Recent Discussion of the Problems of Higher Education in Great Britain

Abstract

I have been wondering very much how I can fulfil this assignment without boring you. It is true that for nearly three years most of my time and nearly all my spiritual energies were devoted to the work of a committee which was appointed to review our arrangements and habits in regard to higher education in Great Britain. But many of our most acute problems in that respect are essentially local problems arising from special historical circumstances in which it would be unreasonable to expect a wider audience to be interested. Moreover, some at least of our major recommendations — recommendations which are still controversial at home — are recommendations which would be taken as a matter of course over here. Hence, I am in danger of being either esoteric or banal — which rôles neither you nor I would find particularly congenial. However, having revealed my fears, I am not declining the task. But, in what I have to say, I shall make no attempt to reproduce the outlines of the Report with which I have been associated. Rather I shall simply pick out certain problems which I hope have common interest and try to show how they present themselves in our context and how we have attempted to deal with them.

A Lecture delivered in the Littauer Center at Harvard University on March 18th, 1964.