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R E P O R T RESUMES EM 005 988 ED 015 683 EDUCATIONAL TELEVISION INBRITAIN. CENTRAL OFFICE OF INFORMATION,LONDON (ENGLAND) JAN 67 REPORT NUMBER R-5781-C7 PUB DATE EDRS PRICE MF -$D.25 HC-$0.68 15P. DESCRIPTORS- *EDUCATIONALTELEVISION, ::BROADCASTTELEVISION, *CLOSED CIRCUIT TELEVISION,ORGANIZATIONS (GROUPS) ,*SCHOOLS, *COLLEGES, ADULT EDUCATION,.CETO THIS DOCUMENT DESCRIBESTHE CURRENT EDUCATIONALUSES OF BROADCAST AND CLOSED CIRCUITTELEVISION IN ENGLAND,WALES, SCOTLAND, AND NORTHERN IRELAND.THE CENTRE FOREDUCATIONAL TELEVISION OVERSEAS ISDESCRIBED. TOPICS COVEREDINCLUDE, UNDER THE HEADING OF BROADCASTTELEVISION--TELEVISION FOR SCHOOLS AND COLLEGES,TELEVISION IN ADULTEDUCATION, AND, GENERAL PROGRAMS, AND UNDERTHE HEADING OF CLOSEDCIRCUIT TELEVISION--DIRECT TEACHING,TELEVISION IN SCHOOLS, AND TELEVISION IN FURTHER EDUCATION. (MS) t,g Educational ''-"1 Television f_ti) in Britain U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH, EDUCATION & WELFARE OFFICE OF EDUCATION THIS DOCUMENT HAS BEEN REPRODUCED EXACTLY AS RECEIVEDFROM THE Contents PERSON OR ORGANIATION ORIGINATING IT.POINTS OF VIEW OR OPINIONS STATED DO NOT NECESSARILY REPRESENT OFFICIAL OFFICEOF EDUCATION 1 Introduction POSITION OR POLICY. 2 Broadcast Television 2 Television for Schools and Colleges 4 Television in Adult Education 5General Programmes 6 Closed Circuit Television 6 Closed Circuit Television and Direct Teaching 6 Closed Circuit Television in Schools 8 Closed Circuit Television in Further Education 10Educational Television for Overseas 10 Centre for Educational Television Overseas 10 The British Council 10 The Thomson Foundation 11Appendix List of Organisations 12Short Reading List PREPARED FOR BRITISH INFORMATION SERVICES BY THE CENTRAL OFFICE OF INFORMATION, LONDON R.5781167 Prepared by REFERENCE DIVISION CENTRAL OF.7TCE OF INFORMATION LONDON January 167 Quote No. R.5781/67 Classification I.4(b) N.B. This paper is intrnded to be used for reference purposes. It may be freely used in preparing articles, speeches, broadcasts, etc. No acknowledgment is necessary. Please note the date of preparation. Educational Television in Britain Introduction TELEVISION as an educational aid in Britain hasdeveloped considerably in the past few year4.2 At first it was used only on an opencircuit; programmes for schools were broadcast by the British BroadcastingCorporation (BBC) and by the independent television companies under contract to theindependent Television Authority (ITA). This was followed by the developmentof closed circuit television and both types are now used in a variety of ways, eachmaking its own particular contribution to teaching. The progress of educationaltelevision has been strongly encouraged by the growing acceptance of teaching aidsfor direct-teaching purposes, and not only for giving background material and generalenrichment to the subjects taught in schools, colleges and universities. this paper the terms Britain and the United Kingdom are usedsynonymously to mean England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. Great Britainincludes only England, Wales, and Scotland. 'For further information on television see COI referencepamphlet RF.P. 5531/66 Sound and Television Broadcasting in Britain and, on education,COI reference pamphlet RF.P. 4751/66 Education In Britain. Broadcast Television IN Britain, programmes broadcast by the BBC and independent companies are concerned with education in three ways: through broadcasts for schools and technical colleges; through programmes of adult education; and through pro- grammes such as those on current affairs, science, medicine and the arts which, although they form part of the general programmes and do not specifically aim to teach, are clearly educative in content. TELEVISION FOR SCHOOLS AND COLLEGES Beginnings Both the BBC and ITA began broadcasting schools' television in 1957. The BBC had considered introducing an experiment in 15'51 and undertook a pilot . project in 1952. In 1955 a two-year scheme of training and planning was instituted. Independent television companies also experimented with programmes for schools and in June 1957 Associated Rediffusion Ltd. began to transmit regular programmes. The BBC started its transmissions later in the same year with an experimental service of five 20-30-minute programmes a week for secondary schools. In 1960 the BBC's school television service was put on a permanent basis and by autumn 1962 there were 13 weekly programmes with 14 repeat transmissions. The number of programmes produced by the ITA companies also increased during this period. In 1959 Granada Television Network Ltd. started to produce programmes; Asso- ciated Tele Vision Ltd. joined the producing companies in 1961. Policy and Organisation The BBC's general policy for school broadcasting and the scope and purpose of each series are laid down by the School Broadcasting Council for the United Kingdom. This is a body on which professional associations of teachers, local education authorities, the Department of Education and Science and other educa- tional organisations are represented. The Council's staff also includes a number of full-time Education Mem, all former teachers, who visit schools to report on broadcasts. There are separate School Broadcasting Councils for,Scoiland and Wales. The ITA is advised on general policy for educational programmes by its Educa- tional Advisory Council. Detailed planning of programmes is the responsibility of two education committees, one of which is concerned with Schools and the other with adult and further education. The ITA has liaison arrangements with schools similar to those of the BBC. Consultation takes place between the BBC's School Broadcasting Council and the LTA's Educational Advisory Council and at programme staff level to prevent unnecessary duplication of material. All programmes are planned in series and each series is specially designed, in consultation with educational advisers, to meet the needs of children within a clearly defined age range. Aims and Methods The main emphasis of the present programme series presented by both BBC 2 and ITA is on supplementing aad enriching the teachers'work in the classroom. Television is found to be aninvaluable means of introducingcomplex ideas and experiences ranging far beyondthe immediate everydayexperiences of the children who watch it. In embodiedand visible forms, manyotherwise inaccessible aspects be shown, increas- of such subjects as history,geography, music and literature can and participation in thesubject. The wide range of ing both the pupils' interest includes, as well as television programmes nowavailable to secondary schools engineering, mathematics,French, German, current affairs, these subjects, science, and there have been simple economics, sociology,archaeology, drama, and careers, for primary school children. an increasingnumber of series in recent years Direct Teaching number of teaching aids With the growing acceptancein British schools of a which go beyond thesupplementation and enrichmentof normal classroom work and take over, in part, theteachers' task itself, the scopefor direct teaching by broadcast television L becoming morewidely recognised. Althoughtheir use is curricula are not centrallyorganised and some schools complicated by the fact that and teaching find it difficult to fit programmesinto their particular curricula have been introduced bothby the BBC schedules, direct-teaching programmes been tried by the BBC, for and the ITA companies.A successful experiment has television screen to help groupsof young children who example, in the use of the shown in were findingdifficulty in learning to read;and it is increasingly being practice that television infields such as reading,mathematics, music and science can assist theteacher effectively in his mostbasic tasks. Current Programmes Television now reaches more tha'., athird (some 14,000) of all schoolsin Britain. Between them, the BBCand ITA broadcastabout 80 programmes ea( .1 being transmitted more than once tofacilitate their week, nearly all programmes the BBC broad- inclusion in the school timetable.During the school year 1965-66 each programme being cast 15 weekly programmesfor schools throughout Britain, repeated during the saute week.Two programmes fortechnical colleges (one on contemporary history, theother dealing with elementarysociology) were also and the Scottish and Welshregions of the BBC broadcast with several repeats; needs of schools each produced one programmeweekly, catering for the special in their areas. During the same school year theITA broadcast each term 13series of weekly of which were repeated,produced by the three mainindependent programmes, many Granada and Associated Tele- television companies(Rediffusion Television Ltd., Vision) and networkednationally. In addition, localseries of programmes were produced by three of the regionalcompanies (Scottish TelevisionLtd., Grampian Television Ltd. and UlsterTelevision Ltd.). Strong emphasis was given toscience and mathematics inthe BBC's programmes, offered six series of science programmes,including and in 1965-66 schools were examinations, and science for science for young school-leaversnot working for mathematics, three series. Someof the independent television arts specialists; and in school-leaver and their companies' series have alsobeen directed at the young programmes for primaryschools have increasei innumber. Both the BBC and ITA send outannual programme timetablesin advance, so the television programmesinto account when preparing that head teachers can take series their