The New Education Act
| DOI | 10.1177/026455053800201202 |
| Date | 01 April 1938 |
| Author | J.J. Mallon |
| Published date | 01 April 1938 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
I79
THE
NEW
EDUCATION
ACT
WHAT
IS
BENEFICIENT
EMPLOYMENT ?
BY
J.
J.
MALLON,
LL.D.,
J.P.
Summary
of
an
Address
to
Joint
Meeting
of
Probation
Officers
and
Members
of
the
British
Federation
of
Social
Workers
WHEN
I
think
about
our
new
Education
Act
I
expenen~ce
exasperation.
It
seems
to
me
that
the
Act
will
be
difficult
to
administer
and
if
we
are
not
careful
it
may
prove
to
be
a
com-
plete
failure.
Sidney
Webb
described
long
ago
the
&dquo;
time
lag &dquo;
between
desire
for
reform
and
carry-
ing
preform into
practice.
After
a
reform
has
been
found
to
be
necessary
thirty
years
pass
without
inci-
dent ;
at
last
comes
an
Act
of
Parliament.
Thirty
years
ago
proposal
were
made
for
raising
the
school
leaving
age,
now
comes
legislation
to
implement
these
proposals.
My
fear
is
that
in
this
case
the
legislation
will
be
a
sham.
I
am
reminded
of
the
lines : &dquo;
Shake
it
and
shatter
it
as
you
will,
the
spirit
of
England
none
can
kill.&dquo;
I
do
not
wish
to
kill
the
spirit
of
IEngland
but
I
should
like
to
stick
a
pin
in
it.
When
I
think
of
all
that
might
t
have
been
done
during
the
last
thirty
years,
the
waste
of
health,
the
destruction
of
beauty,
the
blunt-
ing
of
vigour
I
feel
desperate
and
not
at
all
com-
placent
about
t~he &dquo;
spirit
of
England.&dquo;
In
Sidney
Webb’s
theory
of
the &dquo;
time
lag,&dquo;
we
are
supposed
after
thirty
years
to
get
an
effective
measure
through
Parliament,
but
’here
after
thirty
years
we
are
only
mocked.
At
the
outset,
notice
that
the
Education
Autho-
rities
are
expected
to
build
for
a
school
population
which
it
must
be
very
difficult
for
them
to
estimate.
The
Act
places
upon
young
persons
a
legal
obliga-
tion
to
receive
education
except
in
two
special
groups
of
cases:
(a)
When
an
employer
offers
beneficial
employment
and
(b)
were
a
child
because
of
ex-
ceptional
circumstances
is
kept
at
home.
(a)
An
employment
certificate
is
to
be
issued
to
intending
employers
if
the
issuing
authority
is
satis-
fied
after
consideration
of
the
cJhild’s
health
that
the
employment
will
be
beneficial
to
the
child.
Ex-
cept
in
very
special
cases
certificates will
not
be
issued
during
the
course
of
school
terms.
But
what
employment
can
be
beneficial
if
it
is
an
alternative
to
education ?
The
school
to-day
is
something
more
than
a
school.
It
is,
for
example,
a
place
where
health
is
developed
and
all
the
inter-
ests of
the
child
are
studied.
From
these
surround-
ings
the
chid
departs
at
14
years
and
enters
a
totally
different
environment,
were
there
is
turmoil
and
stress
and
temptation.
Opportunities
for
earn-
ing
money
by
employment.
at
a
tender
age
can
be
no
compensation
for
this
transformation.
The
elaboration
in
the
Act
of
the
word
&dquo;
bene-
ficial
&dquo;
does
something
to
dispel
the
absurdity
of
the
position.
In
this
direction
4
points
are
made
in
the
Act.
The
local
authority
responsible
for
administering
the
Act
must
have
regard
for
( i )
the
nature
and
the
expected
duration
of
the
proposed
employment..
(2)
Opportunities
for
further
education.
(3)
Recreation.
{4)
Possibility
of
training
for
future
career.
(b)
The
Home.
A
child
over
14
years
of
age
may
be
withdrawn
if
the
authority
is
satisfied
that
&dquo;
by
reason
of
circumstances
arising
in
¡the
home,&dquo;
&dquo; ex-
ceptional
hardship &dquo;
will
be
caused.
My
fear
is
that
under
this
heading
withdrawal
will
be
con-
trolled
by
considerations
of
hardship
in
the
home.
In
this
direction
girls
rather
than
boys
will
suffer,
because
girls
more
than
boys
will
be
required
for
domestic
duties.
Is
not
an
Education
Act
which
is
willing
to
regard
employment
as
more
beneficial
than
education
de-
plorable ?
A
genuine
Education
Act
would
enable
us
to
say
to
the
child
&dquo;
You
health
will
be
safe-
guarded,
your
spirit
stimulated,
all
your
potentiali-
ties
enhanced;
but
this
Act
makes
us
add
&dquo;
Only
if
you
can
lodge
employment.&dquo;
.
Our
fears
that
the
Act
will in
practice
be
a
sham
are
not
lessened
when
we
read
the
circular
issued
by
the
Board
of
Education
to
Local
Education
Com-
mittees.
The
circular
clearly
contemplates
that
the
majority
of
dhildren
will
seek
to
leave
school
on
contemplating
their
fourteenth
year.
It
proposes
that
before
the
completion
of
that
year
all
children
shall
be
given
vocational
advice
and
it
makes
pro-
vision
at
that
stage
for
the
registration
at
the
Em-
ployment
Exchange
of
all
the
children
who
seek
em-
ployment.
Well
may
the
Trades
Union
Congress
’Education
Committee
comment
on
this
circular
that
&dquo;
it
appears
to
be
more
concerned
with
the
granting
of
exemptions
than
with
the
retention
of
children
at
school.&dquo;
Let
us
however
not
despair
too
soon.
Let
us
en-
deavour
to
see
whether
by
good
and
strict
adminis-
tration
we
may
hope
for
something
from
this
dips-
appointing
Act.
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