.* To this statement one exception must, however, be made. In the neighbourhood of Leeds the tutorial classes in Biology have aroused considerable enthusiasm in working class circles over a period of several years. Mr. Walker, the tutor responsible for conducting these classes, wrote to us in reply to an inquiry : " Last * Thus, in the provisional list of Tutorial Classes in the United Kingdom for 1917-18, out of 122 classes five only are devoted to Natural Science (Biology, 4; Natural History, 1.) 216 UNIVERSITY EDUCATION. 165 night I met a class of 21 adults, men and women, chiefly factory workers, all in their second year of attendance. They walked varying distances up to 8 miles to meet in class, and during our ten meetings since the commence- ment of the session only two absent marks are recorded in the register." Though this is a solitary instance it shows what can be done when the teaching is of the right kind, and we desire to emphasise the importance of developing tutorial classes in Science along with other subjects. In this connection it may be of interest to quote the following observations which we have received from Mr. H. Wager, F.R.S., Acting Professor of Botany at Leeds University, who speaks with knowledge of the classes referred to above : " The success of science classes for adult students depends in a special degree on the character of the teaching and the personality of the teacher. It is more difficult to secure the right sort of teaching for adult students in Science than in such a subject as Economics. The teaching of Science to adults may fail either because it is too elementary and does not deal with scientific matters of general interest it is unreasonable to expect grown-up people to be profoundly interested in the text-book accounts of the properties of oxygen and hydrogen or because it is too technical and specialised. It is not easy to get a teacher who will be successful in avoiding both these pitfalls. On the other hand, it is a profound mistake to suppose that working men are naturally lacking in interest in scientific matters. They are fully alive to really good teaching of Science by a teacher who knows how to bring out their powers of reflection and judgment. If they cannot get this kind of intellectual stimulus in Science, they can, as a rule, get it in such a subject as Economics, simply because they are themselves more or 217 165-166 UNIVERSITY EDUCATION. less acquainted with the facts upon which the problems of Economics are based." 166. If, as has been suggested, adult education is to become a recognised department of the extra-mural teaching of the universities, a serious responsibility devolves on these bodies to include Science in this work. Popular lectures on Science will no doubt play an important part in calling the attention of large audiences to the interest and importance of the subject. This work has for more than a century been carried on by the lectures at the Royal Institution, and from time to time brilliant speakers like Huxley have done much to create an interest in the methods and results of Science. The work of such an organisation as the Gilchrist Educational Trust has been, and will continue to be, of great service. But if even the best popular lectures are to have any permanent effect they must lead on to more serious work involving individual effort, to courses and to circles where systematic study will be carried on. Again, there is a wider audience who are out of reach of popular lectures and who cannot attend University Extension and Tutorial Classes : those who depend for their education on books. There is a real need for well- written books and other publications in which the main results of recent scientific research and the achievements of Science in the past are set forth in a manner which will appeal to intelligent men and women who have not made a special study of Science. It is one of the unfortunate results of the increasing specialisation of scientific work that the original papers, reports and treatises recording or summarising the results of research are beyond the comprehension of those who do not possess a considerable amount of scientific and mathematical knowledge. Science needs its skilled interpreters as well as its active pioneers. 218 UNIVERSITY EDUCATION. 166 We are by no means sure that the popular interest in Science is as great to-day as it was thirty years ago. Until this general interest in Science is extended and increased, and the deficiencies of adult education in this respect are made good, an important piece of work in national education remains to be done. 219 167 SUPPLY OF TRAINED CHAPTER V. Supply of trained scientific workers for industrial and other purposes. F^HE need for a great increase in the supply of trained scientific workers of all grades is a matter of the utmost gravity and urgency. It is agreed on all sides that it is absolutely necessary for the prosperity and safety of the country after the war that the development of the resources of the Empire and the production of our industries must be on a scale greatly in excess of anything we have hitherto achieved. Schemes of Reconstruction and Development are being prepared and discussed ; each one of them requires a supply of trained workers, and the proposals will be futile unless a large army of these is forthcoming. We shall not get these workers in anything like sufficient numbers unless we have great changes in our educational system and, above all, unless a much more eager desire for secondary education is created in the minds of a great mass of our citizens. We must multiply the number of students passing through our universities and technical schools and this will involve a great increase in the numbers of boys and girls who complete a course of secondary education. It is true that since the Act of 1902 a large number of new secondary schools have been established and that in the last three years not only these but also the older schools have been filled to their limits. Nevertheless, it is still necessary to increase the flow from 220 SCIENTIFIC WORKERS. 167 the elementary to the secondary schools of children capable of profiting from the best education these schools can give. It is of no less importance to diminish the leakage, amounting now to more than 60 per cent., which occurs in the secondary schools before even the general course is completed. We must by means of scholarships and maintenance allowances put a complete course of training within the reach of every boy or girl of sufficient ability to profit by it. But this is not sufficient. We must not only provide the opportunities, we must make our citizens eager to avail themselves of them, we must strive to make parents anxious to secure secondary education for their children. This is the most vital and difficult part of the whole question. The want of appreciation by parents of the benefits of secondary education prevents a full utilization of the resources in the way of scholarships which are even now available, and this will continue until a more li vely appre- ciation of secondary education is spread throughout the country. Much as we may regret it, there is no doubt that appeals for secondary education for its own sake appear far-fetched to the majority of parents and leave them untouched. We are convinced that to make the country eager and willing to avail itself of the opportunities for secondary- education the benefits it confers must be put in a very tangible and material form. This we think could be done by emphasising the advantages conferred by the possession of the First School Certificate or its equivalent, which attests the completion of a continuous course of instruction at a secondary school. The universities should be asked to require this as an integral part of their normal entrance examination, professional bodies as a condition for entering their profession, and great commercial institutions as a 221 167-168 SUPPLY OF TRAINED normal requirement for entering the higher grades of their service. The State itself should set the example in this respect and expect all who enter its service above a certain grade to possess this certificate. t We think, too, that steps should be taken to put before parents in as clear and simple a way as possible the careers open to those who complete a course of secondary education, the opportunities offered by such careers, the steps to be taken to enter them, the nature and cost of the training and the assistance diligent students might expect from scholarships. 168. In the preceding sections of this Report we have dealt with the position of Natural Science in different parts of the educational system. We have now to enquire how far the system considered as a whole is capable of giving us the number of men with specialised scientific training who will be needed after the war, for the manage- ment and conduct of scientific industries and for carrying on the researches in pure and applied science on which the maintenance and development of these industries so largely depend. In raising this question we are not forgetting that the study of Science is to be desired quite apart from any utilitarian and material ends which it may directly or indirectly subserve. We have already pressed for the fuller recognition of Science in schools because we regard it both by reason of its subject matter and of the mental discipline which its study affords as an essential element in a liberal education; and we desire, in the interests of the advancement of natural knowledge, to see every encouragement given to the higher study of Science at the universities. But it would have been necessary, also, to consider the needs of the trades and industries which depend upon applied science, even if we had not been specifically SCIENTIFIC WORKERS. 168-169 required to do so by our Terms of Reference. The needs of our civilisation are increasing : the nation has already been deprived of the services of many of its ablest and most vigorous members. Our producing power can only be increased by well-directed research, better training and the more skilful use of scientific methods of manufacture and distribution. Unless the resources of the country are sufficiently developed, neither the nation as a whole nor any of the classes in it can look for efficiency or prosperity or can afford to carry on the education of its constituent members to any advanced point. 169. It is necessary for the purpose of our enquiry that we should, on the one hand, realise the demand for scientifically trained workers which the industries will make; and on the other hand, survey the extent and sources of the possible supply. As to the first point, it is not possible to arrive at even a rough numerical estimate of the needs of any particular industry, much less of industry as a whole. The national trade policy, the relations of capital and labour, the future of national establishments first organised for the production of munitions and a thousand other complications deter those who know the situation best from venturing on more than the most general prophecy. But it may be worth while to set down certain facts and observations which have been brought to our notice. Even before the war there was a growing demand from the industries for men who had pursued scientific studies at the universities. Thus we were informed by the Secretary of the Cambridge University Appointments Board that, out of 110 men who had taken chemistry in Part II. of the Natural Science Tripos since 1900, 80 had gone into the chemical industry; while in the period 1911-14, 40 firms had accepted men as chemists, metallur- gists, geologists, &c., as against 21 firms in the longer 223 169-170 SUPPLY OF TRAINED period 1906-10. We [have further been informed that the demand for qualified students at the Manchester Municipal School of Technology was such that students were often engaged for posts before their courses of study were completed. As an immediate result of the war the need for increasing output is being realised and the necessary conditions to that end explored. Rule of thumb methods are seen to be inadequate if industry in this country is to hold its own. The individualism which has hitherto characterised British industry is gradually giving way before serious efforts towards combination. With all this there is a growing consciousness of the need for organised research into processes of manufacture. Lastly, the community has come to realise as never before that the development of industry is the concern not only of individual employers or groups of employees, but of the nation as a whole. 170. The Government took an important step when on July 28th, 1915, they established a Committee of the Privy Council for Scientific and Industrial Research and associated with it an Advisory Council composed of men of the highest scientific standing. In the Report of the Advisory Council for 1915-16 (Cd. 8336) it is stated " a largely increased supply of competent researchers is the first condition which must be secured if the object for which the Committee of Council was established is to be attained." The Report goes on : " It is in our view certain that the number of trained research workers who will be available at the end of the war will not suffice for the demand which we hope will then exist." But it is not only the scientific pioneers who will then be needed. Sir George Beilby, Chairman of the Fuel Research Board, informed us that in the chemical industries there was need for a much larger supply of professionally trained chemists as works managers and process conductors ; men who had 224 SCIENTIFIC WORKERS, 170 received for 4 or 5 years the kind of training given, for example, at the Royal Technical College, Glasgow. A similar point is made in the Report from which we have just quoted : " Effective research particularly in its industrial application calls increasingly for the support and impetus that come from the systematised delving of a corps of sappers working intelligently but under orders. We have not yet learned how to make the most of mediocre ability .... yet without the scientific rank and file it will be as impossible to staff the industrial research laboratories, which are coming, as to fight a European war with seven divisions." The Report significantly adds that " the responsibility for dealing with the grave situation which we anticipate rests with the Education Departments of the United Kingdom." We asked Sir George Beilby whether he could give us any estimate of the number of chemists and engineers who would be needed for the work which the recently estab- lished Fuel Research Board had in contemplation, work which is of great importance not only to industry but to the country at large. He was unwilling to commit himself to any figures, but pointed out that from one-fifth to one- half of the 100 millions sterling which represents the national bill for raw coal is being wastefully expended and might be saved, and that the saving can only be effected by the co-operation of a large body of trained fuel experts to carry out the necessary research work and to introduce and supervise improved methods in all works where fuel is consumed in large quantities. We think there are good grounds for supposing that the need for a large number of men trained in Science will be realised by industrial firms and will lead to an increased demand for such men in the near future. To take a single example, we were informed by Sir Gerard Muntz that before the war there were not more than 225 170 SUPPLY OF TRAINED half a dozen firms in the non-ferrous trades which had metallurgical laboratories of their own, but in the near future it was likely there would be fifty. It was difficult, however, to find young men suitable for filling positions in such laboratories, the supply being entirely inadequate. Again, the Government Fund of one million sterling to be administered by the Department of Scientific and Indus- trial Research has led to an extensive movement towards the formation of Research Associations. Some 27 indus- tries have already taken up the question, and several of these, including the important cotton, wool, iron, photo- graphic and scientific instrument industries, are likely to inaugurate their Associations in the near future. This Department is also aiding out of its annual vote investiga- tion into the manufacture of glass at the University of Sheffield, into Technical Optics at the Imperial College of Science and Technology, and into hard porcelain at the Central School of Science and Technology at Stoke-on- Trent, as well as a number of researches and preparatory surveys in connection with the metallurgical and other industries. We may reasonably hope that the movement in the direction of research will spread to other industries and bring with it a more scientific study of manufacturing processes and a greater demand for well-qualified men as works managers and technical experts. If further we may look forward on the return of peace to an increased and more economic production of iron and steel, to the maintenance for civil purposes of factories which have been enlarged or newly established for the making of munitions, to the development of chemical works for the manufacture of products formerly obtained abroad,* to a * The works in question include those concerned in the manufacture of drugs, dyes, fine chemicals, incandescent gas mantles, synthetic ammonia and other nitrogen compounds, liquid chlorine, tungsten, spelter products which were formerly obtainable only or largely from Germany. 226 SCIENTIFIC WORKERS. 170-171 more scientific treatment of the problem of food produc- tion, the demand for professionally trained metallurgists, engineers, chemists and agriculturists will be greatly increased. To this demand there must be added the normal requirement for the medical profession and the increased demand for science teachers to which we have already drawn attention. 171. So far we have spoken of the indubitable need for men with a scientific training and the probable demand that the industries will make for their services. We have now to deal with the question of supply. How did we stand in this matter before the war ? In the years 1910-14 the number of men taking First and Second Class Honours in Part. I. of the Natural Science Tripos at Cambridge and in the Final School of Natural Science at Oxford averaged 146 annually. The figures for the Modern Universities are not strictly comparable with these or with one another, but the total annual output of the First and Second Class Honours men in Science and Engineering for all the English universities may be put at about 500. Not all these students pursue scientific avocations, and of those who do some become teachers or doctors. It is clear that this supply of men with Honours qualifications in Science is quite inadequate, even for the particular needs of the scientific industries. The total number of full-time men students who entered the universities and university colleges of England and Wales (excluding the Medical Schools) in the year 1913-14 was no more than about 4,400, and of these some hundreds were foreign students who return to their own countries, It is probable that a certain number of men who would enter other Faculties might be diverted to Science and Technology ; but we cannot look in this direction for any large addition to the number of science students. We must look rather to measures^directed to securing an increase in the entries into the universities. It is impossible 227 171-172 SUPPLY OF TRAINEI to regard the number of men who entered the universities year by year before the war as anything but an inadequate proportion of the number of young men in this country capable of making good use of the training which the universities give. Although women workers trained in scientific method have hitherto been few in number, their success in the last two years has given this country good reason to hope much from their help in future. But even though this contingent may be much increased, it will be long before we are likely to obtain as many as we shall require, for it cannot be expected that after the war there will be the same opening as there has been in the time of stress for willing workers with merely an improvised training. Special measures are in our opinion necessary to increase the supply of science students because the deficiency is marked and the need is urgent, but this problem is part of the wider problem of increasing the number of university trained students in general, and cannot be solved by measures conceived in the special interests of Science or by reforms which affect one part of the educational system, while leaving the other parts untouched. The deficiency of recruits for the scientific professions and industries is so great that there is no available source of supply which we can afford to leave untapped. 172. The chief direct sources of supply at the present time are (i) the Secondary Schools and (ii) Evening and other similar schools educating pupils below the university age. So far as the latter group of schools is concerned the number of students passing on to the universities and Technical Colleges could be largely increased. But to make this possible (i) there must be a generous provision of scholarships awarded on the result of examinations specially adapted to the needs of the students in question (see 141) ; (ii) the industries should be organised so as to give facilities for suitable men to pass from the works to 228 SCIENTIFIC WORKERS. 172 the university with the prospect of securing better paid posts on their return to employment. The supply obtainable from secondary schools of all kinds has next to be considered. With regard to the group of Public Schools which receive no grants from the State the answers given to our questionnaire show that the number of boys annually leaving these schools was before the war about 5,800, of whom approximately 5,200 were 16 or over when they left. We estimate that from 25 per cent, to 30 per cent, of all those who left passed on to the universities. If we take the higher figure this gives an annual entry from these schools of 1,740 for the Honours and Pass Schools in all subjects. No doubt the number of boys taking Science as their subject of university study could be increased. The inclusion of a substantial course of Science as part of the general education of all boys in these schools should result in the discovery of tastes and aptitudes for Science among those to whom this opportunity has hitherto been denied. But when all possibilities have been taken into account there is an obvious limit to the number of science students obtainable from the Public Schools. So far as numbers go, the possibilities are greater in the state-aided Secondary Schools, provided that appro- priate measures are taken to develop the potential supply. The number of boys over 12 years of age who left these schools in England and Wales in the year ending July 31st, 1913, was nearly 25,000; but of these about two-thirds left before the age of 16, the number leaving at 16 years of age or over being approximately 8,800. Of these 8,800 it is only a minority probably from 12 to 15 per cent. who pass on to any university.* * The figures relating to pupils who proceed from Secondary Schools to the Universities as given in the pub- lished statistics of the Board of Education are based on returns made by the schools themselves and are admittedly 229 172-173 SUPPLY OF TRAINED The main point to be noticed about these figures is that while the absolute number of boys entering state- aided secondary schools is quite considerable, the number who stay beyond the age of 16 and thus come within sight of a university education is far too small. 173. In an interesting Memorandum supplied by the Board of Education to the Royal Commission on the Civil Service (First Appendix to Fourth Report, 1914. Cd. 7339) the geographical distribution of secondary schools sending pupils to the universities in the years 1908-10 is set forth in detail. Since this date there has been a considerable increase in the number of secondary school pupils, a great improvement in the standard of work in many of these schools, and an extension of the spheres of influence of the Modern Universities, but certain of the conclusions in the Memorandum still in a large measure hold good and are worth quoting : " At the present time it appears that very few boys proceed from schools on the grant list to local universities except from areas close round each of the university towns." " Only about one-third of the schools (in the whole country) sent boys to Oxford and Cambridge at all." 1" At present the prospects even of a really clever boy (depend greatly on the school he happens to attend. If this is one with a university tradition he has a very good chance of getting such financial assistance as will make it possible for him to proceed if he wishes. But if he goes to a school of a different character this particular ambition incomplete. It is much to bej regretted that there are no published statistics supplied by the Universities showing the places of previous education of students pursuing full-time courses of study. The information is in the possession of the University and College^ authorities but no"? returns^ are published either in the Board of Education Annual Keport on the Universities or elsewhere. SCIENTIFIC WORKERS. 173-174 is little likely to be aroused, his chance of winning a scholarship is slight even in Science or Mathematics, negligible in Classics." It must be recognised that secondary schools have a double function; firstly, they supply a general education for a large number of boys whose school life may properly terminate at about 16, and who will pass into some form of commercial or industrial occupation; secondly, they supply the opportunities of further education up to 18 for a smaller number of boys who will either pass direct into professional, commercial or industrial employment or proceed for further study to the universities. 174. If the number of boys who remain at school for the second stage of secondary education (16-18) is to be increased and the potential supply of university students from this source enlarged, it is necessary to stop the serious leakage* which now goes on before the first stage is completed. As things are we have no security that it is the abler boys who remain for a full secondary school course. On the contrary, it is precisely the sharp boy who is most likely to be sought after by an employer and to enter on a wage-earning occupation at 15. The remedy for this state of things is only partly in the hands of the educational authorities. A great improvement would be effected if it became the general practice of employers (including engineering firms) to recruit their employees from secondary schools at either 16 or 18, i.e., at ages corresponding to the two stages of the secondary school course. * This leakage occurs not only from among the boys who pay fees but also, though to a leas extent, from among those who receive free education. It occurs not only in Secondary Schools of England and Wales but also in the Intermediate and Secondary Schools controlled by the Scotch Education Department. (See 82.) 231 174 SUPPLY OF TRAINED Again, if the possession of a certificate showing that a pupil had passed the First School Examination after taking an approved course at a school of secondary grade were a passport to employment at 16 or 18, the advantages of a secondary education would be more widely impressed upon parents. It might then become the exception and not the rule for boys to leave school before the age of 16 ; and the too prevalent practice by which boys are sent to these schools for a year or two " to finish " would meet with the discouragement it deserves. The temptation to seize opportunities for early employ- ment would be further diminished by the provision on a more generous scale of (i) maintenance allowances for those who pay no fees, increasing in value as the pupils get older, and (ii) internal scholarships for fee-paying pupils. Further, there is need for closer and more effective co-operation between education authorities and head masters of secondary and elementary schools, so that the advantages of a secondary education may be brought to the notice of the parents of all the abler boys in the elementary schools. Despite what has already been done in this direction, there is still a large number of able boys in elementary schools who for various reasons never have the chance of getting the higher education which the secondary school can provide. Want of knowledge on the part of parents and the natural but mistaken desire of some head teachers to retain their ablest boys may defeat the best intentioned schemes of scholarship provision. There is, in fact, a great waste of ability, sometimes of a high order. Very clear evidence of the existence of this ability is afforded by the Admiralty Scheme of training dockyard apprentices. In the dockyard schools recruited from elementary or municipal secondary schools, to which boys are admitted by open competition and while serving as 232 SCIENTIFIC WORKERS. 174-176 apprentices, the standard is kept up by annual rejection on the results of an examination. From these schools have come many holders of Royal and Whitworth Scholarships, many distinguished naval architects and engineers, and a large proportion of the Directors of Naval Construction. 175. It is of the first importance that ability should not be wasted, and if it is not to be wasted measures must, as we have said, be taken to ensure (i) that no pupil capable of profiting by a full secondary education should miss the opportunity of receiving it ; and (ii) that the leakage from the schools should be so far as possible stopped. We have drawn attention to these matters in this section of our Report on the principle that if there is no milk there can be no cream, 176. We have next to consider by what means a larger number of the able boys can be induced to remain at secondary schools for the period from 16 to 18 and after- wards to pass on to the universities or technical colleges. The first essential is that there should be sufficient and attractive careers open to such students. Briefly, if industry wants men of scientific ability who have taken a College course extending over four or five years, it must be prepared to pay for them. To offer salaries of 100 to 150 a year with very indefinite prospects of future advancement is useless. The salaries and prospects of advancement must be such as to induce able young men to continue their education up to the age of 22 or 23 and to persuade poor parents to bear the additional burden involved. Secondly, the existence of posts carrying sufficient salaries and prospects must be made known. Hitherto there has been a widespread ignorance on the matter. It is essential, but it is not sufficient, that there should be Appointments Boards at the universities and that indus- trial firms should keep in close touch with university 233 176 SUPPLY OF TRAINED professors and the teachers in technical colleges. The work of the Appointments Boards should be made known to every head master in the country and the possibilities of scientific careers in connection with industry should be brought to the knowledge of parents. Thirdly, steps should be taken to secure that the head masters of secondary schools shall be fully informed as to the different courses of further study which are suitable for young men who desire to enter one or other of the scientific professions or industries. The head masters are called upon to advise parents in matters affecting the future of their boys, and through no fault of their own they are not always in the best position to do so. It is quite unsafe to assume that the varied opportunities for highef scientific and technological instruction which the universities and technical colleges provide are everywhere realised by head masters. The remedy lies with the institutions for higher education. They must establish closer relations with the secondary schools, not excluding those outside their immediate neighbourhood. Fourthly, the nation must see to it that there is a generous supply of (i) maintenance allowances for secondary school pupils who have passed the First School Examina- tion, enabling them to remain at school up to 18, and (ii) entrance scholarships at the universities sufficient to cover the cost of education. The education authorities must on the other hand do their part in strengthening and developing the work of the upper forms so that so far as possible there shall be within reach of every boy at least one secondary school suitably staffed and equipped for the purpose of providing advanced instruction in Science. Lastly, if the universities are to discharge their responsibilities towards the science students who are coming, and to maintain their position as homes of scientific learning and research, they must receive a measure 234 SCIENTIFIC WORKERS. 176-177 of financial support much more considerable than any they have received hitherto. 177. We have stated in outline the reforms which must in our opinion be effected if the supply of trained scientific workers is to be increased. But it is useless to speak of particular reforms unless the need for reform is recognised That scientific research and the scientific study and direction of industrial processes are necessary for the development of our industries and even for their main- tenance in the face of foreign competition, is a proposition which in educated circles will not in these days be denied But as one of our correspondents writes : " Scientific research on industrial problems is of no use whatever to an uneducated trade. Such a trade can neither state its needs with definiteness or accuracy, nor can it interpret into practice and utilise the results of research. Indeed, it does not feel the need for research and cannot therefore make a demand for it. . . . In some trades it will be necessary to wait for the full development of research schemes until we have a generation of leaders qualified to demand and make use of industrial research." With these remarks we agree, and they have in truth a wider application. It is not only those engaged in industry for whom a better scientific education is required. If Science is to come by its own, the nation as a whole must be brought to recognise the fundamental importance of the facts and principles of Science to the right ordering of our national life. The more closely the work of our legislators touches the life of the people, the more inti- mately it is concerned with questions of food supply, housing, transport, the utilisation of natural resources, and the conditions which make for bodily health, the more dependent it becomes on the skilled advice and assistance of those who can bring their knowledge of Science to bear on social and economic problems. 177 SUPPLY OF SCIENTIFIC WORKERS. - -^ Certainly we must provide the requisite training and opportunities for those who are capable of advancing natural knowledge or acting as scientific experts. But it is no less important that we should secure for all who are of an age to receive it an education which will enable them to realise the vital need of a knowledge of Science both for the individual and national well-being. The reforms we have suggested are such as might without difficulty be carried out by employers, teachers and education authorities working in co-operation. We should hope that they will have behind them the driving force of public opinion, stirred by the circumstances of the times to recognise the extent of our national deficiencies and the need for a national effort. 236 CHAPTER VI, Summary of principal conclusions. GENERAL, 1. That Natural Science should be included in the general course of education of all up to the age of about 16. 30 2. That the tests of such a course, recommended in the Report, should with necessary modifications be accepted as the normal qualification for entrance to the universities and professions. 33-39, 99, 132 3. That real progress in education depends on a revolu- tion in the public attitude towards the salaries of teachers and the importance of their training. 72, 76, 95 4. That a large increase in the number of scholarships at all stages of education is necessary. 95 (ix), 136, 138, 141, 172, 176 5. That periodical inspection should be compulsory on all schools and that this inspection should be under the direction of the State. 32 SECONDARY SCHOOLS. 6. That steps should be taken to secure for all pupils in state-aided Secondary Schools a school life beginning not later than 12 and extending at least up to 16. 11 7. That Science should be included in the general course of education for all pupils in Public and other Secondary 237 SUMMARY OF Schools up to the age of about 16, and that this general course should be followed by more specialised study whether in Science or in other subjects. 30 8. That in all Secondary Schools for boys the time given to Science should be not less than 4 periods in the first year of the course from 12 to 16 and not less than 6 periods in the three succeeding years. 30 9. That increased attention should be given to the teaching of Science in girls' schools. 29 10. That in girls' schools with a 24-hour school week not less than 3 hours per week should be devoted to Science in the period 12-16. 24 11. That a larger number of state-aided schools should be encouraged to provide advanced instruction in Science and that those which undertake advanced work should be staffed on a more generous scale. 1 1 12. That in suitable localities there should be some school or schools where less time should be given to languages and additional time to English Science, Mathe- matics, Manual Instruction and Drawing. 11 13. That in the curricula of all Preparatory Schools provision should be made for the teaching of the Elements of Natural Science as denned in 21. 21 14. That the usual age of entry into the Public Schools should be lowered to 13 and that this should be the maximum age for entrance scholarship examinations. 12 15. That the Elements of Natural Science should be a necessary subject in the entrance examination of Public Schools and that due weight should be given to this subject in the entrance scholarship examinations to Public Schools. 21 16. That general education would be benefited by there being no division of schools into sides at the 12 to 16 stage, 31 238 PRINCIPAL CONCLUSIONS. SCIENCE COURSE 12 TO 16. 17. That the science work for pupils under 16 should be planned as a self-contained course, and should include, besides Physics and Chemistry, some study of plant and animal life. 41, 52 18. That more attention should be directed to those aspects of the sciences which bear directly on the objects and experience of every-day life. 46, 47 19. That there should be as close correlation as possible between the teaching of Mathematics and Science at all stages in school work. 44 20. That the present chaos of English weights and measures causes waste of time and confusion of thought and that there are strong educational reasons for the adoption of the metric system. 54 21. That all through the science course stress should be laid on the accurate use of the English language. 55 SCIENCE COURSE 16 TO 18. 22. That the amount of time devoted from 16 to 18 to the subject or subjects in which a pupil is specialising should be not less than one-half or more than two-thirds of the school week. 59 23. That those specialising in Science should continue some literary study, and those specialising in literary subjects should give some time to science work of an appropriate kind. 59 24. That courses in Science of the kind suggested in 63 should be provided for those specialising in subjects other than Science. 63 25. That pupils who do advanced work in Science should be enabled to acquire a reading knowledge of French and German. 64 239 SUMMARY OF 26. That 18 should be the normal age of entry from Secondary Schools to the Universities, and that the age limit for entrance scholarships at Oxford and Cambridge should be reduced to 18. 56, 57 EXAMINATIONS. 27. That in the First School Examination all candidates should be required to satisfy the examiners both in Mathematics and in Natural Science. 34 28. That in this examination there should be co- operation between the teachers and examiners, and weight should be attached to the pupil's school record. 36 29. That the examinations in Science for the Leaving Certificate of the Scottish Education Department should include a written test. 85 TEACHERS IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS. 30. That it is essential that salaries and prospects of teachers in Secondary Schools should be substantially improved and a national pension scheme provided. 72 31. That a full year's training shared between school and university is necessary for all teachers in Secondary Schools. 76 32. That grants for teachers in training should be available for all suitable inspected Secondary Schools. 76 33. That short courses of training of various types should be provided for teachers. 78 LABORATORIES. 34. That the teachers in state-aided schools should be given freedom and responsibility in the selection and purchase of laboratory appliances up to a fixed annual amount. 80 240 PRINCIPAL CONCLUSIONS. ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS. 35. That increased attention should be given to the provision of suitable instruction in Science in the Upper Standards of Elementary Schools. 87 36. That a larger number of students in training colleges should be encouraged to take Advanced Courses in Science. 88 37. That there should be in every elementary school a room in addition to the ordinary class-room accommodation available for work in Science and other practical subjects. 90 TECHNICAL EDUCATION. 38. That greater efforts should be made to develop and increase the provision of instruction , in pure and in applied science in technical schools and institutions of all grades. That arrangements should be made for consulta- tion between the various institutions giving secondary and technical instruction within any area. 95 39. That many more scholarships are needed to enable technical students to pass on to the universities, and also to enable boys from Junior Technical Schools (or their equivalent) and from Evening Schools to enter Senior Technical Schools. 95 40. That the position of Junior Technical Schools in the educational system should be reconsidered. 95 41. That it is essential that the salaries and prospects of teachers in Technical Schools should be substantially improved, and a national pension scheme provided for whole-time teachers. 95 42. That in the proposed continuation classes provision should be made for instruction in Science both in its general aspects and in its bearing on industry. 94 5660 241 i SUMMARY OF MEDICINEI 43. That the First School Examination should be recognised by the General Medical Council as qualifying for entrance into the medical profession. 99 44. That students should be allowed to take the first professional examination in (a) chemistry and physics and (6) biology before entering the university or medical school. 101 45. That more scholarships should be provided for candidates of both sexes tenable throughout the medical course. 102 ENGINEERING. 46. That a thorough and practical training in Mathe- matics and Science is essential to the school education of engineers : it cannot be replaced and need not be supple- mented at school by practice in an engineering workshop. 104-106 AGRICULTURE. 47. That specific instruction in agriculture or agri- cultural science should not be given in elementary or secondary schools, though under favourable circumstances a rural bias may be given to the work of a secondary school. 113, 114, 116 48. That all county education authorities acting either singly or in co-operation should provide well-equipped Farm Institutes for their areas. 115 ARMY. 49. That Science should be an obligatory subject in the examination for entrance into the Koyal Military PRINCIPAL CONCLUSIONS. College, Sandhurst, and should be included in the course of instruction in the College. 119 50. That steps should be taken to improve the efficiency of the instruction in science at the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich. 119 51. That more encouragement should be given to officers at later stages of their career to improve their scientific qualifications. ? 119, 120, 122 HOME AND INDIA CIVIL SERVICE. 52. That an enquiry should be made as to the best methods of securing the services of scientific men for the purposes of the State in permanent posts and otherwise. 130 53. That many permanent posts can best be filled by men selected not by the ordinary competitive examina- tion, but at a riper age on the ground of high scientific qualifications and professional experience. 127 54. That all candidates for the competitive exami- nation for these services should supply evidence of a continuous course of training in Science extending over several years. 124^127 55. That, to ensure sufficient catholicity in questions propounded in the viva-voce examination, these examiners should include some representative of Science. 126 56. That, if Science be not required, as urged in Recommendation No. 54 for the India Civil Service, it be a necessary supplementary subject for those who take either Classics or Modern Languages as their main subject. 128 57. That the age limits of the India Civil Service and the university entrance scholarship examinations should coincide so far as possible. 128 243 i 2 SUMMARY OF UNIVERSITY EDUCATION. 58. That the universities should adopt the First School Examination as the normal examination for admission and should abolish special matriculation examinations for candidates from schools. 132 59. That Greek should not be retained as a necessary subject in Responsions at Oxford or the Previous Examina- tion at Cambridge. 133 60. That the universities should make special arrange- ments to test the fitness for entrance of candidates who are over 23 years of age. 134 DEGREE COURSES IN SCIENCE AT THE UNIVERSITIES. 61. That the universities of Oxford and Cambridge should arrange to provide more suitable courses in Science for candidates who do not aim at an honours degree. 143 62. That candidates for the university Intermediate examinations should be allowed to take the examinations from school. 147 63. That the universities should recognise the Second School Examination as alternative to the whole or part of their Intermediate examinations. 147 64. That it is desirable that a year spent mainly on research should form part of the work of university students preparing for careers concerned with Science and its applications; but this should follow the course for a first degree in Science. 148 65. That scholarships are needed to enable a young graduate to spend a year or more in research, at his own or at another university. 150 244 PRINCIPAL CONCLUSIONS. STATE AID TO THE UNIVERSITIES. 66. That large expenditure of public money is necessary to equip the universities for their work in pure and in applied science. 154, 155 67. That grants from public funds to the universities should be increased to allow the universities to make a substantial reduction in their fees. 142 UNIVERSITY TEACHERS. 68. That the duties of Junior Demonstrators should be limited so that they can spend a considerable amount of time on research. 156 69. That there should be posts of substantial value in university departments forjsenior men whose best work lies in teaching. 156 70. That the heads of Technological Departments should be allowed to undertake private professional practice. 152 SCOTTISH UNIVERSITIES. 71 . That steps should be taken to remove the limitations which confine a large proportion of the old established Bursaries to the Faculty of Arts. 162 SCHOLARSHIPS AT SCHOOLS AND UNIVERSITIES. 72. That scholarships should be considered as distinc- tions awarded in recognition of intellectual merit and promise. 135 245 SUMMARY OP 73. That all scholarships should be of nominal value, to be supplemented according to need. 22, 135 74. That where necessary the whole cost of a scholar's education and maintenance should be defrayed. 22, 137 75. That scholarships at the universities should be tenable for at least three years with a possibility of extension. 137 76. That scholarships awarded by Local Education Authorities should not be restricted to particular uni- versities. 137 77. That scholarships at the universities should be awarded on a wider range of subjects than at present. 139 78. That the age limit for scholarships at Oxford and Cambridge should be 18 rather than 19. 140 79. That scholarships should not be awarded on work done in large pass examinations for schools. 139 80. That scholarships to the universities for candidates from Technical and Evening Schools should be awarded without an age limit, and for the present on a limited range of subjects. 141 81. That the number of scholarships at the women's colleges should be increased. 28 82. That loan funds should be established to enable senior students to obtain professional training. 102, 142 SUPPLY OF TRAINED SCIENTIFIC WORKERS. 83. That concerted efforts should be made by employers, teachers, local education authorities and the State to increase the flow of capable students to the universities and higher technical institutions with a view to securing 246 PRINCIPAL CONCLUSIONS. the larger supply of trained scientific workers required for industrial and other purposes. 167-176 (Signed) J. J. THOMSON, Chairman. F. D. ACLAND. H. B. BAKER. GRAHAM BALFOUR. W. BEARDMORE. G. H. CLAUGHTON. C. W. CROOK. E. R. GWATKIN. A. D. HALL. HENRY HEAD, HENRY F. HIBBERT. D. H. NAGEL. WILLIAM NEAGLE. F. G. OGILVIE. ERNEST H. STARLING. W. W. VAUGHAN. F. B. STEAD, Secretary. IMh February, 1918. Appendices. APPENDIX I. LIST OF WITNESSES. OFFICIAL WITNESSES. Board of Education. The Hon. W. N. Bruce, C.B., Principal Assistant Secre- tary of the Secondary Schools Branch of The Board of Education. Mr. W. C. Fletcher, Chief Inspector of Secondary Schools, and Mr. S. F. Dufton, D.Sc., H.M. Inspector of Secondary Schools. Sir H. F. Heath, K.C.B., formerly Principal Assistant., Secretary of the Universities Branch of the Board of Education. Mr. R. J. G. Mayor, Assistant Secretary, Universities Branch of the Board of Education. Mr. F. H. Dale, C.B., Chief Inspector of Elementary Schools, and Mr. F. T. Howard, H.M. Inspector of Elementary Schools. Mr. F. Pullinger, C.B., Chief Inspector of Technical . Schools. Scotch Education Department. Sir John Struthers, K.C.B., Permanent Secretary of the Scotch Education Department. Mr. F. W. Young, H.M. Inspector of Schools. Admiralty. Sir Alfred Ewing, K.C.B., formerly Director of Naval Education. Mr. C. E. Ashford, M.V.O., Headmaster of the Royal ^Naval College, Dartmouth. 248 APPENDICES. War Office. Colonel A. B. R. Hildebrand, D.S.O., R.E., formerly Chief Instructor at the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich. Lt. -Colonel J. T. Weatherby, D.S.O., General Staff. Colonel R. E. Home, D.S.O., Royal Ordnance College, Woolwich. Civil Service Commission. Mr. Stanley Leathes, C.B., First Civil Service Commis- sioner. TEACHERS AND TEACHERS' ASSOCIATIONS. The Rev. A. A. David, D.D., Headmaster of Rugby. Mr. M. J. Kendall, Headmaster of Winchester College. Dr. R. S. Clay, Principal of the Northern Polytechnic Institute, Holloway. Professor T. P. Nunn, D.Sc., Vice-Principal of the London Day Training College. Association of Headmistresses (Incorporated). Represented by: Miss A. E. Escott, President (Sheffield High School). Miss M. Frodsham (late of College School, Cardiff). Miss E. M. Hughes (County School for Girls, Tunbridge Wells). Miss M. B. Rich (County Secondary School, Dalston,N.E.) Association of Preparatory Schools. Represented by : Mr. A. J. Richardson (Broadstairs). Mr. J. S. Norman (Sevenoaks). Mr. H. Wilkinson (Orme Square, W.) Mr. F. Ritchie (Secretary). Association of Public School Science Masters. Represented bye- Mr. A. Vassall (Harrow). Mr. D. Berridge (Malvern). Mr. C. L. Bryant (Harrow). Mr. M. D. HiU (Eton). Mr. D. R. Pye (Winchester). 249 APPENDICES. Association of Science Teachers. Represented by : Miss E. R. Saunders (Newnham College). Miss I. M. Drummond (Camden School, N.W.). Miss P. Monk (Roedean School, Brighton). Miss R. Stem (North London Collegiate School). Association of Technical Institutions. Represented by : Mr. W. Sumpner, D.Sc. (Municipal Technical School, Suffolk Street, Birmingham). Imperial College of Science and Technology. (Professorial Board. ) Represented by : Professor J. B. Farmer, P.R.S. Incorporated Association of Assistant Masters. Represented by: Mr. H. P. Lunn (County Secondary School, Hollo way); Mr. G. H. J. Adlam (City of London School). Mr. W. Warren (Whitechapel Foundation School). Incorporated Association of Head Masters. Represented by : Mr. J. Talbot (Newcastle -upon -Tyne Grammar School). Mr. G H. Burkhardt (Swindon and North Wilts Secondary School and Technical Institute). SCOTLAND. Mr. J. B. Clark, Headmaster of George" 5 Heriot's School, Edinburgh. Mr. H. F. Stoclcdale, Director of the Royal Technical College, Glasgow. WALES. Central Welsh Board. Represented by : Mr. Hammond Robinson, Assistant Inspector. Principal E. H. Griffiths, Sc.D., LL.D., F.R.S., Principal of the University College of S. Wales and Monmouthshire, Cardiff. Vice -Chancellor of the University of Wales. Mr. P. Morton, Headmaster of Brecon County School. Mr. J. R. Roberts, Headmaster of Cardiff High School for Boys. 260 APPENDICES. MEDICAL WITNESSES! General Medical Council. Represented by : Sir Donald MacAlister, K.C.B., M.D, London School of Medicine for Women. Represented by : Miss Aldrich Blake, M.D. Miss W. Culliss, Lecturer in Physiology at the London School of Medicine for Women. Dr. Norman Moore t M.D., F.R.C.P., Representative of the Royal College of Physicians on the General Medical Council. GENEBAL. The Rt. Hon. A.H.D. Acland, Chairman of the Consultative Committee of the Board of Education, and Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Imperial College of Science and Technology. Sir George Beilby, F.R.S., LL.D., Director of the Fuel Re- search Board; Member of the Advisory Consultative Committee of the Privy Council for Scientific and Industrial Research. Mr. A. E. Berriman, Chief Engineer, Daimler Company. Mr. J. M. Mactavish, General Secretary of the Workers' Educational Association. Neglect of Science Committee. Represented by : Sir E. Ray Lankester, K.C.B., LLD., F.R.S. Professor G. C. Bourne, F.R.S. Sir H. Bryan Donkin, M.D. Professor H. H. Turner, F.R.S. Royal Society of Literature. Represented by : Sir Henry Newbolt, D.Litt. Mr. W. B. Worthington 9 formerly Engineer -in -Chief of the Midland Railway Company, President of the Institution of Civil Engineers. Written communications were also received from the following representatives of Chemistry, Engineering, Metal - 251 APPENDICES. lurgy and Geology, whose names were suggested to us by the Conjoint Board of Scientific Societies : CHEMISTRY. Dr. C. Carpenter. Dr. M. O. Forster, F.R.S. Professor P. F. Frankland, F.R.S. Dr. A. Scott, F.R.S. ENGINEERING. Professor J. A. Fleming, F.R.S. Dr. A. Russell. Dr. W. C. Unwin, F.R.S. Sir J. Wolfe-Barry, F R.S. Professor W. E. Dalby. METALLURGY. Professor J. O. Arnold, F,R,S. Dr. J. E. Stead, F.R.S. Sir Thomas Kirke Rose. Sir Gerard A. Muntz. GEOLOGY. Professor C. Lapworth. Professor W. W. Watts, F R.S. Dr. J. E. Marr, F.R.S Professor W. J. Sollas, F.R.S. Professor W. S. Boultoii. Professor P. F. Kendall. APPENDIX II. MEMORANDA PRESENTED TO THE COMMITTEE. Association of Science Teachers of Scotland (Western Branch) Memorandum on the Teaching of Science. Association of Teachers in Technical Institutions. Memorandum. British Science Guild. Education Committee. Memorandum. 252 APPENDICES. Conference of Five Associations. (English, Classical, His- torical, Geographical, Modern Languages.) Resolutions. Glasgow University. Five members of the Faculty of Science. Memorandum on " The Reform of School Education." Professor S. J. Hickson, F.R.S./ Professor of Zoology at Manchester University. Memorandum on " The Teaching of Biology in Schools." Incorporated Association of Head Masters. Report of the Special Committee on " Education after the War." London University Senate. Resolutions. Pharmaceutical Society, Memorandum on " A Compulsory Course of Training for Pharmacists," Scottish Education Reform Committee. Memorandum on " The Teaching of Science in Scotland.'* Mr. C. M. Stuart, Headmaster of St. Dunstan's College, Dulwich. Memorandum on " Science Teaching in Secondary Schools." Mr. T. P. Watson, M.A.,B.Sc., F.R.S.E., Principal of Keighley Technical Institute. Memorandum on " The Teaching of Science." APPENDIX III. PUBLICATIONS CONSIDERED BY THE COMMITTEE OR REFERRED TO IN THE REPORT. OFFICIAL. Report of the Royal Commission on Public Schools and CoUeges. 1864. 4 vols. (Cd. 3288.) Report from the Select Committee on Endowed Schools Acts. 1886. (H.C. Paper, 191.) Report of the Royal Commission on Secondary Education. 1895. 9 vols. (Cd. 7862.) 253 APPENDICES' Board of Education. Annual Report of the Board of Education for 1909 Teaching of Science, pp. 73-81. (Cd. 5616.) Annual Report of the Board of Education for 1911-12, Transfer from Elementary to Secondary Schools., pp. 3-28. (Cd. 6707.) Annual Report of the Board of Education for 1913-4. Inspection of Secondary Schools, pp. 10-44. (Cd. 7934.) Regulations for Secondary Schools. (Cd. 8541.) Regulations for the Training of Teachers for Secondary Schools. (Cd. 6912.) Draft Regulations for Continuation, Technical and Art Courses in England and Wales. 1917. Regulations for Scholarships, Exhibitions, etc., in Science for the year 1917. Prospectus of Sir Joseph Whitworth's Scholarships and Exhibitions for Mechanical Science. Examinations in Secondary Schools. Circulars 849, 996, 1002, 1010. Memorandum on Curricula of Secondary Schools. Circular 826. Curricula of Ruralised Secondary Schools. Circular 883, Teaching of Elementary Science, including Nature Study ; Circular 904. Memorandum on the Teaching of Engineering in Evening Technical Schools. Circular 894. Memorandum on the Teaching of Coal Mining in Part- time Schools. Circular 953. Report on Science Teaching in Public Schools represented on the Association of Public School Science Masters. O. H. Latter. 1909. Educational Pamphlet No. 17. The Admiralty Method of Training Dockyard Appren- tices. 1916. Educational Pamphlet No. 32. Reports for the year 1913-14 from those Universities and University Colleges in Great Britain which are in receipt of Grants from the Board. Vol I. (Cd. 8137.) Vol. II (Cd. 8138). Report of the Advisory Committee on Distribution of Exchequer Grants to Universities and University Colleges in England. (Cd. 6140.) 264 APPENDICES. Interim Report of the Consultative Committee on Scholar- ships for Higher Education. 1916. (Cd. 8291.) Report of the Departmental Committee on Juvenile Education in relation to Employment after the War 1917. (Cd. 8512.) Scotch Education Departments Code~of Regulations for Day Schools. 1915. (Cd. 7788.) Regulations as to Grants to Secondary Schools. 1914 (Cd. 7394.) Memorandum on Nature Study and the Teaching of Science in Scottish Schools. 1908. (Cd. 4024.) Leaving Certificate Examination . 1916. Circular 44 9. Memorandum as to Courses of Instruction in Rural Con- tinuation Classes 1913. Suggested Outlines of a Course of Specialised Instruction for Boys in Supplementary Classes of Schools in Mining Districts. 1915. Department of Scientific and Industrial Research. Report for the year 1915-16. (Cd. 8336.) Report for the year 1916-7. (Cd. 8718.) Science and Industry. Industrial Research in the United States of America. Interim Report on Joint Standing Industrial Councils. (Cd. 8606.) Report of the Committee appointed by the Lords Commis- sioners of H.M. Treasury to consider and report upon the Scheme of Examination for Class" I. of' the Civil Service. 1917. Fifth Report of] the} Rural 1 Education? Conference, 1912. (Cd. 6151.) Royal Commission on the Civil Service. 1st Appendix. 4th Report. 1914 (Cd. 7339.) Royal Commission on the Public Services in India, Vol. I. (Cd. 8382.) MISCELLANEOUS. British Association. Report- o- Science Teaching in Secondary Schools. 1917. 255 APPENDICES, Central Welsh Board. Annual Examination, July, 1915. General Regulations and Examination Schedules. General Report. Inspection and Examination of County Schools. 1916. Council for Organising British Engineering Industry. Report of the Committee on Engineering Education and Re- search. Education Reform. Being the Report of the Education Reform Council. Professor J. A. Fleming, M.A., D.Sc., F.R.S., M.Inst.E.E. Organisation of Scientific Research. (Journal of the Royal Society of Arts, February llth, 1916.) Engineering and Scientific Research. (Published by the Society of Engineers, Incorporated.) Principal E. H. Griffiths, Sc.D., LL.D., F.R.S. Industry, Science and Education, with special reference to the conditions in South Wales and Monmouthshire. Incorporated Association of Assistant Masters. Statistics of Salaries of Assistant Masters in the aided and main- tained Secondary Schools of England and Wales. Sir F. G. Kenyon. Education Scientific and Humane. A report of the proceedings of the Council of Humanistic Studies. Provisional Committee on Research and Education for the Cotton Industry. Scientific Research in relation to Cotton and Cotton Industry. Manchester. 1917. (Reprinted by kind permission of " The Manchester Guardian.") ' Public School Science Masters' Association. " Science for All." Report of the Committee appointed by the Council of North East Coast Institution of Engineers and Shipbuilders. Sir Napier Shaw, Sc.D., F.R.S. The Lack of Science in Modern Education. Workers' Educational Association. Recommendations of the Executive Committee on the Problem of Educa- tional Reconstruction. 256 APPENDICES. APPENDIX IV. A. QUESTIONNAIRE ADDRESSED TO PUBLIC SCHOOLS. The schools represented on the Headmasters' Conference which are not in receipt of Government grant were asked to supply information as to the position of Natural Science in their curricula and as to their arrangements for giving instruction in it. On account of the want of published information as to these schools, it was thought desirable to send to them a long and elaborate Questionnaire dealing with the details of school organisation. The main points with which the questions were concerned were the following : (a) Previous education of boys at Preparatory Schools or in Junior Departments ; examinations for admission. (b) General school organisation. Statistics as to the num- bers of boys leaving after the age of 16; division of the school into sides and arrangements for the transfer from one side to another ; classification of boys into sets for Science, or for Mathematics, or for both subjects. (c) Curricula. Subjects taught and time allotted to them in the various parts of the school; the position of science in the curriculum for all boys and for boys who wish to devote a large amount of time to it; arrangements made for boys who pass on to medi- cine or to engineering or to agriculture, and for boys who work for university intermediate exami- nations at school. (d) Scholarships awarded by the school. (1) at entrance, (2) to boys already at the school, (3) to boys passing on to universities or higher technical institutions; distribution of these scholarships to different studies. (e) Scholarships gained after leaving school. (1) by school entrance scholars, (2) by other boys in the various subjects. Admissions^to'theSRoyal Military Academy, Woolwich (/) Staff. Statistics as to the numbers of masters teaching science only, or mathematics only, or both subjects ; 257 APPENDICES. other subjects taught by science masters ; super- vision of science teaching by a special master responsible for organising it. (g) Laboratories and equipment. Number and nature of existing laboratories ; their adequacy if more science teaching were undertaken ; the provision of labora- tory assistants ; special fees for laboratory work. B. QUESTIONNAIRE TO CHEMICAL MANUFACTURERS. 1 Into what grades or classes would you divide your chemically trained employees ? 2. At what age do you prefer these classes to enter the works and from what educational institutions Secondary Schools, Technical Colleges, Universities are they drawn ? 3. How far do you find their previous chemical training of use to them ? What modifications in their scientific training would you suggest in order to make them more useful ? 4. How far do you consider that some previous knowledge of Engineering would be of advantage to them ? 5. What rates of pay in normal times would you consider adequate (i) for a boy entering at 16, (ii) for a young man after a college career, (iii) for a man after having done a year or more of research work ? 6. Do you consider that some previous scientific know- ledge and training is desirable for those employees who are engaged in the buying and selling departments of your business, as distinguished from those engaged in work directly related to processes of manufacture ? If so, in what would this training consist ? 7. What facilities, if any, are provided for the continued education in Science, whether in Works Schools or elsewhere, of your employees after they enter your service ? Are the courses in Science provided in the Day or Evening Classes which your employees attend such as to give them further scientific education which is of direct value to them in their work ? 8. Have you any difficulty in obtaining suitably trained men in all grades ? 9. How far would you consider it possible or advantageous that there should be co-operation in research work between chemical works ancj laboratories of educational institutions ? 258 APPENDICES. C.- QUESTIONNAIRE TO ENGINEERING FIRMS. 1. Having in view the character of the work they are called upon to undertake, what are the different grades or classes in which your employees are placed when they enter the service of your firm ? 2. At what ages do you prefer these classes to enter ? 3. Do lads or young men who have spent more time than usual on their education find any difficulty in entering your employment ? 4. From what educational institutions are they drawn Elementary, Secondary or Technical Schools, University Colleges ? 5. Do you hold an Entrance Examination, or is any paper qualification necessary or desirable for admission to any grade ? 6. What modifications (if any) in their previous education would you suggest in order to make them more useful ? 7. Do you think that all your employees who have been at school until 16 should have received, besides a general Education, including Elementary Mathematics and Drawing, training in the principles of Physics and Chemistry ? 8. Have you any definite system of joint -training in the Works and Technical School or University (such as attending the Technical Schools for two afternoons a week, or a sand- wich system for longer periods)? If so, are the results reasonably satisfactory and in what directions might improve- ments be made ? 9. To what extent do the facilities offered at the local Technical Schools supply the need for part-time education ? 10. Has any lack of such facilities caused you difficulty in selecting foremen and men in other responsible positions from among your own employees ? 11. Do you make any periodical assessment of the progress of apprentices, both in the shops and in their theoretical training ? And is any means afforded of promotion of apprentices from one grade to another ? 12. Before the War had you any difficulty in obtaining suitably trained apprentices in any grade ? 13. Any additional observations or suggestions bearing on the following passage in the Committee'sTerms of Reference : " To advise what measures are needed to promote the study 269 APPENDICES. of Science, regard being had to ... the interests of the Trades, Industries and Professions which particularly depend upon Applied Science." D. QUESTIONNAIRE ADDRESSED TO REPRE- SENTATIVES OF AGRICULTURE. 1. Preparation for the Agricultural College. What preliminary training in Science, if any, do you consider desirable in the Secondary Schools for boys who are going to enter an Agricultural College or Department ? Should this training consist of specific instruction in Chemistry, Physics, Botany or Zoology, or would you prefer a more generalised acquaintance with the whole field of the physical and natural sciences ? Would you wish that the School course should embrace any instruction in agriculture or agricultural science ? 2. Preparation of boys who will attend Farm Institutes or Short Technical Courses of Agriculture, and who intend to become working farmers or bailiffs. If these boys attend a County Secondary School up to the age of 16 or thereabouts before coming to the Farm Institute, what science teaching should they receive at School as a preparation for the later technical instruction ? 3. Have you any experience of Secondary Schools with a rural bias ? Do you consider that the Country Grammar School can profitably develop an agricultural side or bias, either as an alternative to the Farm Institute or in prepara- tion for it, the end being the training of the working farmer, who will not usually go to the Agricultural College ? 4. How do you consider scientific or technical instruction can best be given to the future smallholder or agricultural labourer? Have you any experience of Continuation Schools, which carry on the boy's education after he has left the Primary School and while he is at work on the farm ? What form of instruction, agricultural or scientific, do you consider can best be given under these conditions ? 5. Have you any suggestions to make concerning the training of the teachers who will be required for the above purposes ? 260 APPENDICES. The Committee will welcome any further suggestions with regard to the character or extent of the scientific training of any of the classes who will be engaged in the working, management or administration of land. E. QUESTIONNAIRE ADDRESSED TO UNIVERSITIES AND UNIVERSITY COLLEGES IN GREAT BRITAIN. 1. To what extent is it desirable that a somewhat prolonged elementary training in Science, with laboratory work, should have been an obligatory part of the Secondary School Education of all students at some time previous to their entering the University, and does this apply to the needs of all Faculties ? 2. In view of the development of more advanced Scientific teaching in the highest classes of Secondary Schools, is it now desirable to make arrangements which will relieve students from being required, on their entrance to the University, to repeat work which they have already done at school, e.g. : (a) Should the Intermediate Examination for^the B.Sc. Degree and the First M.B. Examination be allowed to be taken from school? If so, on what security as to adequate teaching and laboratory work in the school course ? (6) Is it desirable that on entering the University every student of Science and of Medicine should go through one year's course in Pure Science (beginning at the level already reached at school) preparatory to more specialised study ? (c) Would it be desirable to allow well-prepared candi dates to take the first part of their Degree Examination at an earlier stage than at present ? 3. With special regard to the requirements of Science, is there need for further financial assistance from public funds for Entrance Scholarships which would encourage and enable an increased number of students to undertake a course of study for a Degree or Diploma at the University ? What should be the value of such Scholarships; their length of tenure ; what extension of tenure should be possible 261 APPENDICES. in approved cases ; how, and by which authority, should the Scholarships be awarded ; should the Scholarships, if awarded by open competitive examination, be of small money value to be supplemented according to the needs or circumstances of the candidate after confidential enquiry ? 4. Is it desirable to give to the winners of Entrance Scholarships, and of Major County Scholarships, freedom of choice between the various Degree Courses offered by the University ? Should students be required to take special subjects in the Examinations for Entrance Scholarships and for County Major Scholarships according to the Degree Course which they intend to pursue at the University ? 5. Is the present Matriculation Examination satisfactory for older students, say of over 21 years of age, in whose career there has been a long interval between the close of their school course and their decision to seek admission to the University ? 6. Are the present Degree Courses in Science found to encourage in the students something of the Research spirit ? Should some Research work be required as part of the course for students seeking Honours in Science ? 7. Is it desirable to provide a Degree Course which combines more fully Mathematics and some branch of Science ? 8. Do the present Degree Courses in Pure Science suffi- ciently meet the needs of those students who will later seek employment in scientific posts connected with industry ? 9. It has been suggested that there are some students whose needs would best be met by the study of subjects which do not constitute a recognised group provided for in the regulations for any one Degree Examination; and that arrangements should be made so that a satisfactory aggregate of work in such subjects should qualify for a Degree. Do you approve of this suggestion ? Are any new combinations desirable among the courses for a Degree in Science, e.g., of Chemistry and Engineering in preparation for certain industrial posts ? 10. Is it desirable that further encouragement should be given to students of Applied Science to study during their University Course (a) a modern language ? (6) economics ? 262 APPENDICES. 11. Is further provision necessary for the encouragement of advanced courses of study and research on the part of men and women who have already graduated, e.g. : (a) By extension of laboratories ; (6) By the establishment of new Professorships or Lectureships ; (c) By the offer of a new Degree, common to all Faculties, to be obtained after two years' advanced study, including independent investiga- tion; (d) By the provision of additional Fellowships or Graduate Scholarships ; (e) By facilities for the publication of the results of research ? 12. Would the University be in favour of increased facilities for students, graduate and undergraduate, to pass from one University to another for the study of special subjects ? 13. (a) In the older Universities would the interests of the study of Pure Science be furthered by increased facilities for the study of Applied Science ? (6) In some Universities of more recent foundation is it desirable to strengthen the facilities for research in Pure Science in the interests of the study of Applied Science ? (c) Is it desirable that new Chairs or other teaching or research posts in Pure or Applied Science" should be established, and that other increased facilities for the study of these subjects should be provided ? 14. Are the salaries and the prospects of promotion offered within the University or available elsewhere for junior members of the scientific staffs of Universities adequate to secure effective service and the new recruits required ? 15. What means have been found most effective in securing co-operation between the various industries and those scientific and other departments of the University which are most closely connected with their respective needs, e.g. :- (a) Establishment of Advisory Committees; their composition and duties ; 263 APPENDICES. (6) Allowance of private professional practice on the part of professors and other members of the University staff ; (c) Industrial Research Studentships in the University Laboratories ; (d) Provision of special facilities in the University Laboratories for Research conducted under conditions of privacy on behalf of private firms or combinations of firms ; (e) Establishment of Appointments Committee ; ( /) Facilities by which students of Applied Science may have a period of experience in factories, &c. ? 16. What form of preparation in the practice of teaching is offered to students intending to become Science Masters or Mistresses in schools ? At what stage or stages should such a course be taken ? Are there sufficient Scholarships for students taking such a course ? Are special courses of lectures and laboratory work open at the University to those who are already working as teachers of Science in Secondary Schools ? If so, what is the best time of year for such courses, and what should be the duration of the course ? 17. Do the conditions laid down by the Committee of the Privy Council for Scientific and Industrial Research enable full use to be made of the scientific resources of the University in the prosecution of research ? 18. Are larger subsidies from the Treasury now required (a) for the adequate development of the work of the Univer- sity in Pure and Applied Science ; (6) for the general purposes of the University ? Is it desirable that the Government should make building and equipment grants for the provision of new laboratories in the English Universities ? 19. Are steps taken to secure interchange of views and experience between the members of the University staff and the Headmasters and Headmistresses of Secondary Schools and the teaching staffs of Technical Colleges on educational matters, including the careers open to students ? 20. Has there been collaboration in teaching or research between members of the scientific staffs of the University, of the Technical Schools, and of the Secondary Schools ? Note. In the case of the Scottish Universities the questionnaire was forwarded as it stands together with^the 264 APPENDICES, covering letter referred to on page 210. The questionnaire was supplemented later by a special enquiry relating to the University Bursary and Preliminary Examinations. APPENDIX V. SECONDARY SCHOOLS COMMITTEE OF THE UNIVERSITY OF DURHAM. The University of Durham has recently established a Secondary Schools Committee constituted as follows : (a) The Vice -Chancellor, or some deputy appointed by him, as Chairman. Four other members appointed by Senate. (b) Four members nominated by the Faculty of Arts. (c) Four members nominated by the Faculty of Science, (d) Four members nominated by the Headmasters* Association (North -Eastern Branch). (e) Four members nominated by the Headmistresses' Association (North-Eastern Branch). ( / ) Four representatives of the Local Education Autho- rities within the area. The functions of the Committee are to consider all questions of education with which both the Secondary Schools and the University are concerned, and especially those bearing on the relation between the last year of School teaching and the first year of the University course. In addition to this, there have been appointed a number of Standing Committees, one for each of the subjects concerned These Committees consist of : - (a) The University Professors and Lecturers in the subject. (b) Five members appointed by the teachers in the Secondary Schools. These Committees are appointed annually at a Conference held alternately in Newcastle and Durham. They report to the Standing Schools Committee. The Standing Committees were appointed for the first time in March, 1917. 265 INDEX, Index. The References are to Paragraphs. ADULT EDUCATION - 164-166 ADVANCED COURSES IN SECONDAY SCHOOLS- 10, 11 (iv), 69, 176 AGRICULTURE : Agricultural Colleges, Degree Courses in- 110, 111 Farm Institutes - -112,113,115 Secondary Schools - 113, 114 Elementary and Continuation Schools - - 90,116 APPOINTMENTS BOARDS - - 176 ARMY (see under Military Education, Science in). ASHFORD, C. E. - 121 ASSISTANT MASTERS' ASSOCIATION 10, 71, 139 ASTRONOMY 49, 63, 78 BEILBY, SIR GEORGE - ... 170 BERRIMAN, A. E. - ... 107 BIOLOGY : Secondary Course, position in 41, 50, 52, 54, 61 Medical Students, requirements of - - 100, 101 BOARD OF EDUCATION : Control of Secondary School Curricula 9, ll|(v), 23, 24, 68 See also under Examinations, Inspection* BOTANY - - 8 In Girls' Schools - - - 27.. 53 In Rural Secondary Schools - 113 See also under Biology. BRITISH ASSOCIATION - BURSARIES AT SCOTTISH UNIVERSITIES - 84, 163 CARNEGIE TRUST - - 162 CENTRAL SCHOOLS 39, 49, 87, 95 (x) 266 INDEX. CENTRAL WELSH BOARD 68, 69, 70 Examinations conducted by ... 66, 69 CHEMICAL INDUSTRIES 117, 170 CHEMISTRY : In the Secondary School Course - - 8, 41, 51, 61 Professional Training - - 100,113,117 CIVIL SERVICE : Class I. Examination 123-127 India - - ..... 128 Intermediate and Second Division Examinations - 129 Professional Posts 130 CLASSICS : In Secondary Education - - 2, 3, 13, 15 Scholarship Examinations - - - 18, 139 In Preparatory Schools 20 COMPULSORY GREEK - - - 133 CONSULTATIVE COMMITTEE OF THE BOARD OF EDUCATION : Interim Report on Scholarships for Higher Educa- tion - - - 131,135,138 CONTINUATION SCHOOLS - 94. 116 DARTMOUTH ROYAL NAVAL COLLEGE - ~ .121 DEGREE COURSES : Agriculture - . - 110, 111 Honours - - - - 145, 148 Pass, at Oxford and Cambridge - ' - - 143 Relation of, to School Work - - 146, 147 Scottish Universities - 160 DEPARTMENT OF SCIENTIFIC AND INDUSTRIAL RESEARCH 150, 170 DOCKYARD SCHOOLS - .... 174 DOMESTIC SCIENCE - - - 53 EDUCATION BILL, 1918 32, 94 ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS : Teaching of Science in - - 86, 87, 90, 116 Training of Teachers'* - -" - - - 88,89 See also Central Schools. ENGINEERING : In r Secondary Schools - - - .- . 104-108 In TechnicalfSchools 92, 95 (x) Degree Courses .* ' - 145 267 INDEX. ENGLISH : In General Education - 1 1 (viii), 30, 34, 95 (x) Science Course, position in - - 55, 59, 104, 105 EVENING CLASSES (see under Technical Schools). EWING, Sm ALFEED - - 121 EXAMINATIONS : Effect on Curricula - 11 (vii), 18, 21, 43, 73 First School Examination 33-38, 98, 99, 103, 132, 174 Certificate for - - - 38 Position of Science in - 34 Intermediate B.Sc. - 67, 147 Public Schools, Common Entrance to - 20 Second School Examination - 65-67, 132, 145 See also under Scholarships. EXHIBITIONS (see under Scholarships). FARMER, Prof. J. B. 136 FEES at Universities - - - 142 FLEMING, Prof. J. A. -: - . , * 107 FLETCHER, W. C. - 72, 74, 139 FUEL RESEARCH BOARD .* - - -.- - - 170 GENERAL MEDICAL COUNCIL - 98, 100 GEOGRAPHY - ... 8, 48, 54 GEOLOGY - ; .v 8, 63, 78, 110, 111 GILCHRIST EDUCATIONAL TRUST - - - -166 GIRLS' SCHOOLS : Position of Science in - . - 23-29, 53, 70 First School Examination - 57 Laboratory Accommodation - 79 GREENWICH, ROYAL NAVAL COLLEGE - - - 121 HEAD MASTERS' ASSOCIATION - - - - 17, 71 HEAD MASTERS' CONFERENCE ... - 7 HEAD MISTRESSES, ASSOCIATION OF - - . - 24, 37 HEURISTIC METHOD - - - 42 HISTORY OF SCIENCE - 63, 75, 81 HYGIENE - . ^ .- t ^ - - 53, 63 268 INDEX. INSPECTION OF SCHOOLS 7, 9, 23, 32, 35, 38, 95 (x) INSTITUTION or CIVIL ENGINEERS .... 107 JUNIOR TECHNICAL SCHOOLS (see under Technical Schools). LABORATORIES : Accommodation at Schools .... 79, 80, 90 University, Research Work in - 152, 153 LANKESTER, SIR E. RAY - - 123 LECTURES, UNIVERSITY COURSES OF * - 144 LIBRARIES - -81, 95 (vi) LOANS TO SENIOR STUDENTS 76, 102, 142 LONDON SCHOOL or MEDICINE FOR WOMEN - 102, 142 MACALISTER, SIR DONALD - - 102 MANUAL INSTRUCTION : In Preparatory Schools - - - 21, 48, 49 In Secondary Schools - - 30, 34, 80, 107 In Elementary and Continuation Schools - 87, 90, 94 MATHEMATICAL ASSOCIATION- 44, 75 MATHEMATICS : In Secondary Schools - - 34, 50, 64, 104 In Girls' Schools - 25, 53 In Correlation with Science - 44, 75 At Scottish Universities - - - - - 160 MECHANICS - - 44, 54, 104, 106, 107 MEDICAL PROFESSION - - 27, 29, 97-101, 159 METEOROLOGY - 50, 63 METRIC SYSTEM - - 21, 48, 54 MILITARY EDUCATION, Science in . 15, 118, 119, 120 MOORE, DR. NORMAN - 100 MUNTZ, SIR GERARD 170 NATURE STUDY : In Preparatory Schools - - 20, 21, 41, 48 In Elementary Schools 86, 90 NAVAL EDUCATION, Science in - - 21, 121 NORTH -EAST COAST INSTITUTION OF ENGINEERS 95 (x) 269 INDEX. OEDNANCE COLLEGE - - 120 OSBORNE, ROYAL NAVAL COLLEGE - - 12, 17, 21, 121 PHARMACY - 103 PHYSICS - 27, 41, 44, 49, 50, 61, 104 PRACTICAL MEASUREMENTS - 20, 21, 48, 83, 86 PRACTICAL WORK, Importance attached to 41, 42, 54, 62, 83 PHYSIOGRAPHY - - 21, 49 PREPARATORY SCHOOLS- - 12, 18, 20-22, 48, 49 PREPARATORY SCHOOLS, ASSOCIATION OF 20 PRIVATE SCHOOLS - 7, 23, 32, 103, 115 PUBLIC SCHOOLS : Age of Entry and Leaving - - - 7, 12, 57 Inspection - - - - 32, 35 Organisation of (see under Sides). Position of Science - 1,13-17,19,113 Scholarships - - - 18,21,22 Supply of Science Students - - 172 PUBLIC SCHOOLS COMMISSION, 1864 - 1 PUBLIC SCHOOL SCIENCE MASTERS' ASSOCIATION 71, 79 RESEARCH : Secondary and Technical Schools - - - 73, 95 (i) Universities - 148, 149, 150, 153, 162 Need for, in Military and Naval Services - 122 Need for Workers - -169,170 ROYAL COLLEGE OF PHYSICIANS - - 100 ROYAL COLLEGE OF SCIENCE 2 ROYAL SCHOLARSHIPS .- 136 RUGBY, HEADMASTER OF - - - - - - - 18 SANDHURST, ROYAL MILITARY COLLEGE - 118, 119, 120 SCHOLARSHIPS : At Oxford and Cambridge - - - 18 Need for - - 28, 95 (x), 102, 136, 141, 172, 176 Value of - 22, 135, 137 Examinations at Public Schools - - 18, 20, 22 Examinations at Universities - - 15, 18, 57, 139, 140 Research 156 270 INDEX. SCHOOL GABDENS .. 90, 116 SCHOOL RECORDS - - - 36, 69, 85 SCIENCE, TIME FOB - - 11 (v), 15, 20, 30, 54, 69, 70, 83 Girls' Schools - - - - - - 24, 25 SCIENCE AND ABT DEPARTMENT - 9 SCIENCE TEACHERS, ASSOCIATION OF - 23, 24, 37, 71, 79 SCOTCH EDUCATION DEPARTMENT: Examinations conducted by - - - 82, 84, 85 SCOTLAND : Intermediate and Secondary Schools - 82-85 SCOTTISH UNIVERSITIES - - 158-159 Scholarships (see under Bursaries). SECONDARY SCHOOLS - 7-11,12,24,102 Age of Entry and Leaving - 9, 1 1 Differentiation - - 11 (viii), 95 (x) Content of Science Course 12-16 at- - - 40-55 Science Courses 16-18 at - - - - 56-63 See also under Inspection, Examinations, Teachers. SHORT COURSES FOR TEACHERS - - 78, 89, 95 (i), 115 SIDES - - 14, 31, 100, 106, 114 Army Sides ..... 15 Modern Sides - - - - 14, 15, 114 SOCIETY OF ENGINEERS - - - - -107 TEACHERS : Qualifications ... 27, 53, 74, 75, 87, 89 Salaries 72, 95 (i), 156 Supply 71, 115 Training .... 76-78, 88, 89, 115, 161 TEACHERS IN TECHNICAL INSTITUTIONS, ASSOCIATION OF 95 (viii) TECHNICAL EDUCATION : Nature of / 93 Relation to Industry .... 95 (vii), 96 TECHNICAL SCHOOLS : Number of Science Students in 92 Day Continuation Classes - - 94 Evening Classes, attendance at 92 Pure Science in - 95 (viii) Junior - * - 39, 95 (x) Senior - - - - 11 (viii) See also under Libraries, Teachers, Scholarships. TURNER, PBOF. H. H. - - - - 130 271 INDEX. UNIVERSITIES : Admission - - 132-134 Age of Entry - - 56 Grants to - 142, 154, 155, 176 Relation to Secondary Schools - 157,176 See also Degree Courses, Fees, Lectures, Research, Scholarships, Scottish Universities. UNIVERSITY EXTENSION 164 WAGER, H. - - 165 WALES - 68, 70 See also under Central Welsh Board WALKER, N. - 165 WHITLEY REPORT - 96 WOOLWICH, ROYAL MILITARY ACADEMY - 118, 119, 121 WORKERS' EDUCATIONAL ASSOCIATION - 164, 165 WORKSHOPS, ENGINEERING - - .107 ZOOLOGY 8, 52, 110 Printed under the authority of His Majesty's Stationery Office By EYRE and SPOTTISWOODB, LTD., East Harding Street, E.C.4, Printers to the King's most Excellent Majesty* LONDON: PUBLISHED BY HIS MAJESTY'S STATIONERY OFFICE. To be purchased through any Bookseller or directly from H.M. STATIONERY OFFICE at the following addresses; IMPERIAL HOUSE, KINGSWAY, LONDON, W.C.2, and 28, ABINGDON STREET, LONDON, S.W.I; 37, PETER STREET, MANCHESTER; 1, ST. ANDREW'S CRESCENT, CARDIFF; 28, FORTH STREET, EDINBURGH: or from E. PONSONBY, LTD., 116, GRAFTON STRIBT, DUBLIN. THIS BOOK IS DUE pN_THE_LAST DATE RETURN CIRCULATION 'DEPARTMENT TO ^ 202 Main Library LOAN PERIOD 1 HOME USE 2 3 4 5 6 ALL BOOKS MAY BE RECALLED AFTER 7 DAYS 1 -month loans may be renewed by calling 642-3405 6-month loans may be recharged by bringing books to Circulation Desk Renewals and recharges may be mode 4 days prior to due date DUE AS STAMPED BELOW JAN 2 6 200- REC. CIR. APR 1 1 1S7! k)H\/ (-4 4 4nn.i rvuv 2 1 1984 3 7 RECCIRC MAY 7 IBS UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, BERKELEY FORM NO. DD6, 40m, 3/78 BERKELEY, CA 94720 u - c '%Ilffi CDS^aim THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY