Mrs m said something this morning that made me wonder where our 6+4+2 years of education in primary and secondary schools came from. And when.

(A footnote in advance – competition between Christian and secular schools has a very long history. The University of Bologne (founded 1088) was secular, the University of Paris (founded 1160) was Christian.)

The starting point is Frederick the Great of Prussia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prussian_education_system

Mass compulsory schooling aimed to “produce more soldiers and more obedient citizens”. There was a heavy emphasis on Nationalism. Teachers had a second role in silk production.

The basic foundations of a generic Prussian primary education system were laid out by Frederick the Great with his decree of 1763.

This decree required that all young citizens, both girls and boys, be educated by mainly municipality-funded schools from the age of 5 to 13 or 14. This was a tax-funded and generally compulsory primary education.

The Prussian system consisted of an eight-year course of primary education, called Volksschule. This was followed by further educational stages, the Realschule, and as the highest stage the gymnasium (state-funded secondary school), which served as a university-preparatory school.

The Prussian system had by the 1830s attained the following characteristics:

• Free primary schooling, at least for poor citizens
• Professional teachers trained in specialized colleges
• A basic salary for teachers and recognition of teaching as a profession
• An extended school year to better involve children of farmers
• Funding to build schools
• Supervision at national and classroom level to ensure quality instruction
• Curriculum inculcating a strong national identity, involvement of science and technology
• Secular instruction (but with religion as a topic included in the curriculum)

In 1830, France started to copy the Prussian system.
In 1880 France, new laws and the modern Republican school required all children under the age of 15 – boys and girls – to attend. Schools were free of charge and secular.

In England in 1840, the Grammar Schools Act expanded the Grammar School curriculum from classical studies to include science and literature.
In England in 1861 there was a school funding reform, payments to be based on the number of students passing an examination in reading, writing, and arithmetic.
By 1870, 2.3 million of the 4.3 million primary school aged children in England were in school.
By 1880 in England, compulsory schooling of children aged 5 to 10 became enforced.
The school leaving age in England was raised to 12 in 1899.
(You can see that even by this time, English education was still well behind the Prussian system started in 1763).
By 1914, 1000 secondary schools had opened in England, including 349 for girls.
The school leaving age in England was raised to 14 in 1918.
The modern split between primary education and secondary education at age 11 occurred in 1947. School leaving age raised to 15.
1973 England, school leaving age raised to 16.

mollwollfumble said:

Mrs m said something this morning that made me wonder where our 6+4+2 years of education in primary and secondary schools came from. And when.

except it’s 7 + 6 which isn’t the

SCIENCE said:

mollwollfumble said:

Mrs m said something this morning that made me wonder where our 6+4+2 years of education in primary and secondary schools came from. And when.

except it’s 7 + 6 which isn’t the

Isn’t it?

The Rev Dodgson said:

SCIENCE said:

mollwollfumble said:

Mrs m said something this morning that made me wonder where our 6+4+2 years of education in primary and secondary schools came from. And when.

except it’s 7 + 6 which isn’t the

Isn’t it?

If you count Kindergarten & Transition mine was 8+5 or 2+6+5

Tamb said:

The Rev Dodgson said:

SCIENCE said:

except it’s 7 + 6 which isn’t the

Isn’t it?

If you count Kindergarten & Transition mine was 8+5 or 2+6+5

and we did 6+ so yeah we guess the initial claim was rather strawlike

SCIENCE said:

Tamb said:

The Rev Dodgson said:

Isn’t it?

If you count Kindergarten & Transition mine was 8+5 or 2+6+5

and we did 6+ so yeah we guess the initial claim was rather strawlike

6th class was Primary Final. 3rd year was Intermediate Certificate & 5th year was Leaving or Matriculation Certificate.

mollwollfumble said:

Mrs m said something this morning that made me wonder where our 6+4+2 years of education in primary and secondary schools came from. And when.

(A footnote in advance – competition between Christian and secular schools has a very long history. The University of Bologne (founded 1088) was secular, the University of Paris (founded 1160) was Christian.)

The starting point is Frederick the Great of Prussia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prussian_education_system

Mass compulsory schooling aimed to “produce more soldiers and more obedient citizens”. There was a heavy emphasis on Nationalism. Teachers had a second role in silk production.

The basic foundations of a generic Prussian primary education system were laid out by Frederick the Great with his decree of 1763.

This decree required that all young citizens, both girls and boys, be educated by mainly municipality-funded schools from the age of 5 to 13 or 14. This was a tax-funded and generally compulsory primary education.

The Prussian system consisted of an eight-year course of primary education, called Volksschule. This was followed by further educational stages, the Realschule, and as the highest stage the gymnasium (state-funded secondary school), which served as a university-preparatory school.

The Prussian system had by the 1830s attained the following characteristics:

• Free primary schooling, at least for poor citizens
• Professional teachers trained in specialized colleges
• A basic salary for teachers and recognition of teaching as a profession
• An extended school year to better involve children of farmers
• Funding to build schools
• Supervision at national and classroom level to ensure quality instruction
• Curriculum inculcating a strong national identity, involvement of science and technology
• Secular instruction (but with religion as a topic included in the curriculum)

In 1830, France started to copy the Prussian system.
In 1880 France, new laws and the modern Republican school required all children under the age of 15 – boys and girls – to attend. Schools were free of charge and secular.

In England in 1840, the Grammar Schools Act expanded the Grammar School curriculum from classical studies to include science and literature.
In England in 1861 there was a school funding reform, payments to be based on the number of students passing an examination in reading, writing, and arithmetic.
By 1870, 2.3 million of the 4.3 million primary school aged children in England were in school.
By 1880 in England, compulsory schooling of children aged 5 to 10 became enforced.
The school leaving age in England was raised to 12 in 1899.
(You can see that even by this time, English education was still well behind the Prussian system started in 1763).
By 1914, 1000 secondary schools had opened in England, including 349 for girls.
The school leaving age in England was raised to 14 in 1918.
The modern split between primary education and secondary education at age 11 occurred in 1947. School leaving age raised to 15.
1973 England, school leaving age raised to 16.

Finland is different. It is illegal to run a private school. The thought behind that is every parent should want the school near them to be the very best and to be invested in it being the very best.

In my day:

There was no formal kindy or pre-primary. I went to an informal kindy group run by our church. The main aim was to get kids socialised so they’d know a few of their classmates for the beginning of Grade 1.

Primary school ran Grade 1 to Grade 7. High School for Years 8, 9 and 10. Senior High School for Years 11 and 12. Even though I attended the same school for both high schools, there were separate uniforms for Years 11 and 12, and separate common room area. A few of the other local high schools only ran from Year 8 to 10, anyone wanting to go on to Year 11 and 12 had to transfer to one of the bigger schools. After Year 10 and on to Year 11 there was a big exodus of students not going on, and an influx of new students from the surrounding local high schools.

party_pants said:

In my day:

There was no formal kindy or pre-primary. I went to an informal kindy group run by our church. The main aim was to get kids socialised so they’d know a few of their classmates for the beginning of Grade 1.

Primary school ran Grade 1 to Grade 7. High School for Years 8, 9 and 10. Senior High School for Years 11 and 12. Even though I attended the same school for both high schools, there were separate uniforms for Years 11 and 12, and separate common room area. A few of the other local high schools only ran from Year 8 to 10, anyone wanting to go on to Year 11 and 12 had to transfer to one of the bigger schools. After Year 10 and on to Year 11 there was a big exodus of students not going on, and an influx of new students from the surrounding local high schools.

I went to Kinder for one year (that must have been 1963, I think and it was definately formal kinder) and then Mum decided that wasn’t necessary, so none of my siblings went. In Victoria in the 1960s/70s Primary School was Prep for a year and then Grades 1-6. I think you had to have turned 5 to go to school into Prep and the year was calculated from June. So as a July baby, I was one of the eldest in my cohort all the way through school. High School in the 1970s was Forms 1-6. I started High School in 1972. I never knew anything about this Junior High and Senior High thing. So it was 7 years at Primary and 6 years at High. As far as I know, all High Schools taught the full 6 years.

I hadn’t realised that what is essentially the modern system was so recent. Basically our grandparents would have had a completely different experience.

Kothos said:

I hadn’t realised that what is essentially the modern system was so recent. Basically our grandparents would have had a completely different experience.

__

Then you are uneducated?