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ages of 5 and 13 to attend school. As doctors became increasingly interested in the defectiveness of a child, it can be argued that the school was used as a laboratory to legitimise and reproduce social order rather than as a response to the welfare of working class children. The sheer amount of bodily infirmity in the common schools alarmed medical contempories and drove them to make even larger, ever more gloomy and self fulfilling investigations (Smith, 1979, p 183). As children were being studied in a scientific manner it was difficult to argue against the claims. According to Foucault, the ruling class used the law as a means to ensure the ruling class remained the most dynamic group whilst the working class remained oppressed. The branding and labelling of those delinquent and feebleminded ensured a level of distinction between the classes, further restricting possibilities of social disruption. He believed the ideas behind governmental programs, such as welfare and new educational techniques, were all an expansion of disciplinary control governed by the elite (Foucault 1975: 298). Similarly Marxists would argue, as children become less useful economically it becomes useful to have them in schools where they can be trained and socialised to benefit the bourgeoisie. Children at home were paid for by the proletariat, at school they were paid for by the tax payer. Thus it seems that while the state appeared to be more concerned with child welfare, its inherent concern remain strictly focused on maintaining and legitimising social order (Hendrink,1989, 23). The Education Act could merely be an way to educate the lower classes for employment on lower class lines, and with specifically trained inferior teachers( H.GWells,1934, p. 68) ensuring wealth is maintained within the middle class whilst appearing to be concerned with those worse off than themselves. However, in my view it is a fortunate compromise for those working class children who were now protected from child labour.

By the 1920 s the construction of the child had been fully established, both mentally and physically. The developments of the social sciences were the main causal factor of this change hence nowadays children have become central to our society and the focus of all our good intentions. Many of the policies implemented during Classical Liberalism failed to help the working class. Since New liberalism, our understanding of the human being has changed significantly due to a shift from metaphysical to scientific ideas. Through its analysis of the human mind, Psychology helped pave way for a completely new notion of childhood in which stable mentality holds great importance. Special schools, compulsory schooling and intelligence testing which were set up as a response to the new scientific information demonstrate how state policy can be influenced by knowledge. However, these policies and approaches weren t necessarily positive as they allowed for negative labelling and stereotyping for many of the working class. Perhaps this was all a method of minimising social disruption, or more optimistically, demonstrates a genuine concern from the state for welfare of the child. Overall I feel the impact upon the working class has been positive as children now have the opportunity to receive education and are liberated from child labour. This would not be possible without a notion of childhood in which children are now respected and valued. Despite this, in 2007