Reading: Liberal Education and the National Curriculum

A report by David Conway, January 2010, for Civitas

David Conway’s report for the think tank Civitas offers a useful take of the meaning of the original version of the National Curriculum for England, which was first introduced in 1988 by the Margaret Thatcher’s third administration.

Conway takes up the critics of the National Curriculum, who by his account seriously misunderstand the educational ideals that informed its inception.

He argues that:

“The type of education Matthew Arnold envisaged was one he termed a liberal education.

It is just such a form of education that the National Curriculum sought to provide when it was introduced in 1988.

As conceived of by Arnold, liberal education proceeds in two stages: the first provided by schools; the second by universities. The goal of the first stage is to impart to students self‐knowledge and knowledge of the world.

Self‐knowledge—by which Arnold meant knowledge of human potentiality and capability—is inculcated through study of the arts or humanities; knowledge of the world through study of science.

Until only very recently, Arnold’s view that the chief purpose of schooling should be provision of liberal education was widely shared by leading educationists in England.

Besides Arnold, other prominent English educationists who shared his view that liberal education should be the principal purpose of schooling include Robert Morant, H.A.L. Fisher, Cyril Norwood, George Sampson, and Michael Sadler.

They also include Lord Baker, chief architect of the 1988 Education Reform Act, although he never used the expression ‘liberal education’ when explaining the purpose of the curriculum introduced by that Act.

The logic of their position is scarcely even considered today by those critics of the National Curriculum who wish to see its originally prescribed set of subjects replaced by other, more vocational and socially ‘relevant’ forms of study and activity.”

pxxi-xxii

Conway’s argument merits our consideration today, especially as the National Curriculum for England is currently being reviewed by the Labour Party.

You can access a PDF of Conway’s report here.

Image: Matthew Arnold by Sarony, taken from Wikicommons