Schooling’s many changes

Education is considered a right in modern society, one that prepares students for the workforce, but it hasn’t always been so.

The South Canterbury Museum’s exhibition, ‘‘The Three Rs’’, explores how we got to this point over the last 150 years. For new settlers to the district, in the 1860s and early 1870s education was a costly privilege.

Even when the 1877 Education Act was introduced, along with compulsory attendance, the right to an education was still limited to those of primary age (7 to 12).

Compulsory education also meant something a little different from what we might expect today too – children had to actually be at school on half of the days the school was open.

These ‘‘compulsions’’ were eroded further, especially in rural areas where children were often required to help with farm work and harvests.

Secondary education too remained something of the preserve of those of some financial means until the start of the 20th century. The secretary of education, George Hogben (caricatured at left), raised the leaving age to 14 in 1901. Hogben worked hard, often in the face of opposition, to reform other areas of the education system too. Besides making secondary schooling free in 1903, he also worked to improve regulation and conditions for teachers. Another major change was for the curriculum to focus on more practical instruction and manual classes.

New classes in existing schools developed, and new technical high schools opened offering practical education in subjects like woodworking, plumbing, cookery, typing and agriculture.

Compulsory attendance remained static for several decades, but in 1944 it was raised again to 15. In 1964 compulsory schooling from six was introduced and, finally, in 1989 the most recent change was made – the school leaving age was raised to 16.

■ Visit the South Canterbury Museum this weekend to explore more of our education history in the exhibition ‘‘The Three Rs’’.