E.—s

10

Buildings and Equipment. The past year has seen considerable progress in the provision of new centres and in improvements in or additions to existing ones. All the work referred to in the previous report as contemplated or in progress has been brought to completion ; in addition a new centre has been opened at Whakatane, and one has been authorized for Otorohanga ; at Methven and at Owaka buildings have been leased and equipped for the instruction of woodwork classes ; at Waipukurau new buildings are in process of erection to replace rented premises ; and remodelling or other extensive improvements have been carried out at two Christchurch centres (Sydenham and Phillipstown) and at Waitara, Manaia, Millerton, Kaitangata, and Lawrence. The class of buildings now provided for manual-training purposes is much superior to that originally considered suitable ; the rooms in most respects more nearly approximate in style and finish those generally in use by ordinary classes, and to the influence of environment so much importance is now accorded that there is increasing effort to improve the older rooms by lining and painting the barn-like woodwork shops, covering the floors and more frequently redecorating the walls of kitchens, and so forth, and to an increasing extent attention is also being given to the grounds in which the buildings are situated. For the most part the equipment receives proper care at the hands of the instructors concerned, and, as indicated in the previous report, the various Boards are giving more thought to the provision of additions and replacements to the outfits of tools and utensils, a duty which, in view of the liberality of the incidental allowances made by the Department, should be by no means difficult. Now that the use of electricity for cooking is becoming so general in the cities and larger towns, efforts are being made to install electric cookers to augment the cooking-appliances in the kitchens of the manual-training centres. Frequently such additions are secured as the result of direct local effort, supplemented by the Board or the Department, and in several cases the installation has been made by the local Power Board partly or entirely free of cost, and, on the whole, the desirable improvements have been made without very heavy claims upon the general funds available for the purposes of manual training. Where secondary boys receive instruction at the centres appropriate additions to the ordinary equipment of hand tools are readily granted. It would seem desirable, however, in these cases to go further and provide on a moderate scale such simple power machines as will not only lessen the drudgery frequently involved in the class of exercise suitable for senior boys, but will also make possible that widening of the scope of the work so desirable at this stage. Character and Quality of the Instruction. For the most part the practical side of the instruction given at the manual-training centres continues to be maintained at a very satisfactory standard, and instructors are giving closer attention to the possibilities of advanced handwork as a means of supplementing and to a large degree taking the place of the general class-room education. The whole syllabus of instruction, and particularly those parts where linkages between work at the bench and studies at the desk and in the field are shown to be possible and necessary, is being more closely considered, and it is expected that the admirable advice to teachers with which the syllabus now abounds will be freely accepted and liberally applied. It is perhaps too early to note any marked results from the directions regarding continuity and progression in connection with handwork throughout the school, but already there is definite evidence of a movement towards greater co-operation between the instructors at the centres and the teachers on the ordinary school staff. This closer touch will serve to remove misunderstandings on both sides, and incidentally lead to a recognition that the work at the centre is not a thing apart, but a feature of education most intimately bound up in the whole scheme whereby it is sought to aid in the mental, moral, and physical training of the child. Manual training continues to hold a place of great importance in junior high schools. Here the conditions are in most respects favourable, mainly because the instructors are members of the staff, and but few obstacles stand in the way of full correlation. The position is not so satisfactory in those senior high schools in which manual training is taken by some forms, there still being a tendency to expect good results when to the practical exercises time-table periods of no longer duration are devoted than are apportioned to ordinary desk lessons. Handwork and Manual Training in the Schools. Manual training in woodwork, metalwork, and domestic subjects is provided mainly for senior pupils —namely, those in classes above Standard IV—but other children of twelve years and over who for some reason have been retarded in their scholastic progress may also take advantage of this form of training. For pupils below the senior division instruction in simpler forms of handwork is provided, this being of such a nature as to be conveniently taken in the school-room. The material for this kind of work is supplied by the Department to the Boards for distribution to the schools, and the cost of that material for the year 1929 amounted to some £13,000. In the special classes composed entirely of backward children, handwork provides the principal means of education, and excellent results are being achieved through the medium of this instrument. Where possible the older pupils of these classes also attend manual-training centres, take their places very satisfactorily by the side of ordinary pupils, while for others who may be less adaptable a simpler and more appropriate course may be provided. The problem of more advanced training for these retardates when they are too old to remain in close association with those of ordinary school age is one which is now engaging the attention of the officers of the Department.