Promoting Comprehensive Education
in the 21st Century
University of London Union, University
of London, Saturday 3 February 2001

This was a one-day conference organised by the Campaign for State Education, the Socialist Teachers Alliance, the Socialist Education Association, the Disability Alliance, Education and Social Justice and Forum. Delegates considered New Labour's plans for the modernisation of comprehensive education.

Geoff Whitty, the recently appointed Director of London's Institute for Education, was the first plenary speaker. New Labour's extension of the specialist schools initiative - in which schools are allowed to specialise in particular curriculum areas such as foreign languages and science, and select students on the basis of their aptitude in these specialisms - 'has something to commend it in principle' but may be problematic given that 'people, whenever they see difference, tend to reinterpret it in terms of inequality and status'.

And the academic benefits of specialisation, he added, are far from clear. Recent league table results, which indicate that specialist schools have improved their grades faster than traditional comprehensives, may in fact be the product of the increased funding that specialist schools receive, rather curriculum specialisation per se.

In terms of the future of the curriculum, Whitty suggested that 'Key Stage 3 is likely to be a priority as here I think the thinking is more open.' At this stage of the curriculum, he argued, educationalists need to push for 'an enriched rather than narrowed curriculum' as 'raising literacy and numeracy by gradgrindery, while neglecting the arts … is not in anyone's long-term interests, least of all the disadvantaged.'

In relation to the teacher recruitment and retainment crisis, Whitty noted that New Labour seems unable to harness the commitment and creativity of teachers. 'There is a very long way to go before teachers feel that this government trusts and values their professionalism', he suggested, and whilst 'pay is a key factor in the teaching supply crisis, too many people are put off teaching because it is seen as a bureaucratic rather than a creative profession'.

In the closing plenary, Clyde Chitty, head of Education Studies at Goldsmith's College, London, argued that with regards to comprehensive education 'there is actual more selection within the system than there was three years ago' and that the more subtle ways in which pupils are selected are in many ways 'more obscene' than the 11+.

According to Chitty, the government's promotion of 'selection through specialisation' ignores all the research evidence. This shows that streaming, setting and banding does not enhance the academic performance of pupils. In reality, Chitty concluded, the most important factor in the academic success of pupils is 'the belief of the teacher in the method they are using.'