Pressure groups and government policy on education, 1800 - 1839.

This study examines the roles of the principal groups and individuals,
who, during the years 1800-1839, promoted the education of the poor
and pressurised governments with the notion that the state ought to
ac ept responsibility for the formation of a nationa1 system. Their
m tives were primarily religious, philanthropic or political with a
degree of self-interest in the desire to preserve order in society.
The religious interests are examined mainly through the work of
the British and Foreign Sch ol Society, which served the Dissenter
traditi ns, and the Nati nal S ciety which defended the prerogative of
the Establi h d Church t superintend the education of the people. The
tilitarians and Radicals were imp rtant for the practica1 expression
f their philos phical and political ideas led them to make a considerable
c ntributi n to the provision schools. They also had the inspiration
and organising ability of Jam s Mill and Francis Place.
The ideas of Robert Owen are considered because he was a pressure
figure for a few years, but his work also sowed the seeds of Co-operation
and w rking-cla s movements, which made an impact during the 1830's. As the
populati n slowly improved in standard of learning, the development of
Mechanics' Institutes, the Society for the Difflision of Useful Knowledge
and the foundation of University College are viewed as part of a strategy
for the general promotion of adult education1
The dominant personality of Henry Brougham is evident in much of
this study. He instituted the Charity Commissions in 1819, was spokesman
(iv)
for education in Parliament for many years, anj was a link between
the different groups because of his involvement in so many.
During the 1830's the new science of statistics emerged and the
Statistical Societies were important for their presentation of data
on education1 The existence of a National Board of Education in Ireland
after 1831 placed the province ahead of England and the influences
from this experiment, mediated to Parliament by Thomas Wyse and others,
all helped to pressurise the governments of the day, whose policy had
been to encourage voluntary effort and to avoid the imposition of central
administrative control.