Introduction

This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book aims to explore the educational discourse in England during the Second World War. It explores two theories of democracy – liberal democracy and social democracy, but it is useful to point out that whereas liberal democracy maintains freedom in education, social democracy prioritizes equality over freedom. The book also explores each figure’s public educational work but, more importantly, and attempts to brings these figures together to show a bigger picture of the wartime debate. It focuses on examining the relationship between democratic ideals and reform proposals in each figure’s respective arguments. The book examines Fred Clarke’s ideals of liberal democracy and his arguments related to issues like the reorganization of the central educational authority, the public schools, secondary organization and further education.