: 
— 
OcToBER 23, 1913] 
NATURE 
253 
In Class 1 (counties) I received replies from thirty- 
six directors; in Class 2 (county boroughs) from forty ; 
and in Class 3 (boroughs and urban districts) from 
forty-five. 
The authorities concerned are fairly representative 
of all portions of England and Wales, and both of 
rural and urban districts. In order to render com- 
parisons possible, 1 express the nature of the replies 
in percentages of the whole of the class. I believe, 
however, that the effect of reading out, in circum- 
stances of this kind, a large number of tables con- 
taining numerical data would be to occupy a con- 
siderable portion of your time, and yet leave but little 
definite impression. I have, therefore, given these 
tables as an appendix to this address, and will now 
only trouble you with a reference to the results and 
some examples of the interesting remarks included 
in the replies. 
My first question was :— 
I. ‘Do you consider that the centralisation of 
authority in the hands of county councils has caused 
any decay of interest in education in your district?” 
Reference to Table 1 will show that while in large 
areas the effect of the Act has been to stimulate 
interest in educational matters, in small boroughs and 
urban districts the reverse has been the case. It is 
difficult, however, to classify strictly many of the 
replies, as will be seen from the following examples.* 
As a natural sequence to this interrogation I made 
the following inquiry, namely :— 
Il. ““Would you prefer the educational authority to 
be one elected ad hoc, as in the days of the school 
boards, rather than the system as at present estab- 
lished?” 
As might be expected, those directors who con- 
sidered that the present system has caused a decay in 
local interest are, with some few exceptions, in favour 
of a return to an authority elected ad hoc. Replies in 
the affirmative form a large proportion of the whole, 
no less than 72 per cent. of the boroughs and urban 
districts being in favour of a return to the old system. 
In considering the answers to both these questions it 
should be remembered that previous to the Act of 1902 
counties, as such, had no experience as regards 
primary education. 
The Act of 1902 gave to the county councils, as 
regards the constitution of their education committees, 
considerable powers of cooption. I was anxious to 
find to what extent this power had been utilised, and, 
therefore, my third question was :— 
Ill. **To what extent has cooption of members of 
the education committee been adopted in your area— 
i.e. what proportion do the coopted members bear to 
the whole committee, and what is the proportion of 
coopted women members?” 
The average percentage of coopted members is 
curiously equal in all three classes—viz. thirty-one, 
thirty-three, thirty. The highest percentage is forty- 
eight, and the lowest three. It is noticeable that the 
percentage of coopted members is less in Wales than 
in England. A reference to the tables will show that 
a considerable number of directors are desirous that 
the principle of cooption should be extended. 
My fourth question was :— 
IV. ‘‘Have your local committees, or bodies of 
school managers, the right of appointing (a) head 
teachers, (b) assistant teachers?” 
I find that, as regards head teachers, more than 
one-half of the counties, one-third of the boroughs, 
but only a small proportion of the county boroughs, 
have delegated all powers; the right of appointing 
2 The examples referred to will be found in the address as-printed in full 
and issued by the British Association. 
NO. 2295, VOL. 92] 
assistant teachers being delegated to a slightly greater 
extent.* 
The general result oi the replies indicates that the 
power of appointment is unsatisfactorily exercised by 
local bodies of managers. 
V. ‘“‘Has the authority established a college for the 
training of elementary teachers, under its own 
management, or in conjunction with others?” 
I find that as large a proportion as one-seventh of 
the authorities (counties and county boroughs) whose 
directors have returned replies have established train- 
ing colleges. It does not appear, therefore, as if 
the present dearth of teachers was due to lack of 
training facilities. 
I was anxious to ascertain if the effect of such 
local training colleges was to restrict the freedom of 
teachers, and the sixth question was as follows :— 
VI. ‘‘Is the general effect of the present system to 
restrict the freedom of choice of teachers to those 
from your own locality?” 
In about half the counties the answer is in the 
affirmative, and in the county boroughs about four- 
fifths. 
It would appear that, on the whole, the opinion 
of directors is that the effect of the establishment of 
local training colleges has been to encourage the 
evil of what I may term “inbreeding.” 
VII. ‘*Do you consider the curricula of (a) primary, 
(b) secondary, schools under your authority as over- 
crowded? If so, can you indicate the directions in 
which you consider there could be a reduction?” 
Rather more than half of the authorities consulted 
considered that the curricula of the elementary schools 
are overcrowded, and rather more than a third are 
of the same opinion as regards the curricula of the 
secondary schools. 
VIII. ““Are you in favour of an increase in the 
number of vocational schools? Or do you consider 
that the effect of such increase would be detrimental 
to the standard of general education throughout the 
country ?”’ 
One-third of the county directors consulted, and 
almost half of those of the county boroughs and 
boroughs, answer in the affirmative, whereas rather 
more than one-fifth state their inability to arrive at a 
conclusion. A number of those who answer in the 
affirmative qualify their replies by stating: ‘‘ For 
children over fourteen,’ or ‘‘General education must 
be first considered,” ‘Provided general education is 
continued.” 
As a whole, the weight of opinion is strongly 
against any increase in vocational schools for children 
who have not completed their primary education. 
IX. “What is the average size of the classes in 
your primary schools ?”’ 
I find that the average size of the classes in the 
counties is thirty-four, and in the boroughs forty-two, 
and they vary from over sixty-three down to ten. The 
smaller average in the counties is evidently due to 
the large proportion of rural schools. ; 
My next question concerned the counties only. I 
was anxious to ascertain the effect of the clause of 
the Act which places on the locality the task of finding 
the greater portion of the money for additional 
buildings, viz. :— 
X. “Do you consider Par. 18, 1 (a), (c), (d) of the 
tg0o2 Act to work harshly or to the disadvantage of 
educational progress?” ; 
It appears that some 4o per cent. of the directors are 
of opinion that the effect of the clause is unsatisfac- 
tory. It must be remembered that it is not probable 
3 As regards non-provided schrols, in all cases (by the Act) the power o 
appointing head teachers is in the hands of the managers. 
