Chinese Whispers

Abstract

Starting from the premise that much of the Plowden Report was misrepresented and, at times, misinterpreted, this paper briefly charts some of the actual changes personally observed over the last twenty years or so. It suggests that Plowden's inspirational qualities should not be overlooked, whilst stressing that actuality consists of continued whole‐class teaching together with the conventional addressing of ‘basic’ subjects. The ‘consistent conservatism of our schools’ is referred to within the context of comment that, rather than having failed, unfortunately Plowden was not sufficiently followed or adhered to. The paper reminds how much there is of real value in the Plowden Report, how much good, wide‐ranging advice is contained therein, and how much of its criticism of the education service would be apposite today. Current DES preoccupations with curriculum ‘delivery’ are discussed in the light of practical constraints and of recent findings from research; and, whilst acknowledging the weaknesses inherent in certain suggested styles of classroom organisation (associated with Plowden), the paper concludes with a balance sheet on present primary schooling. The suggestion is that primary practice may be considerably healthier than is normally represented despite a general paucity of funding and scarcity of resources.