THE DEVELOPMENT OF NATIONAL RADIO EDUCATION IN CANADA 1929-19^9 by TERRENCE ROBERT MORRISON B.Ed., (Secondary), University of British Columbia I966 A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS In the Department of EDUCATION We accept this thesis as conforming to the required standard THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA July, 1967 In presenting this thesis in partial fulfilment of the requirements for an advanced degree at the University of British Columbia, I agree that the Library shall make it freely available for reference and Study. I further agree that permission for extensive copying of this thesis for scholarly purposes may be granted by the Head of my Department or by hi;i; representatives. It is understood that copying or publication of this thesis for financial gain shall not be allowed without my written permission. Department of t-DUCfc i JO r\J The University of British Columbia Vancouver 8, Canada Date rXt^q • 2?T/ 6 7- ii ABSTRACT Radio broadcasting, from its inception, was recognized as a medium with educational possibilities. The decision of the Privy Council in 1931 to vest control of broadcasting in the federal government, therefore, invited Dominion participation in radio education. With the establishment of the CBC, and the implication that it was to develop radio's educational potential, the possibility of having national radio education became more real. National radio education developed in response to four general forces. First, as the depression closed, the CBC was able to stabilize its financial situation, evolve a policy on controversial programming, establish co-operative relations with certain voluntary educational associations, and sponsor a national investigation into school broadcasting. Second, the arrival of the Second World War created a fervent nationalistic feeling and pro• vided the conditions for an increase in the power of the federal government. The result was an interventionist- nationalist policy, on the part of the Dominion Government, which found cultural ezpression in national radio education schemes, such as "Young Canada Listens" and "Farm Radio Forum." The third force involved in the development of na- iii tional radio education was related to a general programme shift in Canadian broadcasting from light entertainment to a more serious fare. Besides the use of more abstract content, this programme shift was characterized by the creation of radio programmes to suit specific audience groups, various attempts to overcome the passivity of the radio audience and the use of the radio as a medium for artistic and creative expression. The growth of national radio education in the early 19^0's both reflected this general programme shift and provided another channel within which it could be conveyed. Finally, national radio education developed because of a a desire, on the part of provincial educational authorities, to co-operate with a federal agency, the CBC, in the produc• tion of educational broadcasts. This desire to co-operate stemmed, in part, from a renewed sense of confidence in the national broadcasting authority and a wish to secure the educational benefits presented by the radio. Do-operation was achieved eventually on three levels of radio education - inter-provincial, Dominion-Provincial and international. The fruits of such co-operation in educational broadcasting were programmes, such as "Young Canada Listens," "Kindergarten of the Air," "National Farm Radio Forum," "Sports College" and "National Citizen's Forum." iv The CBC emerged from the 194-0' s as a national clearing house for Canadian education. Through its radio broadcasts, publications, and co-operative relations with provincial and voluntary educational organizations, the Corporation helped to provide Canadians with a national educational experience. The CBC also provided the Canadian Govern• ment with a useful instrument in international radio educa• tion affairs. Radio's role in education also became firmly esta• blished in the 1940*s. Broadcasting functioned as an educational aid and was to be integrated into the traditional learning situation. No new methodology or philosophy accompanied the radio into the classroom. True to an early prophecy, the radio had expanded the range of possible experiences available to the learner, but that was where its educational influence terminated. V ACKNOWLEDGEMENT The author would like to express his sincere gratitude to the employees of the University of British Columbia Library for their kind advice and cooperation, to Mrs. Dorothy Dyde for her decision to permit the Alan Plaunt Papers to be used in the study, to professors F.H. Johnson, G.S, Tompkins, N. Sutherland and M. Prang for their help• ful advice and criticisms and, finally, to my wife Donna, for her patience and understanding during the writing of the thesis.: vi TABLE OP CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE ONE THE BACKGROUND OF NATIONAL RADIO EDUCATION 1928-1931 1 TWO EDUCATION AND THE POLITICS OF NATIONAL BROADCASTING 1931-1936 12 THREE THE CBC AND NATIONAL RADIO EDUCATION 1936-1939 4-6 FOUR THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE ADMINISTRATIVE MACHINERY OF NATIONAL RADIO EDUCATION 1939-1944 91 FIVE MAJOR PROJECTS IN NATIONAL RADIO EDUCATION 1944-194-9 14-7 SIX THE CBC AND ADULT EDUCATION 1939-194-9 I70 CONCLUSION BIBLIOGRAPHY vii LIST OF TABLES TABLE PAGE ONE NUMBER OF PROGRAMMES PER NATIONALISTIC CRITERION 194-5-1950 151 TWO CBC PUBLICATIONS DISTRIBUTED THROUGH THE PRESS AND INFORMATION DEPARTMENT 19^4 166 THREE NUMBER OF FORUMS REGISTERED 191 FOUR LARGEST NUMBER OF PARTICIPANTS REPORTED AT ANY ONE MEETING 191 viii LIST OP ILLUSTRATIONS TRANSCONTINENTAL FACILITIES AVAILABLE FOR NETWORK BROADCASTING 193^-1935 CBC NETWORKS 194-9 CLASSIFICATION OP CBC NETWORK PROGRAMMES 194-7 HINTS TO TEACHERS 19^5 CBC SCHOOL BROADCASTS REPORT 19^7 CHAPTER ONE THE BACKGROUND OP NATIONAL RADIO EDUCATION 1928 - 1931 The radio, unlike the press, has usually "been weighted 1 with a responsibility for public service. Individuals such as Lord Reith in Britain, David Sarnoff in America and Sir Henry Thornton in Canada, all of whom were actively involved in radio during its infant stage, were in agreement that the new medium of communication should serve the public 2 am some way. One approach to carrying out this public service function was to utilize the radio as an instrument of education. Very early in the development of broadcasting, Cana• dians investigated the possibilities of employing the radio for educational purposes. Dr. Henry Munro, Superintendent of Education for Nova Scotia, was one of the first educators to experiment with radio in the schools. He agreed with the conclusions of a group of educators in Kent, England, that the proper role of the radio in the classroom was "to provide imaginary experiences for the children on which their own teachers may profitably build. "-^ In I928, Dr. Munro inaugurated a regular series of school broadcasts for the Province of Nova Scotia. These programmes centered mostly around musical and dramatic pre- 1 2 sentations.^ There was little in the way of a deliberate attempt to construct well-planned "radio lessons". Nova Scotia was followed closely in the use of the radio for 5 educational purposes by British Columbia and Alberta. Until well into the thirties, the rest of the provinces were hesitant about venturing into any formal radio educa• tion schemes. The early experimenters in radio education hoped to derive three major benefits from the use of the new medium. First, broadcasting was seen as a means of overcoming the geographical barriers of distance and terrain. Thus, rural areas could gain the advantages of expert opinion, and high quality forms of entertainment which were usually restricted to urban areas. Second, radio was viewed as an economical way of disseminating information and knowledge. Third, radio was considered to be another instrument of "progressive education" which would help to widen the breadth and scope of a child*s experiences. Many other groups besides the educational community displayed an interest in the fortunes of radio broadcasting. Manufacturers envisioned rising sales from the production of radios, religious groups hoped to use the medium in evangelism and social reform, advertisers recognized that the ability of broadcasting to tap the listener's imagina• tion could be turned to commercial account, and certain 3 public-spirited Canadians hoped to use the medium as an instrument for the stimulation of nationalistic feeling.. In addition to the confusion caused by competition in the use of radio, Canadians had to face the problems associated with an increased penetration of Canada by American radio 7 stations,' As a reaction to an increasingly more chaotic broad• casting stiuation, in 1928, the Dominion Government appointed a Royal Commission under the chairmanship of Sir John Aird, President of the Canadian Bank of Commerce, to "enquire into the broadcasting situation in the Dominion of Canada and to make recommendations to the Government as to the future Q administration, management, control and financing thereof". The Commission held conferences with the authorities of the nine Canadian provinces and all promised their assistance in the organization of broadcasting. The Province of Quebec, however, while agreeing to "collaborate as fully as possibly" declared its firm intention "not to waive its rights of jurisdiction, which have been granted to it by the British North America Act and this in so far as radio broadcasting is concerned."^