Educational Segregation in Victoria 1900–1968: A View from the Sociology of Deviance

Abstract

The labelling theory of deviance is applied to the study of historical materials concerning the segregation of educational deviants. It is suggested that educational segregation in Victoria gained impetus as a result of various campaigners (‘moral entrepreneurs’), and in addition, the introduction of mental testing with its assumptions of fixed intelligence and dullness provided the rationale for the removal of educational deviants into segregated classes. These classes flourished as a result of pressure brought to bear by various interest groups such as the Teachers' Union and Head Teachers' groups.

The ideas of McRae, the architect of the highly flexible segregational system in the 1920's, were subsequently taken over by the Victorian Education Department and turned into a rigid structure, emphasizing the abrupt separation of educational deviants from the normals. This system remained intact until 1968 when a ‘new’ move was made to change opportunity grades into more flexible teaching units.

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