Introduction.

Part I.

Reference to a preliminary report to the Minister of Education	3
Good work done by the Education Department	3
Want of organization	3
Over centralization	4
School census	4
Registration	4
Prosecutions now ordered by the department should be ordered by the school board	5
No recognised test of private education	5
No child must be withdrawn from inspection	6
The license of changing schools must be abridged	6
Proposed change in the method of calculating attendances	7
The legal minimum of school attendances has been fixed too low	8
Economy of increased school attendances	8
"Gutter children"	9
Existing ragged schools	9
Industrial schools	10
Extra subjects	10
Endowment of high schools	11
Scholarships tenable at the University or at affiliated colleges	11
Practical uses of university education	12
Proper model for a Colonial University	13
Some advantages of a faculty of Practical Science	13
Cheapest way of effecting the change	14
Payment and promotion of teacher	15
Actual system	16
Proposed central Training College	16
Promotion	17
Objection to the present system of teaching extras	17
Range of a teacher's work should be increased	18
Present system of payment by results	19
Manipulation of classes	19
Proposed system	20
Retiring pensions	21
Office and work of a school inspector	21
Proposed inspectoral staff	21
Payment of inspectors	22
More thorough general supervision of the inspectors required	22
Boards of advice should be allowed to expend small sums on repairs	23
Boards of advice should have the power of refusing to receive a disgraced teacher	24
Greater responsibility of boards of advice under the proposed system	24
Prizes	25
School buildings	25
Proper site for a school	26
Position of the inspector-general	27
Appointment of a second examiner	27
The Education Department to be brought under the Civil Service Act	28
Useless papers should be destroyed	29page iv
Effect of the proposed changes on parents, children, teachers, and inspectors	29
Economy effected by the proposed changes	30
Cost of the proposed changes	31
The changes proposed are recommended as relatively not as absolutely best	31
Promotion by merit	32

Part II.

Attendance at Schools under the Present System.

The Compulsory Clauses.

Inspectors.

Importance of a highly organized system of inspection	54
Use of inspectors	55
Present and proposed organizations of the inspectoral staff	55page v
Minor grievances or inspectors	56
Promotion of inspectors	56
Comparison of inspectoral work in Victoria with inspectoral work in other countries	57
Visits of inspection	58
A class to be examined in its own work	58
System of estimating results	58
Details of examination	59
Discipline: how estimated	59
Some tests of intelligent teaching	59
Only one grammar to be examined in	59
Comparative grammar and foreign derivations not to be taught	60
Abbot's "How to tell the Parts of Speech"	61
Reading aloud	61
Arithmetic	62
Writing	62
Geography	63
Character of geography taught	63
History not to be taught in primary schools	64
But history and other subjects may be read in schools	64
The upper sixth extras	64
A head teacher should have some voice in choosing his teachers	65
Character of districts to be allowed for	65
Organization	65
Discipline	66
Intelligent teaching	67
Proposed method of calculating head teacher's result	67
Amount of work thrown on an inspector	68
Results ought not to be averaged	68
Number of questions asked should be increased	69
Reports should be published	69
Form of return by inspector	70

Teachers.

Boards of Advice.

Present position of boards of advice as defined by the Act of 1872	81
The department has hitherto kept the control of school buildings in its own hands	82
An instance of the working of the present system	82page vi
Boards of advice should have the control of school buildings out of school hours	83
The relation of boards of advice to teachers should be more precisely defined	83
Boards should be allowed to refuse to receive a teacher of tainted character	84
But in other matters the promotion and moving of teachers must be left with the department	84
Boards should determine the hour of recess and the holiday times	84
General propriety of giving increased power to boards of advice	85
Duties and powers of boards of advice	85

High Schools.

State schools have a tendency to destroy all but the best grammar schools	87
The State would gain little by buying up existing middle-class schools	88
Teaching given in grammar schools	88
Language	89
Mathematics	89
Geography and history	89
Physical science	89
A different model may be desirable for high schools	89
Subjects that may be profitably omitted from a high school course	89
Greek	89
Latin composition	91
History	91
Ancient history	92
History of Australia	92
Helps to the study of Latin	92
Starting point of high school pupils	93
The study of English	93
English composition	93
The study of French	94
Influences of French and Latin upon style	94
French text books	95
The study of Latin	95
Mathematics	96
Physical science as a branch of education	96
Use of mathematics in education	96
The faculty of observation	96
Uses of the study of botany	97
Use of the study of chemistry	97
High school museums	98
Political geography	98
Physical geography	98
Drawing and music	99
Possible time-table	99
The range of subjects is limited by the capacity of teachers to teach	100
Half-holidays	100
Scheme for the endowment of high schools	100
Qualification of head masters	101
Pay of head masters	101
The schools to be mixed	101
Subsidized schools	101
State scholarships	102
Districts	102
Subjects of scholarship examination	102
Age of candidates	102
Time occupied in examinations	102
Inspection of high schools	102
Agricultural scholarships	103
Scholarships and exhibitions at the University	103
Additional cost where Greek has to be taught	104
Civil Service examination	104
Scheme for Civil Service examination	104
General rules	105
Subsidized high schools	105
Schools in country districts	106
Schools in Melbourne	106page vii
Cost of scholarships or exhibitions	107
Cost of inspection	107
Should grammar schools compete for the prizes of high school education?	107
Middle-class education need not be made quite costless	108
Half-fee pupils may choose their own high school	109
Functions of high school inspectors	109
The head master must be obliged to keep a sufficient staff of teachers	110

The University.

A new organization of the University made necessary by the establishment of high schools, and desirable on its own account	110
The University council has co-operated in preparing a scheme of reform	111
Change of constitution, more practical teaching, abolition of fees, admission of women	111
Complicated character of the actual government of the University	111
Council to be reinforced by nominees and professional members	111
Practical working of the proposed changes	112
The senate to have the power of amending	112
Present faculty of Arts	112
Disadvantages of the present system	113
Position of classical lecturers	113
Chair of English and other European languages	113
Lecturers in French, German, &c.	113
History	114
Political economy	114
Residence of professors	114
Costs of proposed additions to the faculty of Arts	114
Faculty of Law	115
Cost of proposed addition to the faculty of Law	115
Faculty of Medicine	115
Heavy cost of a medical education in Melbourne	115
Comparison of the medical staff proposed with that maintained in other countries	116
Separation of anatomy, physiology, and pathology	117
New lectureships	117
Lectures on hygiene	118
The Melbourne Hospital	118
Cost of proposed additions to the faculty of Medicine	118
Faculty of Engineering and Practical Science	118
Proposed additions to the engineering staff	118
Comparison with other countries	119
The State may encourage this faculty by giving its degrees professional value	119
Mr. Arnold's evidence about engineering	119
Mr. Krenot's evidence about engineering	120
Disadvantage even to the greatest men of imperfect training	121
Agricultural science	121
Proposed staff for teaching agriculture	122
One man cannot teach agriculture	122
The dignity of a science depends on its thoroughness	123
Degrees, associateships, and certificates required to mark different educational values	123
Navigation, nautical astronomy, and naval architecture	123
Technology	123
Importance of technological teaching	124
Cost of the faculty of Engineering and Practical Science	124
Professorship of music	124
Paid examiners outside the teaching staff	124
Cost of examiners	125
Additional expenses of clerical staff, fittings and apparatus	125
Abolition of fees not communistic (stated more temperately)	126
Every undergraduate is a State pensioner at present	126
The trades' union objection to an increased supply of labour unsound	127
The payment of fees is the heaviest burden on students	127
The examination test will keep out incompetent students	127
Ratio of students to population in some typical countries	128
Justification of fees for examinations, &c.	128
Fees for degrees	129page viii
Charge for experiments	129
Modifications of the restrictions on residence	129
Admission of women to University teaching and honours	129
Women are now admitted in several universities	130
It is proposed to admit them at Melbourne under restrictions	130
Arts, music, and medicine are the subjects in which ladies are most likely to qualify	130
The admission to lectures in Arts will cause no difficulty	130
Provision is already made for teaching first year female students in the Medical faculty	131
Further provision may be made when the occasion arises	131
The houses now used by three of the professors will supply lecture-rooms and club-rooms for the students	132
An engineer's workshop required	132
Three affiliated colleges will soon be built	132
The State ought to resume ten acres now enclosed in the University ground	133
Cost of making the University efficient	133
Comparison of the revenues of various important universities	133
Cost of professors and lecturers	134
Graduated incomes	134
University teaching is not objected to as irreligious	135

The Training College.

Colleges of Practical Science.

Industrial Schools.

The enquiry entrusted to me has embraced industrial schools	153
Coburg Reformatory	153
Sunbury Industrial School	153
Royal Park Industrial School	154page ix
The teaching at the industrial schools bad	154
Defective classification of the industrial schools	155
Insufficient staff of teachers	155
The children are taught too little and work under disadvantages	155
The fault lies in the system even more than its details	155
Good and bad children should be kept separate	156
Young children should be boarded out	156
The Abbotsford Industrial School	156
The Brighton Orphanage	157
Catholic boys	157
Value of the children's labour very small	158
The State must renounce the idea of profit	158
Children brought up at the cost of the State should not be given back to their parents	159
Foster-parents to have the first claim to the children's labour	160
Possible use of day industrial schools	160
Diminished expenditure under the proposed system	160

Appendices.