Muriel Pyrah: sources and myths from a West Riding of Yorkshire school, 1967–1972

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to juxtapose different sources concerning educational experiments embarked on by an English primary school teacher, Muriel Pyrah. Pyrah taught at Airedale School, Castleford, Yorkshire, UK, from the 1950s until 1972. Her approach was celebrated in the fields of oracy and arts education in the final years of her working life. Airedale was a Local Education Authority (LEA) school within the West Riding of Yorkshire, an LEA led by Alec Clegg, from 1945 to 1974. Design/methodology/approach Using film footage, sound recordings, artwork and topic books produced by her pupils, the paper entangles these archival sources with recent interviews from Pyrah’s former pupils and a former school inspector (HMI). Pyrah’s actual name has been used, as has that of the HMI. The names of pupils who contributed insights are anonymised. Findings The former pupils provide accounts that encourage a move away from a revisiting of progressivism that is predominantly anchored in studying the intentions and hopes of high profile educationalists postwar. Research limitations/implications The number of former pupils willing to discuss their memories was small, so no claims are made that their perspectives represent the dominant views of former pupils. However, these interviews reveal details that are absent in the other surviving archival sources. Originality/value The paper lays the foundation for further research on the voices of former pupils, inviting a focus on the way those participants reflect on the long-term impact of being involved in an educational experiment. Thus far, the representation of Pyrah’s pedagogy has been choreographed in print to build the legacy of the LEA. The pupils’ stories resonate differently.

‘THE PAST NO LONGER CASTS LIGHT UPON THE FUTURE; OUR MINDS ADVANCE IN DARKNESS’1: THE IMPACT AND LEGACY OF SIR ALEC CLEGG’S EDUCATIONAL IDEAS AND PRACTICES IN THE WEST RIDING OF YORKSHIRE (1945-1974)

“…explains'the idea of social capital may help to shift government away from what is often seen as a deficit model of disadvantage'. Thus, social capital can reframe the policy discourse away from approaches that are grounded in well-meaning paternalism and move it instead towards a recognition of the value of harnessing the resources and networks within communities Hoare's (2019). research on the practice of Muriel Pyrah, an unqualified primary teacher whose work was championed by Clegg, found evidence of some deficit assumptions regarding 'deprivation' in the school community and a lack of sensitivity to the contribution of pupils' informal education.…”