[PDF]A dectionary of Education

A DICTIONARY OF EDUCATION


About the Author


Derek Rowntree has a degree in Economics and a Certificate in Education.
He has taught in secondary school, college of technology, college of
education and university, and has been a visiting professor at Concordia
University, Montreal, and at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Edu-
cation, Toronto. He was for some time Chief Editor for a publishing
company in the field of programmed learning, and led a team of writers
working on industrial training topics and academic subjects. He has been
with the Open University since 1970, and as Reader in Educational
Development, he is chiefly concerned with the preparation and evaluation
of courses and multimedia learning materials.


He is the author of Learn How to Study, Educational Technology
Development, Assessing Students : How Shall W


Sor Students, and Statistics Without Tears.


i in Curriculum
Je Know Them?, Developing Courses


A DICTIONARY OF EDUCATION


a


“fs
Derek Rowntree


Reader in Educational Development
The Open University


Harper & Row, Publishers


London
Cambridge San Francisco
Hagerstown Mexico City
Philadelphia Sao Paulo


New York Sydney


Copyright © 1981 Derek Rowntree
ll rights reserved


First published 1981
Harper & Row Ltd
28 Tavistock Street
London WC2E 7PN


No part of this book may
manner whatsoever witho


case of brief quotations e
reviews.


be used or reproduced in any
ut written permission except in the
mbodied in critical articles and


British Library Catalo
Rowntree, Derek


dictionary of education. —


guing in Publication Data


(Harper reference)


l. Education — Dictionaries
I. Title
370'.3 LBI5


ISBN 0-06-318157-6


Typeset by Input Typesettin


g Ltd, London SW19 8DR
Printed and b


ound by The Pitman Press, Bath


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INTRODUCTION


Like every profession, education has its own diction, its own
special language consisting both of terms peculiar to itself and of
everyday terms used in peculiar ways. Even people within the
profession may be uneasy about terms used by Specialists in
branches other than their own; and the ‘interested layman’ can be
completely flummoxed. This dictionary is meant to help anyone
who needs to make sense of the diction of education — students
and teachers, of course, but also administrators, employers and
parents.

The book grew out of the various working glossaries I have
compiled for my own benefit in studying many areas of education
over the last twenty years or so. I was persuaded to fill these out
so as to make a reasonably comprehensive dictionary: though I
little appreciated then just how much educational diction I had
yet to grapple with. There were times when I recalled some words
from Robinson Crusoe: ‘Now I saw, though too late, the Folly of
beginning a Work before we count the Cost, and before we judge
rightly of our Strength to go through with it’! Fortunately, the
work took on an interest of its own that made the cost worthwhile;
but I had cause to be grateful to a number of colleagues from two
continents whose assiduous commenting and advising on a succes-
sion of drafts constantly renewed my Strength to complete the
project.


Contents


Deciding which terms to include in such a dictionary as this is
always difficult. In general, I have concentrated on terms an


A Dictionary of Education


English-speaking person might be puzzled by in educational books
or newspaper and journal articles, or in spoken discussions. Of
course, readers on opposite sides of the A

those in Australasia) are likely to be puzzled by
A UK reader is likel

‘lollipop lady/man’ or ‘rising fives’ (
a US or Australian reader); while terms like ‘pad 7
bond’ might seem similarly redundant to the US reader but mean
nothing to a reader in the UK.

In addition, however
ought to be puzzled by, t
already familiar with the
they have special meani
might be ‘game’, ‘objectives’ and
cases, the meaning may be the opp
sumes. Thus, an American read
assume ‘grammar school’


will not, because he is
words and is unaware that
ric of education, Examples
‘reinforcement’. In extreme
osite of what the reader as-
er of a British


m as everyday
ngs in the rheto


annually,


I have included refer
theorists and practitio
many authors feel fr


Treatment


Deciding how much, and what kind of thing to Say about each
vi


Introduction


has it seemed possible, let alone useful, to dispose of an idea in
two or three words or even in a single sentence. On the other
hand, I have had to restrain myself, on occasion, from producing
brief essays that would be more appropriate to an encyclopedia.

In general, I have tried to imagine the contexts in which readers
might have encountered the term whose meaning they are now
querying. I have tried to say enough to help them survive in such
contexts without Suggesting that they will never need to know
more about the topic. For example, a few lines can give a fair idea
as to what ‘behaviourism’ or ‘illuminative evaluation’ are about;
but volumes have been written on such topics and my few lines
can scarcely hope even to hint at the complexity and diversity of
viewpoints within them. Often, no doubt, I will have told some
readers more, and others less, than they would wish to know about
a topic.

When I have felt that a concept is best understood by compar-
ison or contrast with another concept, I have referred the reader
to that other concept also.


item is the other major difficulty in compiling a dictionary, Rarely


Presentation


The list of items runs in alphabetical order throughout. (That is,
I have not grouped entries under common headings as is some-
times done.) When a term in the text is printed in sMALL CAPITALS
then that term has an explanation of its own at the appropriate
alphabetic point in the dictionary.

To help the reader rapidly locate a place in the alphabetic
listing, I have followed the tradition of heading each page with
the first term, if it is a left-hand page, or the last term, if a right-
hand page.

I use the abbreviations ‘US’ and ‘UK’ (for United States and
United Kingdom) to indicate that a term applies on one side of
the Atlantic rather than on the other. However, US does not mean
that the term necessarily applies throughout the United States
(though it may well apply in Canada also). Similarly with UK
terms, since education in Scotland is organised separate
that in England and Wales; so certain terms, as | make
the text, are peculiar to one system or the other,

As for the gender of my pronouns, I have, for want ofan


ly from
clear in


A we el
alternative, reluctantly bowed to the tradition of allowing the ont
to embrace the female. That is, ‘he’ means ‘he or she’, ‘his? male

f ,
‘his or hers’, and so on. Means


vii


A Dictionary of Education


Using the Dictionary


For most purposes, readers will no doubt follow the basic rule —
if in doubt, look it up. This may or may
among adjacent items, a practice I wo
encourage. A few hardy souls may even set themselves the task of
scanning the entries right through from A to Z. As one who has
had to do this (several times) I can testify that it has no lasting
ill-effects, if spaced over a reasonable period of time. It certainly
leaves one with a fair picture of what is included and what is not.
It might also prove useful to Students nearing the end of a pro-


gramme of educational studies (eg, teacher-training) who want to
refresh their understa


nding of ideas they have (or should have)
encountered earlier,


not lead on to browsing
uld always be happy to


S you would like to see in the next edition.)


`


en while


viii


A


AB (US) The pvecree of Bachelor of Arts. Equivalent to BA in
the UK.

ABD Sec ALL BUT DISSERTATION,

ability Strictly speaking, a person’s ability is his present capacity
to perform certain physical or mental operations. However, it is

A ;

not uncommon to find the term being used for what might better
be termed POTENTIAL ABILITY.


ability groups Sets of learners believed to be of common ability
who are taught together (and differently from learners of sup-
posedly greater or lesser ability) in the belief that this makes for
casier teaching and®learning. Ability grouping has in the past
been used to separate children into different levels of school
(SECONDARY MODERN, TECHNICAL and GRAMMAR) on the basis of
a test of general ability. Similarly, within schools, it often still
operates to sort children into streams (A, B, C, etc) or TRACKS
(US), It may even cut across streams (or across MIXED ABILITY
classes) so as to bring together, for teaching purposes, sets of
children who are at much the same level of ability in a particular
subject like mathematics or French. (See serine). But even
where children are in a mixed ability class, all working in the
same room (eg in PRIMARY SCHOOL), the teacher may divide them
into different ability groups and give them different teachin
(See also BANDING). e


abitur The examinations-based school-leaving certificate o
s A n
which depends entry to West German HIGHER EDUCATION., Sim
N. E


ilar to UK apvancep LEVEL GCE and French Baccarat REÁ
SALAUREÁT,


absenteeism Sce TRUANCY.


ABSOLUTE STANDARDS


absolute standards Judgement of th


iteri “what
by comparison with some generally-acceptable criterion of wha
i i i Age g ra-
cee to be, say, a first-class chemist or a third-class ge ogi 3
1 7 5 < ped ak
pher, rather than by comparison with how well other studet

>
in his group perform.


abstract


€ quality ofa student's work


A written summary, eg of
abstracting journal T
that specialises in listi
studies, whether or


a LEARNED ARTICLE.
he name ten


ds to be used of any journal
ng LE


ARNED ARTICLES and other academic
publishes abstracts


as well as bricf
bject matter, and pl


aces of publication.
5 b À
s of mentally extracting the common
a variety of similar but different cases
i er sugar,
poe concept eg the quality of ‘sweetness from suga


oncept so formed, ic ‘sweetness’.


ly ivities, especially
cerning a DISCIPLINE or SUBJECT, not necessarily at
higher education level,
academic board SCOREEGE
with perhaps some students)
irs and to nominate members
2 Generally, a senior
academic dress The mediaevally-
worn by GRADUATES of a university
intended to denote the Nature of
Status,


eg Sovernmental) direction. Simi-
; individual teachers to teach and re-
search without


rch (even, or especially, from their
institution) ee from victimisation on account of their
Political views.


academic-


negotiations,


academic standar:
quired of stu
especially the


2


ds
dents in
award


The performance
return for a s
ofa particular c


or attainment level re-
Pecific level of recognition,
REDENTIAL like an ADVANCED


ACCREDITATION


LEVEL ‘pass’ or a second class DEGREE. If more degrees are
awarded one year than another it may be because more people
have reached the required standard or because a lower standard
has been accepted. It is always difficult to tell whether standards
are changing, especially when the content of a course changes
with the years.


academic year The period between one intake of students and
the next in schools, colleges and universities. North of the equator
it normally begins in the autumn, south of the equator it more
or less coincides with the calendar year. It is normally divided
into three TERMS or two SEMESTERS and concludes with a long
vacation.


academy l A PRIVATE HIGH or SECONDARY SCHOOL. 2 In Scotland
and Canada can be a private or a MAINTAINED SCHOOL. 3 Special-
ist type of TERTIARY EDUCATION establishment, such as a MILITARY
ACADEMY. 4 An institution for the advancement of art, music,
literature, or science, eg Royal Academy. 5 The scHoo of philo-
sophy established by PLato and named after the grove in which
he taught. 6 (US) One of the many private schools or colleges
established in the 18th and 19th centuries especially in Massa-
chusetts and New York State. The first opened in Philadelphia,
following a proposal by Benjamin Franklin in 1751 and event-
ually became the University of Philadelphia. In general, they
provided a wider and more practical curriculum and catered for
a wider range of pupil ability than did the earlier LATIN (GRAM-
MAR) SCHOOLS and they opened educational opportunities to girls.
(Sometimes known as TUITION ACADEMIES because they were fi-
nanced entirely from tuition fees.)


accelerated course/programme/studies Means of enabling
students of outstanding ability to progress faster and qualify
earlicr than less talented colleagues, eg by omitting one year of
a course, or taking an examination earlier. (See ADVANCED PLACE-
ADVANCED STANDING.)


MEN’
accommodation Term used by Pracer for the process whereby

a learner absorbs a new concept but, in doing so, must alter his

existing conceptual structure. (Contrast with ASSIMILATION.)


accountability The watchword used by a movement to persuade
administrators and academics in educational institutions (espe-
cially in the US) to justify their policies, procedures and expen-
ditures in terms of the performance of their students and other
measurable criteria.


accreditation Recognition and approval of the ACADEMIC STAN-


3


ACCULTURATION


DARDs of an educational institution by some extern


al, impartial
body of high public esteem.


acculturation The acquisition, Conscious or unconscious, of the
VALUES and customs of the social group into which
moved, eg children entering
SOCIALISATION. )


a person has
secondary school. (See


ACE Sce ADVISORY CENTRE FOR Epuc


achievement quotient (AQ) A measure of a child’s actual
ATTAINMENT relative to his supposed potential ability. For ex-
ample, we may express his READING AGE as a percentage of his


MENTAL AGE (or of his CHRONOLOGICAL AGE) to indicate whether
he is reading more or less fluently than the average child of that
age.


ATION,


achievement test See ATTAINMENT TEST.


action research The
tional) situation wit
Store of scientific kn
ing it to some fut
improvement of


critical study of a particular (eg educa-
h the purpose not simply of adding to the
owledge (perhaps with the intention of apply-
but of leading to the practical
the situation being studied. May be called


; in the process
, and solve prob-


lems, and generally co by using


It;


€ stock of words one uses in one’s own


activity learning/methods/teaching Learning that requires
the learner to do somethi


teacher or PACKAGED teaching materials. He may,
be performing an experi


a PROJECT. (See also ac


for example,
carrying out


Flexible typ
nce of teachin


accuracy so that, if he


any mistakes, it presents him with easier


ADULT EDUCATION


tasks, or gives him more time to respond, or offers him highly

specific remedial teaching. (See also BRANCHING sip
COMPUTER-ASSISTED INSTRUCTION and SKIP-BRANCHING PRO-
GRAMME.)

adjunctive programme A sclf-testing/teaching approach pi-
oneered by US psychologist, Sidney Pressey, and ernbodyi
learning materials whose distinguishing feature is a set of Pa
tions presented to the learner at the end of a text and desi ned
to establish the extent to which he has learned and ais he
has answered incorrectly, to direct him back to a particular oint
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