Reorganization of Schools for the Blind : England in the Mid-1930s and 1940s

• Published in: The Japanese Journal of Special Education Vol. 48; no. 6; pp. 569 - 579
• Main Author: MIYAUCHI, Hisae
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: The Japanese Association of Special Education 31.03.2011
• Subjects: blind; England; school reorganization
• ISSN: 0387-3374; 2186-5132
• DOI: 10.6033/tokkyou.48.569

The present study focuses on the reorganization of schools for the blind that took place in England in the mid-1930s and 1940s, in order to clarify the process of that reorganization and the reasons behind it. The review concludes that the reorganization plan was conceived in a 1936 survey of the education for the blind that was conducted by the College of Teachers of the Blind and the National Institute for the Blind. Behind that, there was a need to raise the educational efficiency of schools for the blind. The reorganization plan started being discussed in detail 2 years after the survey was published, by members at the National Institute for the Blind who realized that a reorganization would be important for the education of the blind, because creating schools that would fit all children meant preparing children to become democratic citizens just like children without disabilities. The reorganization was pushed forward on the National Institute for the Blind's initiative, with Eagar and Purse taking the lead, and also by people who were blind in the general society, because they had high hopes for the expansion of job opportunities for the blind.