Higher Technological Education in England and Wales between 1955 and 1966: Compulsory Liberal Studies

John Heywood

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Conference: 2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition
Location: Vancouver, BC
Publication Date: June 26, 2011
Start Date: June 26, 2011
End Date: June 29, 2011
ISSN: 2153-5965
Conference Session: Liberal Education Revisited: Five Historical Perspectives
Tagged Division: Liberal Education/Engineering & Society
Page Count: 19
Page Numbers: 22.776.1 - 22.776.19
DOI: 10.18260/1-2--18057
Permanent URL: https://peer.asee.org/18057
Download Count: 321

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John Heywood Trinity College, Dublin

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Professorial Fellow Emeritus of Trinity College Dublin formerly Professor and Director of Teacher Education. During the period of the paper was a lecturer in radio communication at Norwood Technical College, Senior Research Fellow in Higher Technological Education at Birmingham College of Advanced Technology, and Leverhulme Senior Research Fellow at the University of Lancaster respectively. he has an M.Sc. in Engineering Education from the University of Dublin

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Abstract

Higher Technological Education in England and Wales 1955 –1966. Compulsory Liberal Studies.Compulsory liberal studies are not usually associated with engineering education in theUK. Yet, between 1955 and 1966 students in colleges in the public sector in England andWales pursuing higher technological programmes were required to undertake three orfour hours per week liberal studies throughout their four year courses. The purpose of thispaper is to examine problems and practice in the implementation of liberal studies on thebasis of investigations carried out at the time including those of the author. It is also toconsider their relevance, if any, to recent demands for a shift in the emphasis ofengineering education from its technical focus to a broader view of what engineering isand what engineers need, as for example in Rosalind Williams critique. A caveat isentered to the effect that these programmes were the outcome of a particular culturalhistory at a particular time and may not necessarily be transferable across cultures. It maybe argued that exclusion of the compulsory dictamen for liberal studies from theeducation of engineers in universities has its origins in the British social class system.An account is given of the significance of the period (1955 – 1966) in the history ofBritish technological education. A review of the debates that accompanied theintroduction of liberal studies and research undertaken at the time is presented. There wasmuch discussion about what was meant by liberal studies and much of what happened inthe colleges depended on how they (individually) interpreted the term. At one end of thespectrum they were considered to be an extension general education, while at the otherend, they were considered to be liberal education as traditionally defined. A distinctionwas made between subjects likely to be useful to the engineer (tool) and those distantfrom engineering (fringe). In this context Rosalind Williams proposals the social scienceswould be tool subjects. In her work there is no discussion of liberal education per se.Irrespective of intention they were seen as a means of raising the status of the Colleges ofAdvanced Technology. There was also a debate about who should teach them and wherethey should be taught. As with any innovation of this kind not only are student attitudesto them important but so are those of the faculty who teach mainstream subjects. Takingtogether the researches would suggest that liberal studies were somewhat more successfulthan they might have been.

Citation
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Heywood, J. (2011, June), Higher Technological Education in England and Wales between 1955 and 1966: Compulsory Liberal Studies Paper presented at 2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Vancouver, BC. 10.18260/1-2--18057

TY  - CPAPER
AB  -    Higher Technological Education in England and Wales 1955 –1966.                     Compulsory Liberal Studies.Compulsory liberal studies are not usually associated with engineering education in theUK. Yet, between 1955 and 1966 students in colleges in the public sector in England andWales pursuing higher technological programmes were required to undertake three orfour hours per week liberal studies throughout their four year courses. The purpose of thispaper is to examine problems and practice in the implementation of liberal studies on thebasis of investigations carried out at the time including those of the author. It is also toconsider their relevance, if any, to recent demands for a shift in the emphasis ofengineering education from its technical focus to a broader view of what engineering isand what engineers need, as for example in Rosalind Williams critique. A caveat isentered to the effect that these programmes were the outcome of a particular culturalhistory at a particular time and may not necessarily be transferable across cultures. It maybe argued that exclusion of the compulsory dictamen for liberal studies from theeducation of engineers in universities has its origins in the British social class system.An account is given of the significance of the period (1955 – 1966) in the history ofBritish technological education. A review of the debates that accompanied theintroduction of liberal studies and research undertaken at the time is presented. There wasmuch discussion about what was meant by liberal studies and much of what happened inthe colleges depended on how they (individually) interpreted the term. At one end of thespectrum they were considered to be an extension general education, while at the otherend, they were considered to be liberal education as traditionally defined. A distinctionwas made between subjects likely to be useful to the engineer (tool) and those distantfrom engineering (fringe). In this context Rosalind Williams proposals the social scienceswould be tool subjects. In her work there is no discussion of liberal education per se.Irrespective of intention they were seen as a means of raising the status of the Colleges ofAdvanced Technology. There was also a debate about who should teach them and wherethey should be taught. As with any innovation of this kind not only are student attitudesto them important but so are those of the faculty who teach mainstream subjects. Takingtogether the researches would suggest that liberal studies were somewhat more successfulthan they might have been.
AU  - John Heywood
CY  - Vancouver, BC
DA  - 2011/06/26
PB  - ASEE Conferences
TI  - Higher Technological Education in England and Wales between 1955 and 1966: Compulsory Liberal Studies
UR  - https://peer.asee.org/18057
DO  - 10.18260/1-2--18057
ER  -