"Against Fascism, War and Economies": The Communist Party of Great Britain's Schoolteachers during the Popular Front, 1935-1939

Autor/in	Kavanagh, Matthew
Titel	"Against Fascism, War and Economies": The Communist Party of Great Britain's Schoolteachers during the Popular Front, 1935-1939
Quelle	In: History of Education, 43 (2014) 2, S.208-231 (24 Seiten)Infoseite zur Zeitschrift PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	0046-760X
DOI	10.1080/0046760X.2013.874502
Schlagwörter	Foreign Countries; Social Systems; Politics; Teachers; Educational History; Authoritarianism; Politics of Education; Group Unity; War; Educational Change; Unions; Germany; Spain; United Kingdom (England); United Kingdom (Great Britain); United Kingdom (Wales); USSR + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Ausland; Social system; Soziales System; Politik; Lehrer; Lehrerin; Lehrende; History of education; Bildungsgeschichte; Autoritarismus; Educational policy; Bildungspolitik; Gruppenidentität; Krieg; Bildungsreform; Deutschland; Spanien
Abstract	The Popular Front line made the Communist Party of Great Britain (CPGB) a more hospitable place for "brain workers." The emphasis the line placed on mass ideological and cultural struggle against fascism meant that they became important allies to be won for the working class. As the principal transmitters of ideology and culture to the masses, schoolteachers could be perceived as being at the forefront of the anti-fascist effort, just as important as the academics, artists, writers and musicians more traditionally associated with the pull of British communism in this period. But communist schoolteachers on the whole avoided the exploration of socialist ideas in their professional practice. Rather, their primary focus was on achieving the greatest possible unity against fascism in their profession. This stance largely excluded critical discussion of the theory or practice of the education of children under capitalism, such as combating imperialist bias in textbooks; ending corporal punishment; advocating secular education; promoting workers' control of schools and ameliorating the capitalistic nature of competitive examinations, all of which had been debated by communist teachers at various points during the 1920s. But as well as the tactical considerations of the Popular Front line, this avoidance of a qualitative critique of British schooling was encouraged by Soviet educational conservatism, and often overlooked continuities between the Popular Front line and its predecessor, "Class Against Class." Drawing on the personal papers of British communist schoolteachers, contemporary newspapers and periodicals, and policy statements of the CPGB in the period, this article seeks to shed light upon the communist contribution to the teacher politics of the labour movement in England and Wales during the late 1930s, an input hitherto unexplored in detail. (As Provided).
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Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2017/4/10