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CHAPTER XXVII

PRESENT DAY TENDENCIES IN EDUCATION

OUTLINE

At the present time there is great progress in industrial, commercial, and agricultural training in the schools of Europe and America.

For a quarter of a century the educational systems of Europe have been giving attention to moral training, and of late there has been some discussion of the subject in the United States.

All the great nations now provide for the training of mental defectives, and for some time training has been afforded those defective in some sense organ.

The attempts at improved methods of teaching are witnessed by the study of industries in the experimental school of Dewey, by the formulation of a curriculum in terms of normal activities of other elementary schools, and by the 'didactic apparatus' and the devices for learning the 'three r's' of Montessori.

Methods of mental measurement are being devised for the elementary school subjects by Thorndike and others, and systems of measurement are being utilized in administration.

Darwin's theory of evolution has revolutionized our attitude, imagery, and vocabulary in education.

There is also a great variety of other educational movements in all grades of education.

Recent Educational Progress.-Because of the notable development of science and invention, which has been noted in the last chapter, the nineteenth century has often been referred to as the 'wonderful' century. Such a term affords no better description of material achieve

ment than of the remarkable progress that has taken place in education. Previous chapters have indicated the extent to which, through various movements, education has advanced and broadened in conception, but the near future of education will probably witness a much greater development. At the present time there are constant efforts at a modification and a reconstruction Constant of education in the interest of a better adjustment of construction of the individual to his social environment and of greatly improved conditions in society itself. It would, of course, be impossible to describe all of these movements even in the briefest manner, but some of the present day tendencies that appear most significant should now engage our attention.

efforts at a re

education.

for industrial

The Growth of Industrial Training. The movement that is perhaps most widely discussed to-day is the introduction of vocational training into the systems of education. There is now an especial need for this type Social reasons of training. Since the industrial revolution and the education. development of the factory system, the master no longer works by the side of his apprentice and instructs him, and the ambition of the youth can no longer be spurred by the hope that he may himself some day become a master. His experience is generally confined to some single process, and only a few of the operatives require anything more than low-grade skill. Nor, as a rule, will the employer undertake any systematic education of his workmen, when the mobility of labor permits of no guarantee that he will reap the benefit of such efforts, and the modern industrial plant is poorly adapted to supplying the necessary theoretical training for experts. Hence an outside agency-the school-has been called

Industrial training of the continuation schools in

Germany.

upon to assist in the solution of these new problems. To meet the demand for industrial education, all the principal states of Europe have maintained training of this sort for at least half a century, and the United States has in the twentieth century been making rapid strides in the same direction.

Industrial Schools in Europe.-In Germany, where this training is most effective, the work has for fifty years been rapidly developing through the Fortbildungsschulen (see Fig. 55). The course in these schools at first consisted largely of review work, but the rapid spread of elementary schools soon enabled them to devote all the time to technical education. Training is now afforded not only for the rank and file of workmen in the different trades, but for higher grades of workers, such as foremen and superintendents. Girls are likewise trained in a wide variety of vocations. During the last twenty-five years there have also been developed continuation schools to furnish theoretical courses in physical sciences, mathematics, bookkeeping, drawing, history, and law. North Germany there is a tendency to confine the courses to theoretical training, and leave the practical side to the care of the employers, but the South German states generally combine theoretical and practical work, and develop schools adapted to the industries of the various Work of Ker- localities. Through the work of Kerschensteiner, Munich has even included an extra class in the elementary schools, to bridge the gap between school life and employment.

schensteiner.

No apprentice

ship in France,

In

France goes still further, and, because of unsatisfactory but all training conditions in apprenticeship, attempts to eliminate it altogether, and to furnish the entire industrial training

in continuation schools.

through continuation schools articulating with the elementary system. The pupils are admitted at thirteen to the continuation schools (see p. 383) and obtain practice in the school workshops for three years. Woodwork is generally taught to the boys, but the other courses vary with local needs. Girls learn to make dresses, corsets, millinery, artificial flowers, and other industrial products. In England, grants were first made Early facilities to evening industrial schools and classes in 1851, but twenty years later regular schools of science were organized, which had both day and evening sessions. In addition to these continuation schools, there have now been established higher elementary schools, which afford a four-year course in practical and theoretical science arranged according to local needs.

in England.

tinuation

United States.

Industrial Training in the United States.-Industrial Evening contraining first began to be offered in the United States schools in during the latter half of the nineteenth century by means of a number of evening continuation schools. These were established through philanthropy in the larger cities, and included the Cooper Union and the Mechanics' Institute in New York; the Franklin Union and the Spring Garden Institute in Philadelphia; the Ohio Mechanics' Institute in Cincinnati; and the Virginia Mechanics' Institute in Richmond. The public schools at length followed this example, and of late years have organized evening classes in drawing, mathematics, science, and technical subjects. Day instruction was long delayed. It began in 1881 with the foundation of the New York Trade School, Day schools, private but at the end of twenty years there were only two others, the Williamson Free School of Mechanical and public. Trades near Philadelphia and the Baron de Hirsch Trade

Secondary schools.

'Part-time' schools.

Conditions requiring com

tion.

School in New York. Later the development was more rapid, and since 1906 several hundred day trade schools have been organized, mostly through public support, in the larger cities of the country. These schools are mostly for youths between sixteen and twenty-five, but 'preparatory trade schools' for younger boys have also been started in New York, Massachusetts, and other states. Higher training to equip leaders for the industries has also come to be furnished through endowed secondary schools and technical high schools in a number of cities. A recent variety of vocational training is the 'part-time' plan, by which students are given some theoretical and formal training in a regular high school or college, while they are obtaining their practical experience. This alternation of practical and theoretical training is sometimes carried on in a single institution, or even within a commercial establishment itself.

Commercial Education in Europe and America.-But mercial educa- the modern development of vocational training throughout the leading countries has not been confined to industrial lines. With the extension of the sphere of commerce and the development of its organization that have taken place in the nineteenth century, it has come to be recognized that preparation is essential for a business career. Only recently, however, has this training been felt to be a proper function of the schools, since for many years it was opposed by educators as sordid and commercializing, and by business men as unpractical and ineffective. Both classes have now been brought to realize the need of mutual support, and the rapid growth of commercial education indicates an appreciation of its usefulness.

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