pp xii192 May 2008 216x138mm
Hardback
ISBN 978-0-7083-2149-2
The volume is based on the research of Dr. W. Gareth Evans into state secondary schools in Wales from 1896-2000. At the time of his death in 2000, he had covered the period from 1896 to 1970.
The book is an original, comprehensive study of the history of external examinations in the schools of Wales during the twentieth century, based on documents that have never previously been analysed. The aim of the book is to demonstrate how the present system of external examinations has developed in Wales over the last century and illustrates the inherent difficulty of making judgments about standards in schools, past and present.
The book is likely to make an important contribution to the understanding of the history of education in Wales. Moreover, the detail provided in the examiners’ reports shed light on the wider aspects of the politics and practice of secondary education, as an aspect of Welsh history increasingly seen as being central to Welsh social history generally.
Dr. W. Gareth Evans, was until his death in 2000, Reader in the Department of Education, University of Wales, Aberystwyth.
Dr. Robert Smith is Head of Research and Evaluation for the National Foundation for Educational Research in Wales.
Professor Gareth Elwyn Jones is Emeritus Professor of Education, University of Wales.