1870 Education Case Study

Education in the late 1700’s and early 1800 was only available to those who had money. Public education was not available to everybody. Children who came from wealthy parents were able to learn how to read and write. These children went on to continue the cycle with their children. Schools came about when towns would pull their resources and higher teachers. The teachers were literally paid by bushels of wheat and half of a cow. School was based off the Bible. These facts and many more make me so grateful for not being born during this time. I love education and I love learning. I don’t know what I would do without the education I have received and continue to receive.

The 1902 Education Act was put in place by the Conservative party to put more money into schools by abolishing school attendance committees and the school boards and handing over their responsibilities to local councils as Local Education Authorities (LEA’s), who

In the farming society of the early 1800’s, education was not possible for many children. Horace Mann, a farm boy himself and an early advocate for educational reform, saw the deficiencies in the educational system. He pushed for “common schools” that would retain local control, be co-educational and revolve around the agricultural year. Mann’s ideas began to be adopted around the country in the second half of the nineteenth century. By the start of the twentieth century, mandatory public schooling was the norm. This was the height of the industrial revolution. As Davidson notes in “Project Classroom Makeover”, “Public Education was seen as the most efficient way to train potential workers for labor in the newly urbanized factories (197).” Schools began to work like an assembly line with a focus on efficiency, attention to detail, memorization of facts and staying on task. Curriculum became standardized and states began to replace the local management of education. Critically thinking outside the box was less valued. Regardless of ability, children started school at the same age and were moved through their education in a regulated process.

The authority however had its prosperity and disappointments in opposition to these essential thoughts. One of the primary triumphs was the training program that the authority set up. By 1870 there were more than 150,000 African American's selected in these schools. A hefty portion of the schools set up still stand and instruct numerous today even. Three of the principle disappointments of the authority came to fruition on account of the contempt in the south, and the counter dark disposition. The first being the area that should be given to the liberated men after the common war, never happened in light of the fact that the area was offered back to the ranch proprietors. The second was the work contracts, they started as a smart thought, however

While the 1800’s were full of groundbreaking inventions it is also home to many changes in quality of life and living, including the educational reform, the prison reform and the abolition movement. In the early 1800s getting an education was not a priority or option for most children. While it was often class based and varied between the north and south. Most children attended little to no school and the education they did receive was provided by unqualified teachers who received little pay. The education reform directed by Horace Mann helped bring about state sponsored public education, with curriculum and local property tax to finance education. Horace Mann believed that “popular schooling could be transformed into a powerful instrument for social unity.” (https://www.mackinac.org/2035) The organizarional model Mann and others adopted for massachusetts was the Prussian educational system. Allowing for the state to control education from lower grades up to the university level. Along with the state supervising the training of the teachers, children were

In 1877 the south was far behind the north, to spite having more railroads. The south did not have electricity, Public school’s public health services or even telephones. From 1880 to the 1900’s the south started building railroads and from 1880 to 1890 they doubled their tracks. They also began producing iron and steel, while also starting their own set of goods like timber mills, tobacco and textile mills. In the South a weak agricultural economy, and a high rural birthrate decreased wages severely. low wages undermined the southern economy in multiple ways. The poorly paid workers did not buy much or provide tax revenue limiting funding for education. Low wages also kept educated immigrants out of the areas, because without jobs that paid well enough they could not afford the

One piece of legislation that was introduced was the education (provision of meals) act in 1906, this act gave free school meals to children, they rose from 9 million to 14 million. It gave the local authority a grant to fund 50% of the cost of meals and there was a public funded welfare service set up to replace charity funding. Although the School Meals Act, passed in 1906, gave local councils power to provide free school meals, if they wanted to. Money to provide these meals however had to be raised from local tax payers and so therefore was not universally adopted. By 1914 less than half of local authorities had no school meals (Intriguing History,2014) (BBC,2014).

Before the educational reform there were very little public schools. If there was a public school in a town it was part time and only one room. Wealthy families could afford to send their children to private school or

The 1870 Education Act, universally recognized as Foster’s Education Act, set the structure of schooling for all children aged between 5 and 13 years old (Politics, 2014). Gillard (2011) mentioned that the 1870 Education Act which ‘established school boards to oversee and complete the network of schools and bring them all under some form of provision’ was drafted by Liberal MP, William Forster, and it was introduced on 9 August 1870. 1870 Education Act is the start of obligatory state education (Shaw, 2011).

By using the eleven-plus examination (exam taken at around the age of 11) to test pupils' intelligence and abilities in English and arithmetic, three groups of children were identified. Firstly, there were academic pupils, who went to the secondary grammar schools. These schools provided the main route to university. Secondly, there was a group of practical pupils, who were interested in applied science or applied art. They went to the technical schools. Remaining pupils, mostly working class, went to the secondary modern schools where they received a more basic education. Thus, the secondary educational system set up as a result of the 1944 Act was a tripartite system - three types of schools, which, it was argued, were different but equal. As a result, the Act's aim of providing every child with an education was achieved, and the number of pupils in the schools began to rise rapidly. This can be clearly seen in Figure 1:

Life in New Zealand in the late 1800’s was looking quite grim. Section 89 presented in the 1877 Education act, was considered important at the time because the government wanted the notion of building a nation and society, improving the lives of individuals, developing an economy, and to integrate different groups into ‘the social contract’ (Codd, J., & Openshaw, R, 2005) Education was perceived as a formula for this to happen. The reasons for exemptions, was firstly as stated by Charles Bowen (1877) “that it was not the intention to encourage children whose vocation is that of honest labour to waste in higher schools time which might be better spent in learning a trade” (Stephenson,2009 p.9). It was considered enough to gain basic skills in

Free Education was deemed a necessity as there are a lot of families who are on benefits and it enabled all young people to be successful learners, confident and learn to be responsible. It also opened opportunities for young people and children to be successful through life. The legislation that brought this into effect was the Education Act 1944 and the current legislations for schools are Education Act 1980, Education Act 2002, and Education Act 2016. However there are current issues as there is arise in young people refusing to attend school due to bullying, emotional needs, peer pressure and there is a lack of qualified teachers.

In 1891 primary education became free and compulsory for all children between the ages 5 and 13. Although some may see this as a great step towards equality, many found this an inconvenience as their children could no longer work for them; this in some cases meant families lost out on money and business. A Marxist would explain this as the Bourgeoisie transmitting the ideology to the Proletariat that capitalism is just and reasonable. Marx (1848) considers this ‘exploitation of the many by the few’. This can be seen in the schooling environment as it teaches you to compete with your fellow pupils by trying to achieve higher than them for a grade or position, similar to that society. They would also see it as training

When thinking of the Middle Ages, one rarely pictures children in a classroom. Instead, the images of war and agriculture, and kings and queens in castles typically come to mind, but Europe was not always this way. The Roman Empire Era was famous for its advanced education and philosophy, so what happened to education in Europe when the Roman Empire fell? Was there an educational system in the Middle Ages? How and what did children learn?

“The period between 1965 and the end of the 1980s witnessed significant developments, not only in the provision of post-primary schooling in Ireland, but also in the way in which schooling was understood.”