 |  |
| www.dg.dial.pipex.com | 61985 readers since 1 Nov 2001 |
| |
| www.dg.dial.pipex.com | 61985 readers since 1 Nov 2001 |
Education in England: a brief history Introduction
|
Education in England: a brief history
Chapter 1 600-1800 Beginnings © copyright Derek Gillard 2007
600-1100 Grammar schools and song schools The earliest known schools in England date from the late sixth century. 'The conscious object of these early schools, attached to cathedrals and to monasteries, was to train intending priests and monks to conduct and understand the services of the Church, and to read the Bible and the writings of the Christian Fathers.' (Williams 1965) Two types of school grew up (often connected): the grammar school, to teach Latin, and the song school (which some cathedrals still have today), where the 'sons of gentlefolk' were educated and trained to sing in cathedral choirs. 'Grammar' at this time did not mean simply learning about the structure of language - that meaning did not develop until the middle ages. Rather, it was 'a preparation for reading, especially reading aloud, and was taken to involve comprehension and commentary, so that content was inseparable'. (Williams 1965) This caused problems for the church because, while it was essential that Latin should be understood, there were concerns that students would read a wide range of Latin literature and 'pagan' philosophy. Thus it was that Pope Gregory wrote to Bishop Desiderius in Gaul (France): 'A circumstance came to our notice, which cannot be mentioned without shame, namely that you, our brother, give lessons in grammar. This news caused us such annoyance and disgust that all our joy at the good we had heard earlier was turned to sorrow and distress, since the same lips cannot sing the praises of Jove and the praises of Christ. Consider yourself how serious and shocking it is that a bishop should pursue an activity unsuitable even for a pious layman.' (quoted in Williams 1965)Some idea of the curriculum of these early schools can be found in the writings of the Venerable Bede, the eighth century Northumbrian monk. In his Ecclesiastical History he notes that at Canterbury Theodore and Hadrian taught 'the rules of metric, astronomy and the computus as well as the works of the saints'. (Williams 1965) At the start of the ninth century another Northumbrian, Alcuin, was called on by Charlemagne to 'prescribe for the intellectual wants of a great empire fallen from civilisation to barbarism'. (Fisher 1936) Alcuin established a school in York which 'set a new standard of culture. To the influence of this robust, studious and convivial Englishman we may fairly trace the legislation which defines the educational responsibilities of the church and the episcopal and monastic schools which resulted from it.' (Fisher 1936) Alcuin's school taught 'grammar, rhetoric, law, poetry, astronomy, natural history, arithmetic, geometry, music, and the Scriptures'. (Williams 1965) On the face of it, this seems a pretty broad curriculum, but it should be remembered that everything was centred on the church: 'Scripture was the central subject, and rhetoric teaching was mainly a study of verbal forms in the Bible. Grammar was the teaching of Latin, and versification was in the same context, though at times it extended to relate to poetry in the vernacular. Mathematics, including astronomy, was centred on the intricacies of the church calendar ... Music and law were vocational studies for the services and administration of the church, and the natural history, by contrast with the Aristotelians, was literary and anecdotal.' (Williams 1965)The development of schools in England was interrupted by the long series of Viking invasions which began around 866. The Norsemen were pagans who 'loved war and women, wassail and song, pillage and slaughter' and their raids caused 'immense havoc'. (Fisher 1936) The one part of England which successfully resisted Viking control was Wessex, where Alfred became king in 871 at the age of twenty-three. He took 'delight in the songs and literature of his people' and showed 'concern for education'. (Fisher 1936) It was under Alfred's influence that England's system of schools began to be reconstructed. Norse invasions continued, however, for another century or so, culminating in 1014-1042, when England was ruled by Danish kings and became part of a great Scandinavian empire. The next invasion was that of William the Conqueror and the Normans in 1066. After this, the pattern of educational provision (grammar and song schools) remained much as before, though French replaced English as the vernacular medium for teaching Latin. Education was still largely about vocational training and most pupils were still intending monks or priests, though there are recorded examples of some 'young members of royal and noble families' being schooled. (Williams 1965)
1100-1500: Institutional expansion and curriculum development The following two centuries saw a significant expansion in educational provision. In the 12th century more cathedral schools opened and by the beginning of the 13th universities were beginning to develop. In Oxford, students began to form groups which would soon become the earliest colleges - University College was established in 1249, Balliol in 1260 and Merton in 1264. These early colleges were founded by bishops and catered exclusively for wealthy graduates. In 1209 some Oxford scholars, fed up with the hostility of the townspeople, moved to Cambridge. At first they lived in lodgings, then houses were hired as hostels with a Master in charge of the students. 'By 1226 the scholars were numerous enough to set up an organisation, represented by an official called a Chancellor, and seem to have arranged regular courses of study, taught by their own members.' (University of Cambridge: a brief history) There were changes in the school curriculum. For younger pupils rhetoric became as important as grammar, while for older students the increasing availability of Aristotle's works led to a greater emphasis on logic. Perhaps most importantly, while education was still seen as a Christian enterprise, the concept of a liberal education - a preparation for the specialised study of law, medicine, or theology - began to develop: 'The concept of the Seven Liberal Arts (the trivium of grammar, rhetoric, and dialectic, the quadrivium of music, arithmetic, geometry, and astronomy) goes back to at least the fifth century, but it was only now that it began to be realised with any adequacy, as new material from classical learning, and new attitudes towards it, flowed in.' (Williams 1965)The role of teachers began to be formalised and they were now licensed rather than simply appointed. University degrees were licences to teach. Three factors, then, began to diminish the control of the church in education:
Winchester College was founded by William of Wykeham, Bishop of Winchester and Chancellor to Richard II. The charter of foundation was granted in 1382, the buildings were begun in 1387, and the first scholars entered the school in 1394. (Winchester College website)  Henry VI founded Eton College (pictured) in 1440, followed a year later by King's College Cambridge, which was to be supplied with scholars from Eton. The school was to be part of a large foundation which included a community of secular priests, ten of whom were Fellows, a pilgrimage church, and an almshouse. Provision was made for seventy scholars to receive free education. (Eton College website) Because they were independent, admission to these new schools was not restricted to one locality but was on a national basis. They drew increasingly on a single class, combining the educational methods of the grammar schools and the social training of the chivalric system (of which more below). They developed into the public schools (ie private or non-state schools) which still exist today. In view of their close connection with the colleges of the new universities, their development had a profound effect on the educational system as a whole. In addition to the academic schools described above, medieval England had two other types of educational provision: apprenticeships in crafts and trades, and the chivalry system which enabled noble families to send their young sons to be pages at great houses and undergo a course of training for knighthood. Williams (1965) points out that: 'The existence of these two systems, alongside the academic system, reminds us of the determining effect on education of the actual social structure. The labouring poor were largely left out of account, although there are notable cases of individual boys getting a complete education, through school and university, by outstanding promise and merit. For the rest, education was organised in general relation to a firm structure of inherited and destined status and condition: the craft apprentices, the future knights, the future clerisy.' It has been estimated that by the start of the Reformation England had about 400 schools for a population of 2.25 million, or one school for every 5,625 people.
1500-1600 Reformation and Renaissance The Reformation, prompted by discontent at the perceived worldliness of the Papacy and the financial demands it made, began with the attacks of the Lollards and Hussites on the hierarchical and legalist structure of the church. In 1517 Martin Luther famously protested at church corruption and the selling of indulgences. The movement against Rome spread across Europe over the next two centuries. In England, the Reformation was a much more localised affair. At first, Henry VIII opposed the reforming movement, and his Assertio Septum Sacramentorum of 1521 earned him the title 'Defender of the Faith'. But by 1527 he wanted his marriage to Catherine of Aragon ended so that he could marry Anne Boleyn. He was also anxious to extend the sovereignty of central government. So for both political and personal reasons he overthrew Papal power and dissolved the monasteries. The English Reformation affected education in a number of ways. Some of the old foundation schools were closed and an equal number of new ones were opened. The grammar school remained central to the system, but there was an important change in its sponsorship. Whereas the typical medieval grammar school had belonged to the church, the new grammar schools were mostly private foundations 'supervised in variable degree by church and state'. (Williams 1965) However, there were few changes in the educational tradition of the schools. Greek and sometimes Hebrew were added to the main Latin curriculum (to assist correct understanding of the scriptures), and there was more study of literature. But the education provided by the grammar schools - and by the universities - remained 'rigid and narrow'. (Williams 1965) Thus: 'The major achievements of the Renaissance, in the vernacular literatures, in geographical discovery, in new painting and music, in the new spirit in philosophy and physical inquiry, in changing attitudes to the individual, had little effect on the standard forms of general education.' (Williams 1965)So, as Williams (1965) puts it, 'while the schools were reorganised by the Reformation their teaching was not redirected by the Renaissance'. Although the traditional grammar school changed little, there were significant developments in the education of younger children. The number of schools increased and there was 'a bewildering variety of forms, ranging from instruction by priests to private adventure schools, often as a sideline to shopkeeping and trade'. (Williams 1965) Many of the 'petties' or 'ABCs' were proper schools, with links to grammar schools. Indeed, in a few cases, they virtually took over the running of grammar schools whose old endowments had shrunk. Another type of school which began to develop was the 'writing school'. The aim of these schools was to meet the secular needs of a society in which trade was now expanding rapidly and whose administration was becoming more complex. They taught 'scrivener's English and the casting of accounts' (Williams 1965) and in some cases this teaching was adopted by the grammar schools. Of this period, then, Williams (1965) concludes: 'It is a complex pattern, yet three trends are clear: the increase in vernacular teaching, the failure of the traditional institutions to adapt either to a changing economy or to an expanding culture, and the passing of most of the leading schools from sponsorship by a national institution to private benefaction.'And of the effect (or lack of it) of the Renaissance on English education, he argues that: 'The main educational theories of the Renaissance, in particular the ideal of the scholar-courtier, had had little effect on English institutions, and indeed had the paradoxical effect of reducing the status of schools as such, and setting the alternative pattern, drawing in part on the chivalric tradition, of education at home through a private tutor: a preference, in many families, which lasted well into the 19th century.'There were some in 16th century England, however, who called for greater care and respect for education. Roger Ascham (1515-1568), for example, the teacher of Queen Elizabeth, wrote: 'It is pitie, that commonlie, more care is had, yea and that emonges verie wise men, to finde out rather a cunnynge man for their horse, than a cunnyng man for their children. To the one they will gladlie giue a stipend of 200 crounes by yeare, and loth to offer to the other 200 shillinges. God suffereth them, to haue, tame, and well ordered horse, but wilde and vnfortunate children.' (The Scholemaster, quoted in Nunes, undated)Ascham stressed the importance of play in education. 'The Scholehouse should be in deede, as it is called by name, the house of playe and pleasure, and not of feare and bondage.' He set up his own school, funded by Richard Sackville.
1600-1800 Comenius and the concept of universal education In the 17th and 18th centuries there were important developments in educational theory and the school curriculum began to take on a form we would recognise today. The modern concept of a common education emerged in Europe after the Reformation amid quarrels between learned groups of Protestants, and between the Protestants and the established monastic orders.
He went on to develop the idea of human learning as a progression from youth to maturity and from elementary to advanced knowledge. 'Nothing should be taught to the young', he wrote, 'unless it is not only permitted, but actually demanded by their age and mental strength.' 'These three elements of commonality, community and progression have characterised most education systems developed since.' (Benn and Chitty 1996) In 1640, the House of Commons invited Comenius to England to establish and participate in an agency for the promotion of learning. It was intended that by-products of this would be the publication of 'universal' books and the setting up of schools for boys and girls. At the start of the Civil War in 1642 Comenius left England, but the plan was furthered by Samuel Hartlib with the backing of Oliver Cromwell. The ideas of Ascham and Comenius were gaining ground. In 1647 William Petty, Physician-General in Cromwell's army in Ireland, wrote: 'We see Children do delight in Drums, Pipes, Fiddles, Guns made of Elder sticks, and bellowes noses, piped Keys, etc., painting Flags and Ensigns with Elder-berries and Corn poppy, making ships with Paper, and setting even Nut-shells a swimming, handling the tooles of workmen as soon as they turne their backs, and trying to worke themselves.' (quoted in Nunes, undated)'This seems to be one of the first descriptions of children playing, a topic previously not thought worthy of description.' (Nunes, undated) Meanwhile, the older grammar schools divided themselves roughly into three groups in this period:
The most significant change in this period, however, was that the universities began to lose their monopoly over professional training. They still educated most of the clergy, but after the restoration of the monarchy in 1660 they began to discriminate against Nonconformists. As a result, new vocational academies began to open at a remarkable rate, serving the law and medicine, commerce, engineering, the arts and the armed services. These 'Dissenting Academies', serving 'a different class' (Williams 1965) and offering teaching at a higher secondary or university level, varied considerably in quality, but in the best 'a new definition of the content of a general education was worked out and put into practice'. (Williams 1965) By the 18th century, then, the curriculum was beginning to take on its modern form, with the addition of mathematics, geography, modern languages, and, crucially, the physical sciences.
Urbanisation For most children, education in England continued to be a 'haphazard system of parish and private adventure schools' (Williams 1965), with preparatory schools serving the academies and older foundations. But increasing urbanisation now began to create new problems which no one seemed very keen to to do anything about. Indeed, there were many who didn't approve of the idea of educating the masses at all, fearing that 'too much education or schooling would simply make the working poor discontented with their lot'. (Chitty 2004) The first significant attempt to meet the needs of children in the growing towns and cities was that of the Charity School movement, which began to develop around the end of the 17th century. This proved to be something of a mixed blessing, however, because the main aim of the Charity Schools was 'the moral rescue as opposed to the moral instruction of the poor' (Williams 1965) and because they established the notion that elementary education was that appropriate to a particular social class. It was the Industrial Revolution, which gathered pace in the last quarter of the 18th century, which finally spurred the state into providing a national education system, because industry 'required much more than limited reading skills acquired through moral catechism'. (Benn and Chitty 1996) However, progress in establishing a public education system would prove to be painfully slow.
References Benn C and Chitty C (1996) Thirty Years On - is comprehensive education alive and well or struggling to survive? London: David Fulton Publishers Chitty C (2004) Education Policy in Britain Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan Fisher HAL (1936) A History of Europe London: Edward Arnold and Co. Nunes A (undated) From Plato to Plowden Williams R (1965) The Long Revolution Harmondsworth: Penguin Books 
|
Comenius (1592-1670) (pictured: painting by Rembrandt), a Czech teacher, scientist, educator and writer, was one of the earliest champions of universal education, a concept he developed in his book Didactica magna. He argued that teachers and learners should leave the divisive sects and unite in common institutions of learning.
