Available online
Description
This programme considers the impact of finance on educational attainment. It compares Gateshead and Coventry. Coventry has above average attainment and above average resources allocated to educatio...n. gateshead is used in the programme to illustrate the difficulty of using resource allocation as a variable that is independent of cultural, employment and historical factors.
This programme considers the impact of finance on educational attainment. It compares Gateshead and Coventry. Coventry has above average attainment and above average resources allocated to educatio...n. gateshead is used in the programme to illustrate the difficulty of using resource allocation as a variable that is independent of cultural, employment and historical factors.
| Module code and title: | ED322, Economics and education policy |
|---|---|
| Item code: | ED322; 06 |
| First transmission date: | 1977 |
| Published: | 1977 |
| Rights Statement: | |
| Restrictions on use: | |
| Duration: | 00:24:27 |
| + Show more... | |
| Producer: | Francis Sealey |
| Contributors: | Ken Harrop; Vera Morris; Bill Williamson |
| Publisher: | BBC Open University |
| Keyword(s): | Clifford Smith; Colin Gray; David Kershaw; Educational attainment; Local authority; M.A. Sproat; Philip Saul; Resources; Robert Aitken; Tom Scrivener |
| Footage description: | The programme opens with shots of children playing in a Gateshead primary school. Over shots of a delapidated area of Gateshead, ken Harrap of the North East Area Study argues that Gateshead is a working class town. Vera Morris (Open University) introduces Bill Williamson of Durham University. Williamson argues that educational attainment is related to provision of resources. Morris explains that the programme will compare educational attainment in Gateshead and Coventry. Williamson briefly states that Coventry has done better because more children have stayed on at school. In interview Robert Aitken, Director of Education in Coventry, lists the criteria he uses for the allocation of resources within the LEA. Tom Scrivener, head of Coventry's Elmbank Teachers Centre, explains the importance of such centres. Aitken gives a fairly broad definition of the term 'resources'. Williamson argues that the political motivation of a local authority is important. Aitken maintains that the local authority in Coventry is fairly radical. David Kershaw, a Coventry teacher, provides a variety of criteria for assessing whether resources are being used effectively. Robert Aitken maintains that such measurement is difficult. Morris makes a brief comment about Gateshead over a shot of the town port. Williamson compares Gateshead's educational performance with that of Coventry. Gateshead's Director of Education, Margaret Sproat argues that not everyone wishes to stay on at school. Two Gateshead sixthformers, Philip Saul and Julie Snee, explain why many people leave school at 16. Over shots of slum housing, Williamson argues that educational attainment is more difficult in an impoverished local authority. Headmaster Colin Gray describes the problems facing Gateshead Council. From one of the town's areas of new housing development, Councillor Collins explains why housing is seen as the priority for resource allocation. Williamson and Morris comment on these remarks, and Margaret Sproat specifically mentions the need to improve primary schools. Clifford Smith, headmaster of a Gateshead primary school, describes the problem of vandalism over shots of his school. Over shots of children playing tennis, Morris states that there are other ways of measuring attainment than by staying on at school. Colin Gray describes his school's achievements. Williamson and Sproat give opinions on the importance of staying on at school. Over shots of new factories in Gateshead, Harrop and Williamson describe the extent of unemployment in the area. The programme ends with shots of a number of schools, over which Gray, Smith and Williamson make concluding remarks about the role of education in helping the disadvantaged. |
| Master spool number: | 6HT/72564 |
| Production number: | 00525_6143 |
| Videofinder number: | 4000 |
| Available to public: | no |
