State Intervention in British Education (1833-1988)

Abstract

Before the nineteenth century, education in Britain relied mainly on charitable organizations and religious institutions under Church control through different types of schools. These schools provided basic elementary education for poor children, which proved inefficient and insufficient. The economic and social upheavals caused by the Industrial Revolution, stimulated people’s attitude towards literacy, and thus gradually led the State to assume its part of responsibility in the education of the masses. Therefore, education had become a common concern for both the Church and the State. This work attempts to highlight the shift of education in Britain from a purely voluntary, private and religious character to a fully controlled State system. It is about the political, social and economic factors that led to such intervention demonstrating the role of the State in shaping a reliable national system of education.