Hadow (1928)

Notes on the text
Preliminary pages Membership, Analysis, Preface, Introduction
Chapter 1 Books in schools 1810 to 1928
Chapter 2 Place and function of books
Chapter 3 Provision of books by LEAs
Chapter 4 School and public libraries
Chapter 5 Guidance for teachers, production of books
Chapter 6 Cost and use of books
Chapter 7 Conclusions and recommendations
Appendix I List of witnesses
Appendix II Practice of sample LEAs
Appendix III Provision of books in London
Appendix IV Expenditure on books
Appendix V Provision of books in Scotland
Appendix VI Publication of new books
Index

Chapter 1 Books in elementary schools from about 1810 to 1928
[pages 1 - 17]

The supply of school books has raised special problems at each consecutive stage in the movement for popular education. Indeed, the question is so closely bound up with educational progress that a good account of the progress of primary education during the nineteenth century might be built up from a detailed study of the various types of school book in use at successive periods. It is impossible, however, in the present Chapter to do more than give a brief sketch of the more important stages in the development.

Part I: Books in elementary schools up to about 1847

1. In the early years of the nineteenth century there were very few school books available for the mass of the population. Children's books and school books were of two types. On the one hand, there were the penny spelling and reading books, together with catechisms and abridgements of the scriptures, published by bodies such as the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, for use in charity day schools and in Sunday schools. On the other hand, there was a considerable number of books designed primarily for children of the middle and upper classes, which had appeared as the result of a growing interest in home education. Among these publications were various infants' primers and readers, selections of prose and verse for recitation, and works on English history, geography, natural history, travel, and so forth. The early primers, which usually cost from 3d to 6d [1 - 2½p] each, were small volumes attractively bound in coloured boards and illustrated with wood cuts. In all essentials, they were a development of the ABC books (1) of the sixteenth century, containing the alphabet in different characters, lists of consonants and vowels, lists of syllables, and easy lessons consisting of fables, moral injunctions, natural history, Bible stories and the catechism. Such books were designed to be spelt through and learnt rather than read. Spelling books, such as Dilworth's New Guide to the English Tongue (1740) and Mavor's English Spelling Book (1801), which were used in private schools, parish schools and dame schools during the early part of the last century, were merely expanded works of this type which aimed at a more thorough and systematic grouping of words 'for the easier and more speedy way of teaching children to read'. Fox's Introduction to Spelling and Reading and the spelling books for charity schools written about 1792 by Mrs Trimmer (1741-1810) were of the same character, except that the latter contained no illustrations. Mrs Trimmer also published various other books for use in charity schools and Sunday schools, including a scripture catechism and two abridgements of scripture history. These compilations, which remained on the list of the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge for 77 years, had a very wide circulation in National Day Schools. (2)

2. The textbooks for young children published by Mrs Barbauld (1743-1825) marked a great advance on primers and manuals of the traditional type described above. Her Lessons for Children (1778), which appeared in four parts, set a standard that for long remained unchallenged, and definitely influenced the size and quality of type used in printing books for very young children. The lists of syllables and spellings were discarded and the printed text contained matter of real interest. In order to assist the children, the lessons were attractively printed in clear type and dealt in simple, well chosen language with the incidents of everyday life. A more didactic type of book is represented by The Parent's Assistant or Stories for Children and its sequel Harry and Lucy, written by Maria Edgeworth (1767-1849) with the object of conveying in an interesting story the first principles of morality and the elements of science and literature. In their wide and enlightened outlook both these writers show traces of the influence of Rousseau and Basedow. Their works inspired many imitators and definitely influenced the type of children's book produced during the first half of the nineteenth century.

A further stage in the evolution of school reading books was marked by the publication by Lindley Murray (1745-1826) of his series of five readers, the first of which appeared in 1804. It was a series composed largely of literary extracts in prose and verse, and was intended not only to afford practice in oral reading and elocution, but also to develop style and taste in English composition. These books were all intended primarily for middle class children. A typical arithmetic textbook of this period is F Walkingame's The Tutor's Assistant (1751), designed according to the preface 'to lighten the labours of the teacher and to enable the pupil to instruct himself.' It is in fact a clumsy and pedantic compilation.

Such was the general position of school books when the British and Foreign School Society, (3) founded in 1808, and the National Society, founded in 1811, began their work on behalf of popular education.

3. As one of the chief aims of these two organisations was to supply education at a cheap rate, the question of school books became of great importance. Mrs Trimmer's Spelling Books for Charity Schools, costing 8s [40p] a hundred, were indeed available, but were flimsy and somewhat unattractive. Joseph Lancaster (1778-1838), the Superintendent of the British and Foreign School Society, attempted to reduce the cost of reading material by the introduction of reading cards. His cards were the forerunners of the reading sheets which in the later decades of the nineteenth century were so extensively used in infants' schools and departments. Lancaster also put forward in 1810 a scheme for a school circulating library. (4) In the early years of the two Societies the problem was less urgent, as the reading in British Schools was limited by regulation to the scriptures, and for National Schools in villages Mrs Trimmer's spelling books and abridgements were considered sufficient.

The problem of school books was more effectively treated by the Society for Promoting the Education of the Poor in Ireland, founded in 1811. This organisation appointed a literary editor and began in 1813 to publish a series of school books which included a spelling book, a reading book, and works on arithmetic, needlework, geography, etc. Later, the Society issued a series of cheap books for the purpose of supplying schools with libraries. The series consisted of 79 small duodecimo volumes, costing 3d or 8d [1p or 4p] each, according to size; 60,000 copies of these publications were sold annually, and by 1833, when this branch of the Society's work was transferred to the Commissioners of National Education, over 1½ million copies had been sold. The work thus begun was further developed by the Commissioners of National Education in Ireland, with the result that the Irish official readers were very extensively used in primary schools in England and Wales before the great developments in the production of school books which began after 1870. (5)

A statement made by the Secretary to the National Society in 1816 throws an interesting sidelight on contemporary ideas about expenditure on books for primary schools. He stated that the total expense of books for 50 boys was £1 3s 11d [£1.20], amounting to less than sixpence [2½p] for each child, but, as under good management each of the tracts in question would serve six children in succession, the real expense of books for instruction in reading and the rudiments of religion was about 1d [½p] for each child. (6)

4. The action of the House of Commons in voting £20,000 'for purposes of education' in August 1833, and the frequent references to primary schools in parliament, reflected the growth of public interest in the subject, and caused attention to be directed more and more to the lack of suitable textbooks.

To meet the growing demand Dr JM M'Culloch of Edinburgh published a series of elementary readers in five volumes about 1837. Unfortunately however, M'Culloch, instead of following the lines laid down by Mrs Barbauld, adhered to the traditional method of directing the pupil's attention to the construction of words and to technical exercises. His third reader, nevertheless, showed a real advance, as it consisted of selections from Mrs Barbauld's works and from the popular scientific textbooks compiled by Mrs Marcet (1769-1858). His fifth book consisted of selected passages referring for the most part to physical science, geography, natural history, and the like. M'Culloch's books are of interest not only as being one of the first series of readers, but because they were avowedly general, being intended to convey a good deal of miscellaneous information. Most general readers were compiled on similar lines up to the close of the nineteenth century.

Another series of readers characteristic of the period were the four Daily Lesson Books, published in 1839 by Mr Crossley, head teacher of the Practising School attached to the Borough Road Training College of the British and Foreign School Society, immediately after the Society had rescinded its rule confining reading to the scriptures.

His first book was a primer; the second a spelling and reading book; the third a prose and poetry reader; the fourth a class book consisting of lessons in geography, history and natural philosophy. The amount of actual reading material was comparatively small, but each lesson was to be made an avenue to a great store of miscellaneous information, a reading lesson on books, for example, providing the occasion for an object lesson on books.

Part II: An experiment in state intervention

The book department of the Committee of Council on Education, 1847-1861, and the criticisms of the Newcastle Commission (1861) upon it

5. The urgent need for improving the quality and provision of books for primary schools led the Committee of Council on Education in 1847 to publish a list bringing elementary books of different kinds before the notice of managers of schools, and to assist in the purchase of books by grants of money. In a printed circular on this subject the Committee of Council explained that, while by the aid of religious associations the managers of elementary schools had generally been able to procure a sufficient supply of bibles and books of religious instruction, other lesson books had often been either entirely lacking or very scantily supplied; and this evil had been increasingly felt since the standard of instruction had been raised by the operation of the Minutes of Council of August and December 1846. 'The Committee of Council on Education have, therefore, acceded to an almost universal sense of the importance of introducing a better supply of such lesson books in addition to the books of religious instruction, and have determined to make grants for this purpose.' It was explained that, in preparing the list, the works submitted by educational publishers and societies had been taken as a basis. The Committee reserved the liberty of rejection, which was exercised on two grounds - '(1) the unsuitableness of the work for elementary education; (2) the fact that it belonged to a class too numerous to be comprised within the limits of the list.' The Committee in the circular accompanying the list guarded itself, so far as any words could guard it, against the assumption of anything like censorship, or the recommendation of any particular works. The publishers of books, maps and diagrams included in the list allowed a discount averaging about 40 per cent to schools which purchased such publications through the Committee of Council. Towards these purchases at the reduced prices the Committee made grants at the rate of 1Od [4p] per scholar according to the average number in attendance during the year preceding the application, 'provided that no less than 20d [8p] per scholar be subscribed, on the part of the school, to meet such grants.' Books etc. might be applied for once a year at the reduced prices; but grants in aid were made only once in three years. Books might be purchased directly by teachers and pupils at the reduced rates.

6. The Royal Commission on the state of popular education in England discussed in its Report issued in 1861 the arrangements for the supply of books adopted by the Committee of Council on Education. The Report drew attention to the effects resulting from any authoritative selection of books, in the way both of sanction and of condemnation. The Commissioners, after stating that they had little doubt that since 1847 the Committee's list of books had tended to enlarge the repertory of school books by introducing to managers works of intrinsic merit, expressed the view that a point had now probably been reached by which, this good object having been effected, the list, from the necessary exclusion of large classes of works, would begin to restrict rather than to enlarge the supply of the best books. Moreover, the arrangement had proved expensive to administer. The Commissioners accordingly recommended that the list should be discontinued, and this suggestion was duly carried out in the Code of 1862. In discussing the probable effect of the discontinuance of the list on the price of books, the Commissioners stated that booksellers would doubtless give the same discount to managers of schools which they had allowed to the government, and that it would be to their interest to circulate good lists of school books and make all desirable arrangements for the expenses of agency which had hitherto been borne by the government. The hopes of the Commissioners in this matter were not, however, fulfilled, as the supply of school books passed into the hands of various educational trading associations which made their own terms. The Report calls attention to the great service which might be rendered to popular education by providing good books for children. 'Those books which have come under our observation, though many of them possess considerable merit, leave much to be desired. This remark is true with regard to reading books especially.' (7) The abandonment of the official book list was viewed with peculiar regret by Matthew Arnold, who expressed his views on the matter in his general report for 1867 as follows: 'In this country where little importance is attached to the science of public administration, a public department is apt first to attempt to exercise a critical function with insufficient means, and then, when the result appears unsatisfactory, hastily to retreat altogether from exercising it. The better way, perhaps, would be to exercise it properly.' (8)

Part III: The period of indirect official control by means of provisions in the Code, syllabuses, instructions to inspectors etc, 1862 to about 1895

7. In the revised Code of 1862 the Education Department issued a syllabus in reading, writing and arithmetic arranged in six standards. (9) As this syllabus was compulsory, it meant in fact that a certain uniformity had to be adopted in producing books for primary schools. For instance, reading books for Standard I had to be based on monosyllabic words, and those for Standard II on words of more than one syllable. Children in Standard III, when they were examined by HM Inspector, were not only expected to be able to read 'a short paragraph from an elementary reading book used in school', but also to write from dictation 'a sentence from the same paragraph slowly read once and then dictated in single words'. It was accordingly in the interest of teachers and publishers alike to pay attention to simplicity of wording and phrasing. The system embodied in the Code of 1862 of an annual examination by the inspector of each individual pupil, and of payment by results, gave a check to any further broadening of the basis of education and fostered intensive study of such reading books as were available. (10) At this time at least 10 hours a week were devoted to reading (apart from the Bible), and to spelling and dictation, and it was a common practice to read the same passage again and again until it was learnt by heart. The introduction of a new reading book was an event in many schools.

Reading books published at this period were often arranged with lists of words for spelling at the head of each new lesson and with exercises in manuscript type to be copied out and with dictation lessons at the end. In some instances the reading book contained arithmetical exercises and examples covering the arithmetic syllabus for the appropriate standard. Series of printed cards were extensively used for the teaching of arithmetic.

8. Matthew Arnold, who profoundly disapproved of the principle of annual examination and payment by results embodied in the revised Code of 1862, nevertheless pointed out in his general report for 1863 (11) that the effect of the new Code on school reading books had been to improve them noticeably by directing greater attention to simplicity of language and ease of style. In his report for 1867 (12) Arnold explained that with the increase of primary schools the supply of school books had become a lucrative and important business, but that such books were very often compiled by persons quite incompetent for the undertaking. He accordingly suggested that the Education Department should exercise some control over books in aided schools. His plea, however, for a partial reversion to the policy of the book list adopted by the Department from 1847 to 1861 met with no support.

9. The passing of the Elementary Education Act of 1870 marks the beginning of a fresh phase in the history of school books. The establishment of School Boards and the new financial conditions introduced by the Act together with the great extension of elementary schools, opened up a wide field for publishers, and from this time school books appeared in greatly augmented numbers. When the Act of 1870 was being put into operation, Matthew Arnold in his general report for 1871 (13) again urged upon the Education Department the desirability of devoting greater attention to the question of books. He suggested that the senior inspectors might be requested to collaborate with the new School Boards and advise them in the matter of books. His suggestion however was not adopted, and the Department adhered to its policy of refraining from any direct interference with the supply and selection of books, though indirectly, as we point out in Section 12 of this chapter, the Syllabuses and Instructions to Inspectors exercised a profound influence on the form, character and content of many of the school books produced at the time.

10. It would be impossible to summarise within reasonable limits the numerous changes introduced in the Codes and other official documents bearing on the curriculum from 1870 onwards. We may, however, quote here as a typical example the alterations in the Code of 1882 in which new syllabuses were provided both in the standard (obligatory) subjects and in the 'class' subjects (i.e. elementary science, grammar, history, elementary geography and plain needlework). Various modifications were made also in respect of the 'specific' (14) subjects. A Seventh Standard was officially recognised for the first time, and it was laid down that three sets of books had to be provided in every class, except Standards I and II where two sets of books might be regarded as sufficient. In Section 7 of the Instructions to Inspectors issued in 1882 the Education Department thus defined its policy respecting books:

'In Standards V, VI and VII books of extracts from standard authors may be taken, though such works as Robinson Crusoe, Voyages and Travels, or Biographies of eminent men (if of suitable length) are to be preferred. In Standards VI and VII a single play of Shakespeare, or a single book of one of Milton's longer poems, or a selection of extracts from either poet equal in length to the foregoing may be accepted. As a rule, ordinary textbooks or manuals should not be accepted as readers'. (15)

12. Though the Department in its Instructions to Inspectors and in other documents laid much emphasis on the policy of non-interference in the matter of books, the indirect influence on publishers of successive Codes and Instructions to Inspectors during the period from 1862 to about 1895 was very great. A typical example is afforded by the following paragraph of Circular No. 228 published by the Education Department in 1883 and repeated as a paragraph in the Official Instructions to Inspectors up to 1891:

'In reading books 40 lessons and not less than 80 pages of small octavo text should be required in Standards I and II, and not less than 60 lessons and 120 pages in higher standards ... Two pages may be considered as the minimum for an effective reading lesson; and engravings, lists of words and names, and supplementary questions or exercises are not to be taken into account in computing the contents of the books, except to a small extent in those for the First Standard. A book containing twice the amount of matter prescribed for a single year may remain in use during two years, e.g. for both the Fifth and Sixth Standards; but may not count as two books for use in a single class in one year. Longer lessons than those of two pages are clearly desirable for the elder children.' (16)

13. Elementary school books published between 1870 and the period 1890-1895 fall broadly into two groups according as they appeared before or after the Code of 1882. The characteristic books of the period before 1882 are the various series of general class 'readers', differing in size and content, but all alike designed to convey a considerable amount of useful information. A number of small books were also produced for study in the standards of schools where different 'specific' and 'class' subjects were taken. When the Code of 1882 provided new syllabuses both in the obligatory and in the optional subjects, the general 'readers' gradually became more literary in character, as separate reading books were now required in geography or science, and also for the upper standards, in history.

After 1890 the number and variety of the reading books rapidly increased in order to meet the alternative syllabuses set out in the Code, and there were published readers in history, geography, natural science, domestic economy and object lessons.

14. The final Report of the Cross Commission issued in 1888 contains several references to the problem of books for public elementary schools. The Commissioners, in discussing the various subjects of the curriculum, refer to a suggestion made by some of HM Inspectors that suitable textbooks should be recommended in the Code, though their use in schools should not be obligatory; and that these books, if adopted, should define the knowledge required in the official examinations. The Commissioners commented on this suggestion as follows:

'But we are altogether opposed to the introduction of an officially recognised set of government textbooks. We think, however, that with the view of indicating to managers and teachers the range of study intended to be covered by the requirements of the Code, a more or less extended programme should be published for each subject.' (17)

'(79) That there is room for much improvement in reading; that it would be of advantage to increase rather than to diminish the number of books to be read in each standard, but that the spelling requirements should be diminished, and that unless the scholars are taught to read with ease, and acquire a taste for reading, their school learning will not be followed up in after life, and that accordingly the establishment of school libraries is strongly to be recommended.'

(86) That we are opposed to the introduction of a set of official Government textbooks.' (17)

15. The system of annual examinations was discarded in the early nineties, and consequent modifications were introduced in methods of inspection. The division of the curriculum into 'obligatory', 'class' and 'specific' subjects was abandoned in 1900, and the Code of 1902 contained for the first time in Article 15 a clear statement regarding courses of instruction in Infant schools and Classes, and in schools for older pupils. These and other changes did not, however, for some years produce any noticeable results in the supply of school books, or in the manner in which they were used in the schools.

Teachers were slow to take advantage of these changes and the freedom that they conferred. They continued to use books for the same purposes as heretofore, and in the same way, that is mainly as books to be read aloud. The reading books on geography, history and science were seldom consulted for the subject matter, and when a new set was to be procured, the suitability of the contents for the teacher's purpose was seldom carefully scrutinised. It was a traditional practice of long standing that 'class and specific subjects' should be taught to the class as a whole, a practice due in part to a belief in collective teaching, in part to the size of the classes, and chiefly, perhaps, to the paucity of suitable books available. A technique was evolved, which by its very skill and polish, and its wealth of illustration, appeared to dispense with the necessity of individual study from books. Moreover, the difficulties which the teacher encountered in teaching his pupils to read at all prevented him from realising that they could be trusted to read for themselves. Thus the demand for books which could be used by the pupils themselves developed slowly. (18)

16. By the time the reorganisation consequent on the Act of 1902 was under way, teachers and all concerned with elementary education were free to examine its methods and its possibilities. The cramping requirements of earlier days once removed, there was also room for the influence of opinion from outside the schools. One of the first results was a growing appreciation of the duty as well as the feasibility of teaching elementary school children to read for themselves. The choice of suitable books began to assume a new importance. Besides selecting those which might be used for enjoyment, the teacher was bound to reflect on the use of books for study and to consider how study could best be conducted under elementary school conditions. The lesson in its more spectacular form has tended to drop into the background, but this form of teaching cannot be entirely superseded by private study. Even today one of the problems of all schools, particularly those for pupils over the age of 11, is to relate in suitable proportions oral teaching and personal study, and this is a problem which has a close bearing on the supply of books, since the character of the right books cannot be determined in the abstract, but must depend upon the use to which they are to be put.

The introduction to the Code of 1904 expressed the newer conception of the aims of the elementary school. It states that one of the aims of the school is 'to develop in the pupils such a taste for good reading and thoughtful study (19) as will enable them to increase that knowledge in after years by their own efforts'.

17. The increased importance attached by the Board of Education since about 1907 to books as forming an integral part of the equipment of public elementary schools may be illustrated by comparing the relevant Article in the Code for 1906 and preceding years, (20) with the corresponding Article for 1907 and subsequent years up to 1925. Article 20 of the Code for 1906 runs:

'The School must be adequately and suitably equipped with the apparatus requisite for its curriculum, including desks, furniture, books and maps.'

'Provision should be made for securing an adequate supply of suitable books for the course of general reading in the higher classes of the school, and for bringing to the notice of the scholars such agencies as may assist them in the continuation of their studies in after life. Dictionaries and atlases should be provided for the older scholars. In cases where the school does not possess a school library, arrangements should be made to supply the want of one, if possible, in other ways, such as by cooperation with organisations existing for the purpose.'

Since 1905 the Board had adopted the practice of giving the greater part of their general advice on the subject of books in the publication entitled Suggestions for the Consideration of Teachers, which was first published in that year and reissued subsequently with partial revisions in 1912, 1914, 1918 and 1922. In the revised Code for 1926 the explicit reference to books was wholly omitted, and Article 5 (a) of the Code states in general terms 'that the premises of a school and centre ... must be suitably arranged, furnished and equipped for instruction.' In Circular No. 1375, dated 29 April 1926, the Board explained the principles underlying the revised Code of 1926. One object of the revision was to confine the Regulations to 'a statement of the actual conditions upon compliance with which the grant to an Authority depends'. The Circular states that the 'Board's views on matters of educational policy can be expressed in more convenient ways than by inclusion in statutory Regulations governing the payment of grant'. The Board accordingly now give their general advice on books in the Handbook of Suggestions for Teachers, issued in an amplified form in 1927, and in other official publications.

18. During the present century the need for a more adequate supply, not only of ordinary school books but of works of reference for the school library and of works suitable for general reading out of school hours, began to be acutely felt, owing to the growing recognition of the desirability of making suitable provision for each pupil according to his capacities. The practice of encouraging the older children to use books of reference and to carry out schemes of individual work under the guidance and supervision of the teacher was gradually coming into vogue. These tendencies in educational development were confirmed by the section (21) in the Education Act of 1918 which provided that it should be the duty of the local authority to make adequate and suitable provision by means of central schools, central or special classes or otherwise for courses of advanced instruction for the older or more intelligent children, including those who remained at school beyond the age of 14. It became more and more evident that a better supply of books would be required for this advanced instruction, and authorities were led to take more active measures to cope with the new situation, in many instances in close cooperation with the local urban libraries, or with the county libraries. For, meanwhile, a new and most important ally had come forward in the shape of public libraries, which, at first chiefly in the large cities, had become invaluable auxiliaries in rendering a larger supply of reading material available for school children, especially since the beginning of the present century. The whole movement was materially assisted by the necessity for a special replacement of books after the war, and it became the ideal of more than one education authority to build up gradually an adequate collection of books within each elementary school. (22)

19. But even at the present time the general line of progress is uneven, and it is possible in many public elementary schools to observe traces of the successive stages in the method of using class books. In some schools the tradition of the three 'readers' survives, and these compilations are still minutely studied for the sake of spelling and of the meanings of individual words. In many schools again the oral lesson continues to be regarded as the most important vehicle of instruction, and except in the reading lesson the book plays an ancillary part. Books however now occupy a prominent place in the scheme of instruction in a rapidly increasing number of schools. They are used extensively by the pupils not merely in the school, but frequently also in the juvenile reading departments of the public libraries. Moreover, children often borrow books for home reading from the juvenile lending departments of public libraries and from the local centres of county libraries, and in some cases also from the school or class library.

Footnotes

(1) It would not be relevant to our present inquiry to attempt to explore the sources of the various types of school books in general in this country, several of which have a long and interesting history.

(2) Mrs Trimmer's books provide an instructive example of the great gulf which at this time separated the school books of the poor from those of the middle and upper classes. Her early writings, inspired by the success of Mrs Barbauld's Lessons for Children, were designed for middle class homes. Her growing interest in charity schools and Sunday schools led her later to concentrate her energies on meeting the great need which was felt there for better books. The Two Farmers was intended to do for poor children what the Fabulous Histories (1785), better known as The Story of the Robins, was doing for those in more affluent circumstances. Similarly the Charity Spelling Books had their parallel in the Little Spelling Book and Easy Lessons for Young Children. These books were noticeably different, however, both in motive and treatment from the charity readers. The abridgements of scripture history are of special interest because they were used indiscriminately for all kinds of children.

(3) This organisation, which had existed in a rudimentary form from 1808, was called the Royal Lancasterian Association (Institution) from 1810. In 1814 it became the British and Foreign School Society, and Joseph Lancaster was paid a fixed salary as Superintendent. See HB Binns A Century of Education, being the Centenary History of the British and Foreign School Society 1808-1908 p. 32 and passim.

(4) See The British System of Education by Joseph Lancaster, London, 1810, pp. 49-52.

(5) Report of the Commissioners appointed to inquire into the State of Popular Education in England (1861) p. 351: 'The Irish reading books are the most popular of all, and their cheapness and completeness as a series have rendered their introduction into the schools of this country almost an era in popular education.'

(6) Report of Select Committee of the House of Commons on the education of the lower orders in the metropolis (1816) Minutes of Evidence, p. 56.

(7) Report of the Commissioners appointed to inquire into the state of popular education in England (1861) Vol. I, pp. 348-351.

(8) Reports on Elementary Schools 1852-1882 by Matthew Arnold. HM Stationery Office, 1910, p. 121.

(9) For a description of the standards of former Codes of the Education Department see Section 34 of the Consultative Committee's Report on Psychological Tests (1924).

(10) The footnote to Article 28 of the new Code of 1875 states that 'Reading will be tested in the ordinary class books, if approved by an inspector; but these books must be of reasonable length and difficulty and unmarked. If they are not so, books brought by the inspector will be used. Every class ought to have two or three sets of reading books'.

(11) Reports on Elementary Schools 1852-1882 by Matthew Arnold, HM Stationery Office, 1910, pp. 97-98.

(12) Ibid, pp. 119-121.

(13) Ibid, pp. 143-144.

(14) As a result of changes introduced in the Codes of 1867, 1870, 1871, 1875 and 1880, the curriculum of an elementary school from 1875 to the later nineties consisted of three main parts:
I. The obligatory subjects, i.e. the three R's (called 'the elementary subjects') with needlework for girls,
II. The optional subjects:
(a) The class subjects, which were optional for classes of scholars above Standard I.
(b) The specific subjects which might be taught to individual scholars in Standards IV and upwards.

(15) Instructions issued to HM Inspectors under the Code of 1882 (c-3568) page 4, section 7.

(16) Circular 228, dated 6 August 1883, Section 7b, and Revised Instructions to HM Inspectors 1890. (C. 5990) Section 19.

(17) Final Report of the Commissioners appointed to inquire into the Elementary Education Acts, England and Wales (1888). (C. 5485) pp. 138, 214, 215.

(18) It should be mentioned that the practice of giving book prizes had become an established tradition in a considerable number of provided and non-provided schools towards the end of the nineteenth century.

(19) Cf. Article 2 (1) of the Code for 1905, which contains for the first time a reference to silent reading: 'The English language, including practice in speaking with clear enunciation, exercises in continuous oral narration, reading for information both silently and aloud, and written composition. Throughout the course the reading books used by the scholars should include pieces of literary merit, some of which should be learned for recitation.'

(20) Successive Codes from the [eighteen] seventies onwards had contained provisions emphasising the duty of managers to provide proper furniture and other apparatus of elementary education, including books and maps.

(21) Section 2 (1) (a) of the Education Act, 1918, re-enacted as Section 20 of the Education Act 1921.

(22) See Chapter IV, Sections 52-59.