ABSTRACT
Primary schools do not exist as ends in themselves; in modern societies they are established at substantial cost, to achieve social, economic and political purposes. Equal opportunity policies for pupils from ethnic minorities are commonly called multi-cultural education, and are of three kinds; cultural assimilation, cultural pluralism, and anti-racism. A similar pattern can be discerned in policies for gender equality, both sets of policies have been combined in local authority guidelines designed to combat racism and sexism in teachers' consciousness, school organisation and the curriculum. The source of inequality, and the general underfunding of primary education in relation to its social purposes, emerged in recommendations of a very important Select Committee. A curriculum project in industry/education links at primary school level, raises the questions about the relationship of primary schools to society, identified in the first paragraph of this chapter. The project enables primary school children to acquire values, beliefs and attitudes relating to the role of industry in society.
