The impact of educational reform on the Wolverhampton School of Art and Design

• Main Author: Cooksey, Helena Jane
• Published: University of Wolverhampton 2006
• Subjects: 379.15
• Online Access: http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.436036

The thesis examines the impact of education reform on the Wolverhampton School of Art. Investigations cover the school from the early 1850's to the mid 1950's in four stages of its development: the Government School of Practical Art for Wolverhampton and South Staffordshire, the Municipal School of Art, the Municipal School of Art and Crafts and the early years of the Wolverhampton College of Art. Initial focus is on the School and its relationship with the Science and Art Department. Further issues regarding the purpose and scope of art education are then discussed to locate the School within wider frameworks. An examination of the Technical Instruction Acts and the role of Technical Instruction Committees, offer an insight into how educational mechanisms operated at local level. The creation of a municipal identity galvanised via architectural expression in local buildings reveals efforts to aid art education. The thesis further examines events leading up to the amalgamation of the Science and Art Department into the Board of Education in 1899, and the introduction of the 1902 Education Act. Changes in art and design education are followed through the first two decades of the 20° century, including an assimilation of Arts and Crafts practices into the art school curriculum. An additional focus is placed on the National Competition and the overhaul of the art education examination system in 1913. Finally, changes in art examinations and assessment procedures during the 1940's and 1950's are evaluated alongside other themes that effected art education in Wolverhampton.