Blog 5. Government Policy Documents on Education in England and Wales 1816 to 1907

In previous Blogs I examined the History of Western Education, I have now decided to look more closely at educational policy in Britain. My original intention was to study the various reports and inquiries produced in the post World War two period, however, I found amongst my books an Open University Set Book¹ by J Stuart Maclure in which he includes a number of Educational Documents covering England and Wales from 1816 up to 1972. This seemed a more appropriate place to start. It has to be stated that the book contains a series of excerpts rather than the complete documents. In my turn, I have extracted those portions which are applicable to my studies.

The theme of my study has been the question Why do we teach? What is the purpose of education? As I have conducted my research, it has become clear that there is a clear divide upon this matter between the elite that controls society and the majority of people, whether we refer to them as the common people, the lower orders, or the working class. As Adam Smith so aptly put the situation when he deprecated any interference with the education of the middle and upper classes, maintaining that they can be safely trusted to educate themselves ². It is necessary, therefore, to give attention to the manner in which the education of the working class is considered. This in turn requires that attention be given to the social conditions prevailing at the time.

In the introduction to the book on Educational Documents Maclure notes that the lack of administration is the key to much of English educational history - this is one of the reasons for the Government chanelling money for education in to the voluntary, mainly religious, bodies. He notes the lasting hostility of the middle classes towards educational expenditure ³ . The Newcastle report states that the new Department of Education (1861) was bound to follow a policy of the extension of sound and cheap elementary education for all classes of people. Everything pointed to legislation. But every attempt to persuade Parliament to intervene had run into trouble on denominational grounds ⁴ .

In summarising the social conditions prevailing at the time, Maclure writes that the violence and poverty of the time, the sharpness of social distinctions, the prevalence of pauperism and the links between poverty, ignorance and crime made it inevitable that the better classes should look for practical advantage for their benevolence ⁵ . Rev William Gurney, Rector of St Giles in giving evidence to the Brougham Committee (1816 -1818)⁶ gave as a reason why many children did not go to school was their ragged condition, their great poverty, to appear decently at school. He went on to say that many mendicants, owing to the lawlessness of the neighbourhood, who the more children they had the more success they had in begging. W F Lloyd, Secretary of the Sunday School Union Society gave similar evidence⁷, stating that an amazing number of children in the metropolis are prevented from attending any school whatsoever from the want of anything like decent clothing, there are a vast number of children employed in selling matches, sweeping the streets and other low occupations who are careless of their instruction, they will not put themselves to any trouble to provide decent clothes for their attendance at school; many of their parents are likewise extremely poor, where there are large families, to be unable to procure clothing. ⁸ In giving evidence to a Parliamentary Committee in 1834 ⁹ , speaking of deep poverty, he stated that he was referring to the children of trampers and beggars and gypsies, and people of that kind. Some times, by extraordinary effort we get these children at school, but they are off again almost immediately; and these are the children from whom a very large proportion of our prisons are filled.

This view of the poorest section of the working class came through in other documents. Lord John Russell, writing to Lord Lansdowne on the creation of the Committee of Council for Education, ¹⁰ 1839, wrote that there is a large class of people who may be fitted to be good members of society without injury or offence to any party – I mean paupers, orphans, children deserted by parents, and the offsprings of criminals and their associates. It is from this class that the thieves and house breakers of society are continuously recruited. It is this class likewise which has filled the workhouses with ignorant and idle inmates. In all such instances the young may be saved from the temptation of crime, and the whole community receive indisputable benefit. The attitude towards the working class is clearly seen in the Report Mr J C Symons to the Report of the Commissioners of Inquiry into the State of Education in Wales ¹¹. In speaking of the moral and physical conditions, he draws attention to the fact that the Welsh are peculiarly exempt from the guilt of great crimes. He notes that there are few districts in Europe where murder, burglaries, personal violence, rape, forgeries or any other felonies on a large scale are so rare. However, he then goes on, at length, to complain of the standard of morals, claiming that there are perhaps few countries where the standard of morals is lower. He complains that the Welsh men scarcely consider such things as petty thefts, lying, chicanery, drunkenness (where means exist) and idleness, as sins. He is even more scathing of the women whom he consider to lack chastity, giving examples of what he regards as vile practices. Even the young people do not escape his censor as he regards night prayer meetings as an excuse for intercourse on their way home.

The examples given above clearly show the manner in which the lower orders were regarded by their superiors. The very language indicates the false assumptions that undermines the equality that should exist within society. These attitudes carries over into education. The distinctive, highly selective, Grammar school type of secondary education with its conscious minority function, and its university orientation, was able to take the form it did because the elementary schools were deemed to provide all that was needed for the great majority. ¹². The Regulations for Secondary Schools ¹³ stated that secondary schools are of different types, suited to different requirements of scholars, to their place in the social organisation and to the means of their parents and the age at which the regular attendance of the scholar is obliged to stop short, as well as the occupation and opportunities for development to which they may or should look forward to in later life. When asked whether, if he was to select one of his schoolboys, distinguished by their proficiency, he would have a superior schoolmaster? Rev William Johnson, Clerical Superintendent to the National Society, replied that he thought they would be worse supplied than at present considering that these children are connected with the lowest people and that their principles are not thoroughly matured ¹⁴.

In evidence to the Newcastle Report¹⁵, Rev James Fisher, later Bishop of Manchester, stated his believe that everything that a child would need could be taught to the them by the time he or she was ten years old. He set out what this implied. If the child is properly looked after in the lower classes, he should be able to spell correctly the words that he will ordinarily have to use; he shall read a common narrative – a paragraph in the newspaper he cares to read – with sufficient ease to be a pleasure to himself and to convey information to listeners; if gone to live at a distance from home, he shall write his mother a letter that shall be both legible and intelligible; he knows enough ciphering to make out or test the correctness of a common shop bill; if he hears talk of foreign countries he has some notion as to the part of the habitable globe in which they lie; and underlying all, and not without its influence, I trust, upon his life and conversation, he has acquaintance enough with Holy Scripture to follow the allusions of a plain Saxon sermon, and a sufficient recollection of the truths taught him in the catechism to know what are the duties required of him towards his maker and his fellow man.

In a Minority Report ¹⁶ to the Newcastle Report, it was stated that a large proportion of the children in some districts do not learn even to read; at least, their power of reading is so slight, so little connected with any intelligent perception of its importance, and so much a mere matter of mechanical routine to be of little value to them in after life, and to be frequently forgotten as soon as school is left. The children do not generally get the mastery over elementary subjects which the school ought to give. They neither read well nor write well. They work sums, but they learn their arithmetic in such away as to be of little practical use in common life. Their religious instruction is unintelligible, and to a great extent confined to exercises in merely verbal memory.

The Taunton Report ¹⁷ considered that it was in the National interest that intellectual ability, in whatever rank it be found, shall have the fullest opportunity of cultivation and that none of it should be lost to the country because poverty had prevented it attaining its due development. Yet, despite stating that a system of free schools was the best means of securing the general diffusion of education that all consider almost a necessity to the happiness and prosperity of the nation, considered that it was better to charge fees even in elementary schools.

In a speech introducing the Elementary Education Bill to the House of Commons ¹⁸, W E Foster gave figures for the school attendance showing that only two fifths of the children of the working class between the ages of 6 and 10 were on the register of Government schools, and only one third of those between the ages of 10 and 12 (ie 1000000 unhelped between 6 and 10 and 500000 between 10 and 12). He went on to say that where state help is most wanted, state help has been least given. In helping those who help themselves, or who can get others to help them, we have left unhelped those who most need help. He asked why should we relieve the parents from all payment for the education of his child? However the Bill did include provision for School Boards to provide free schools and free places in certain circumstances. The purpose of the Bill was to bring elementary education within the reach of every English home, and age, and within the reach of those children who have no home. He went on to make the point that upon this speedy provision depends also the good working of our constitutional system. Parliament has decided that England shall be governed by popular government. Now we have given them political power, we must give them education. Upon the speedy provision of education depends our national power. If we are to hold our position among men of our race or among the nations of the world, we must make up for the smallness of our numbers by increasing the intellectual force of the individual.

This recognition of the need for elementary education was also seen in the need to go further in terms of secondary education. In spite of the limitations that had been strongly expressed by their Lordships that no education ought to be encouraged in which intellectual instruction is not subordinated to the regulation of thoughts and habits of the children by the doctrines and precepts of revealed religion ¹⁹; and the view that the sole business of the University was to train the mind, not to give much positive, or any professional knowledge, with the study of the classical books regarded as the best means of refining and invigorating the mind ²⁰; and the opinion given in the Regulations for Secondary Schools in 1904 ²¹ that Secondary Schools are of different types, suited to different requirements of scholars, to their place in the social organisation and to the means of the parents and the age at which the regular attendance of the scholar is obliged to stop short, as well as the occupation and opportunities for development to which they may or should look forward to in later life; there was a growing realisation that more needed to be done in this respect.

The conclusions of the Bryce report of 1895 ²² claimed that although elementary education is important, it is by those who have received a further and superior kind of instruction that the intellectual progress of a nation is maintained in terms of literature, science and government. They say that those who have been to university have fared well, particularly those who could afford the high fees charged by some of the great endowed schools, but the commercial and professional classes have had to put up with an inferior type of education. The conclusions noted that that the opportunities to boys and girls who do not go to university, but leave school at sixteen, are far behind the requirements of the times. They note the views expressed about the disadvantages that young Englishmen suffer in industry and commerce owing to their superior competitors in several countries of continental Europe. Whilst recognising that these disadvantages are real the conclusions go on to recognise the faults of dullness and barrenness to which so many lives are condemned by the absence of those capacities for intellectual enjoyment which ought to be awakened in youth. In an age of increasing leisure and luxury, when men have more time and opportunity for leisure, and pursue it more eagerly, it becomes all the more desirable that they should be induced to draw it from the best sources. Thus, it is not merely in the interests of material prosperity and intellectual activity of the nation, but no less in that of its happiness and moral strength, that the extension and reorganisation of secondary education seem entitled to a place among the first subjects with which social legislation ought to deal.

The statement regarding the teaching of science, expressed in the Devonshire Report ²³ that ‘The true teaching of science consists not merely in imparting facts of science, but of habituating the pupil to observe for himself, to reason for himself on what he observes and to check the conclusions at which he arrives by further observation or experiment’, applies in the field of general education . Further evidence of the growing need to widen education comes in the Samuelson Report ²⁴ which notes that there can be no further doubt that our manager, our foremen and our workmen should, in the degree compatible with their circumstances, combine theoretical instruction with their acknowledged skill. The Report goes on to site many examples of industries and educational establishments where this is being carried out.

The Elementary Code of 1904 ²⁵ sets out a fairly positive approach to the education of young people. It states that “the purpose of the Public Elementary School is to form and strengthen the character and to develop the intelligence of children entrusted to it, and to make best use of the school years available in assisting boys and girls, according to their different needs, to fit themselves practically as well as intellectually for the work of life.” It goes on to say that “the aim of the school is to train children carefully in the habit of observation and clear reasoning so that they may gain an intelligent acquaintance with the facts and laws of nature, to arouse in them a living interest in the achievements of mankind and to bring them to some familiarity with the literature and history of their own countrymen; to give them some power over language as an instrument of thought and expression, and, while making them conscious of the limitations of their knowledge, to develop in them such a taste for good reading and thoughtful study as will enable them to increae that knowledge in after life by their own efforts.” The code goes on to talk about practical work and manual instruction; the healthy development of their bodies; and the development whereever possible of exceptional talent. Teachers are encouraged to develop in the children habits of industry, self control, and courageous perseverence in the face of difficulties; to reverence what is noble, to be ready for self sacrifice; to strive after purity and truth; to foster a sense of duty, with consideration and respect for others. In cooperation with parents, to enable the children to reach their full development as individuals and to become upright and useful members of the community in which they live, and worthy sons and daughters of the country to which they belong. 

The Blue Book of 1905 ²⁶ urged teachers to impress upon their scholars, the dignity of knowledge, the duty of each pupil to use his powers to the best of his advantage, and the truth that life is a serious as well as a pleasant thing. The work of the public elementary school is the preparation of the scholar for life. It stressed the fact that schooldays are the period in life when human nature is most plastic and when good influence can be most fruitful.

Having stated the good points that can flow from schools and the work of teachers, it is worth considering the comments that Matthew Arnold made in his General Report of 1867²⁷ Commenting on the fact that he considered that the mode of teaching in Primary schools has fallen off in intelligence, spirit and inventiveness since his last report, he noted that this was the effect of reliance on mechanical procedures with too little regard to intelligence. He blames this on the fact that Government grants depend largely upon examination which inevitably leads to a mechanical turn to school teaching, a mechanical turn to inspection, and must be trying to the intellectual life of the school. He calls for more free play for teaches and inspectors. He notes that in the game of mechanical contrivances the teacher will in the end beat us, they will be able to prepare pupils to pass examinations without them really knowing much of the material.

The Newcastle Report ²⁸ also refers to the question of examinations, noting that the examiner shall examine every child in reading writing and arithmetic. The examination will exercise a powerful influence over the efficiency of the schools and will tend to make a minimum of attainment universal. At present, the temptation of the teacher is to cram the eldest classes, and the inspector is too cursory to check the practice, while there are no inducements to make them attend closely to the younger children. Everyone who has been at a public school knows how searching and improving is the character of a careful examination, even down to the youngest children. The Report on Examinations in Secondary Schools, 1911 ²⁹, noted the bad effects that examinations have upon teaching in schools. They divert energy from the creative process, they favour passive minds, they induce pupils to absorb information imparted rather than forming independent judgement, and create a wrong attitude towards acquiring knowledge.

As we pass through the nineteenth century, we find a growing awareness of the need to widen the range of young people who should be provided with education. The basis for this need of education does change from the concepts of morality at the beginning of the century to a recognition of the needs of the economy at the end of the century. What to my mind is missing, to a very large extent, is the recognition of the individuality and the personal needs of the so called ‘common people’. There are some suggestions that the economy might benefit by taking people out of this group, where ability is recognised, and developing that ability. But there is no recognition of the talents that reside amongst the working class. The class structure is firmly in place. There are positive developments, but also reactionary elements, such as inspection and examinations, which still bedevil education in modern times. I will continue my research into these documents and report my findings in my next blog.

Scribart 24.01.20

1Educational Documents England and Wales 1816 to the present day. J Stuart Maclure Open University Set Book 1973 edition

2The History of Western Education William Boyd pp 305/6

3Maclure p4 and p7

4Report of the Commissioners appointed to Inquire into the State of Popular Education in England (Newcastle Report) 1861 in Maclure p. 70

5Maclure p 4

6Report of the Parliamentary Committee on the Education of the Lower Orders in the Metropolis and Beyond – Henry Brougham 1816 -1818 in Maclure p 23

7Brougham Report 1816 – 1818 in Maclure pp 26/27

8We shoud never underestimate the effect that poverty has upon people. In addition to the material deprivation it also has a serious effect upon how people regard themselves in the light of the opinion of other people. However much they may have personal pride and a believe in their own worth they cannot but help being conscious of the manner others regard them.

9Report of the Parliamentary Committee on the State of Education 1834 in Maclure p 32

10Creation of the Committee of Council for Education 1839 in Maclure pp 42 - 45

11Report of the Commissioners of Inquiry into the State of Education in Wales 1847 in Maclure pp 60/1.

12Maclure in his introduction pp7/8

13Regulation for Secondary Schools 1904 in Maclure p 157

14Report of the Parliamentary Committee on the State of Education 1834 in Maclure pp 29/30

15See above in Maclure p 75

16In Maclue p 78

17Report of the Royal Commission known as the Schools Inquiry Commission (Taunton Report) 1868 in Maclure p96

18Elementary Education Act 1870 in Maclure pp 99 - 105

19Instruction to Inspectors 1840 in Maclure p 49.

20Report of Royal Commission on Oxford 1852 in Maclure p 68

21 Regulations for Secondary Schools 1904 in Maclure p157.

22Report of the Royal Commission on Secondary Education (Bryce Report) 1895

23Report of the Royal commission on Scientific Instruction and the Advancement of Science (Devonshire report) 1872 – 5 in Maclure p 108

24Report of he Royal Commission on Technical Instruction (Samuelson Report) 1882-1884, Second Report 1884 in Maclure pp 123 - 125

25Elementary Code 1904 in Maclure pp 154/5

26Hand Book of Suggestions for Teachers and others concerned in the work of public elementary schools (Blue Book) 1905 in Maclure pp 160/1

27Effects of the Revised Code, Matthew Arnold’s General Report for the Year 1867 in Maclure p 81

28Newcastle Report See Above in Maclure pp 72/73

29Report of the Consultative Committee of the Board of Education on Examinations in Secondary Schools 1911. in Maclure p 164/5 [See also Beloe Report 1958]