'The end of the beginning'? : an examination of 'The New Education' and the New Education Fellowship (NEF) in New Zealand in the Interwar Period (1919-1938) with particular reference to the NEF Conference 1937 : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand
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Date
2013
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Massey University
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Abstract
The primary focus of this thesis was the rise of ‘the new education’ in New Zealand in the interwar years with particular reference to the New Education Fellowship (NEF) and the NEF Conference held in New Zealand in 1937. It was found that there
was a greater depth of progressive policy and practice across the country than many had previously thought. Moreover, the NEF, as the largest global progressive organisation at the time, influenced educators in New Zealand in both the 1920s and
1930s through its progressive activities and its local groups. By 1937, the NEF Conference was the culmination of these progressive endeavours and the influence of the NEF. As such, the new education ideas of the Conference fell not on uninformed educators but on fertile ground. The Conference, then, served to legitimate the previous progressive policy directions, new education experiments, and the activities of progressive organisations. It also attracted a large amount of publicity and reached out to the general public throughout the country. As a consequence, the Conference served to draw to a close the first phase of the somewhat piece-meal adoption of progressive education during the interwar years and signalled the beginning of its nation-wide consolidation into the mainstream education system. In addition, the event re-energised Peter Fraser (the Minister of Education), ensured the appointment of Dr C E Beeby to the Department of Education in 1938, inspired the now famous Fraser-Beeby 1939 policy statement, and provided the educational and political platform for the Government to confidently continue with its progressive reforms in the late 1930s and 1940s, with Dr Beeby at the helm. In sum, the Conference was ‘the end of the beginning’ for new education in New Zealand.
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Keywords
New Education Fellowship, New Education Fellowship. Conference (1937 : Wellington, N.Z.), Education, New Zealand, Congresses, History