Primary Education at a Hinge of History [Paperback]

Primary education is currently at the centre of political attention. Reform is constantly under consideration, though the leading proponents of reform are often far removed from the classroom and the world of hard-pressed, demoralised primary teachers. Colin Richards rectifies this by communicating the big picture of primary school culture. He takes the world of the primary school since Plowden (1967) and traces perennial and emergent issues - the issues that need to be understood in order to make a difference to the future of primary education. Through constructive criticism of the national curriculum, OFSTED, ITT and teaching methodology the book will influence and improve the understanding of policy makers, headteachers, governors and teachers and students.What you need to know about primary education in order to develop and improve it. Richards traces the history of primary education from the 1960s to the present day and raises key questions about its future.'...a lucid, accessible and provoking examination of the past and present place of primary education which inevitably raises many more questions for professionals and policy makers.' - Educational Review1 Introduction: Primary EducationAt a Hinge of History? Part 1 Primary Education: Towards a Recent History 2 The Plowden Report: Reappraised 3 Primary Education 197480 4 The Primary School Revolution DemythologizedAn Appraisal of the HMI Primary Survey 5 Primary Education 198087: An Analysis of Changes and Trends 6 Primary Education: Issues in the Early 1990s Part 2 The Primary Curriculum 7 Changes to the English Primary Curriculum: 18621988 8 The Place of Subjects in the Primary Curriculum: A National Perspective 9 The Implementation of the National Curriculum in Primary Schools 198893 10 The Implementation of the National Curriculum in Small Primary Schools 198997 11 The Primary Curriculum 198899 Part 3 Primary Pedagogy 12 Teaching Methods: Some DilÃ]