‘THE PAST NO LONGER CASTS LIGHT UPON THE FUTURE; OUR MINDS ADVANCE IN DARKNESS’¹: THE IMPACT AND LEGACY OF SIR ALEC CLEGG’S EDUCATIONAL IDEAS AND PRACTICES IN THE WEST RIDING OF YORKSHIRE (1945-1974)

Abstract

Research at York St John (RaY) is an institutional repository. It supports the principles of open access by making the research outputs of the University available in digital form.

‘Back to the future’: Thinking with Hannah Arendt (1906–1975) and Alec Clegg (1909–1986) on the promise of education

“…Clegg occupied the role of West Riding Chief Education Officer from this post-war era until 1974 when the West Riding of Yorkshire was disbanded under local government reorganisation (Wood et al, 2018;2021). At that time the West Riding education authority was 'the third largest education authority in the country -responsible for the education of over one and three quarter million, including by the early 1970s some 333,000 children in primary and secondary schools' (Newsam, 2008, p.109).…”

“…At that time the West Riding education authority was 'the third largest education authority in the country -responsible for the education of over one and three quarter million, including by the early 1970s some 333,000 children in primary and secondary schools' (Newsam, 2008, p.109). This era of Clegg's tenure in the West Riding was before the centralisation of education policy, a time where local power still prevailed (Wood et al, 2021), and an era when the local education authority was in its heyday (Brighouse, 2008).…”

“…Alec Clegg's actions in the leadership of the West Riding Education service, whilst not framed as such, can be seen as the construction of bulwarks and defences against totalitarianism through the encouragement of thoughtfulness, creativity and expressive arts and the approach to school reform. As Wood et al (2021) explain, Clegg was an advocate of ending selection for secondary schooling by ability (the divisive 11 plus). Arendt, approaching the question of selection for secondary education from her experience of the American context, was clear about the denial of fairness evident in the English 11 plus system.…”

“…Clegg believed that schools could lead rather than follow society (Clegg, 1980) by providing spaces and resources for association and activity, developing community leadership, and encouraging what Wood et al (2021) identify as vigour in communities. For Clegg, education is concerned with mind and spirit and he recognised that there is more to education than 'the facts of information'.…”