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Abstract

This study examines the first ten years of Perth Modern
School, from 1911 - 1921, and its role in the establishment of
state secondary education in Western Australia. The struggle
of Cecil Andrews, the Director of Education, to gain support for
the notion of free and secular secondary education is
documented, together with the influence of the first two
headmasters, F.G. Brown and Joseph Parsons, who were both
responsible in their own ways for establishing the ethos of the
school which became the model for future state high schools in
Western Australia.
Broad questions of the aims and functions of Perth Modern
School and the increasingly academic elitism which developed
during the first decade as a selective state high school are
addressed in the light of economic, political and social
conditions of the period. A narrower and more specific
examination is made of the composition of students and staff in
the first ten years, entry qualifications to the school and the
curriculum in the lower and upper schools.
Archival research was undertaken over several years at the
Battye Library, the Rooney Library, the Education Department,
the Perth Modern School archives and in the Perth Modern
School's Principal's office. It is disappointing that very

little new material has come to light in response to the
extensive search, but some small satisfaction was gained by the
discovery of certain uncatalogued documents in the Principal's
office filing cabinet which have added to the body of knowledge
on the subject. Oral history was employed extensively and is
considered to be a valuable contribution to the subject.
Originally this study was to have covered the period 1911-1958:
unfortunately when the decision was made to limit it to the
first decade much of the information obtained by the oral
history research method could not then be quoted within the
narrow confines of the dissertation. It did however serve as
useful background material and could be employed in a future
study with a broader framework of reference. The writer was a
teacher at the school and while on the staff became concerned at
the number of past students from the first decade whose deaths
were reported without any documentation of their early
recollections of school life. An attempt was made to reach as
many from the period 1911 - 1921 that could be interviewed and
every care has been taken to verify personal statements.
No educational history has been written of Perth Modern
School. This study seeks to raise certain questions and fill
part of the gap on this subject in the history of education in
Western Australia.

Item Type:	Thesis - Unspecified
Authors/Creators:	Douglass, Angela
Keywords:	Perth Modern School (Perth, W.A), Education, Secondary
Copyright Holders:	The Author
Copyright Information:	Copyright 1987 the Author - The University is continuing to endeavour to trace the copyright owner(s) and in the meantime this item has been reproduced here in good faith. We would be pleased to hear from the copyright owner(s).
Additional Information:	Thesis (M.Ed.Stud.)--University of Tasmania, 1988. Bibliography: leaves 72-74
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