Martyn Walker

Encouragement of Sound Education amongst the Industrial Classes: Mechanics' Institutes and Working-Class Membership 1838-1881.

Historians and educationalists have often assumed that working-class adult education emerged at the beginning of the twentieth century with the introduction of state-funded technical colleges. This was not the case. In 1823, the Glasgow Mechanics’ Institute was opened and within a few years similar institutions were being established across the whole of Britain. This culminated in the formation of the mechanics’ institute movement which provided a foundation on which further education was established. This paper questions the generally accepted view of historians that mechanics’ institutes made little contribution to adult working-class education, instead offering scientific knowledge to the middling classes. It addresses the issue of what educational impact the mechanics’ institutes exerted upon the adult working classes in relation to some North of England institutes, particularly those that were members of the Yorkshire Union of Mechanics’ Institutes. The term working class only begins to emerge during the 1830s, the period when several institutes were being established, and for the purpose of this paper, the works of E.P. Thompson, E.J. Hobsbawm and R.S. Neale, with regard to class, and the lists of the occupations of those who attended mechanics’ institutes, from the annual reports of the Yorkshire Union, form the basis of the debate, confirming that such institutions did indeed provide working-class adult education.

A comparative study of awarding organisation and HEI initial teacher training programmes for the lifelong learning sector in England

This paper focuses on the changing terrain of initial teacher training (ITT) for the lifelong learning sector in England. Drawing on research with teachers and teacher educators at four different lifelong learning sites, it explores the ‘relative value’ of different forms of ITT, validated by higher education institutions (HEIs) and alternative awarding bodies. The paper reveals that both teachers and teacher educators perceive HEI programmes as superior to other forms of teacher training, in terms of both labour-market currency and the quality of learning provided. Although the majority of respondents regarded awarding body courses as adequate, our data reveal that most believed that HEI provision offers a significantly richer training experience. Drawing on our data, we argue that state-induced changes to the ITT qualification structure, combined with significant changes in funding and steeply rising costs for university courses, are likely to substantially reduce the likelihood of teachers in the lifelong learning sector accessing HEI-led provision in future. This, combined with the empowerment of employers and the shift back to voluntarism signalled by recent policy initiatives, may well end the involvement of universities with this provision – and drive a shift towards a narrower, more utilitarian regime of teacher training.

‘For the last many years in England everybody has been educating the people, but they have forgotten to find them any books’: The Mechanics’ Institutes Library Movement and its Contribution to Working-Class Adult Education during the Nineteenth Century

Abstract The impact of the mechanics’ institute library movement is investigated, providing an opportunity to identify the impact these libraries had on a predominately working-class adult readership both before and after the passing of the Public Libraries Act in 1850. In particular, the impact that the Yorkshire Union of Mechanics’ Institutes had on the library movement is explored. The contention made before the Select Committee on Public Libraries in 1849 that ‘for the last many years in England everybody has been educating the people, but they have forgotten to find them any books’ is reassessed. In addition, the view held by some education historians that mechanics’ institutes were ‘frivolous and their libraries were only used for fiction’ is challenged.

The Emergence of Teacher Supply for Adult Education Institutions and Technical Colleges from the 1850s to the 1960s and Beyond.

Abstract When mechanics’ and similar institutions became established for adults by the middle of the nineteenth century, there was goodwill amongst committee members and volunteers to teach the classes. The institutes were not government-funded and relied on patronage and membership fees to fund them. There was a shortage of teachers for the classes as those who were qualified were trained to teach in schools. In any case, many institutes could rarely afford to appoint more than one or two, if any, qualified teachers. However, the reputation and ongoing success of such adult institutions depended on good-quality teaching and learning. The Great Exhibition of 1851 in London had highlighted that Britain was losing its leading industrial position in the world. This shook the government and as a result royal commissions were set up which, ultimately, resulted in the Technical Instruction Act of 1889 and the Local Tax Act of 1890, both of which in their own way resulted in state-funded support for adult technical education. Between 1900 and 1940, further education was established but the First World War and the Great Depression prevented expansion. The findings of the McNair Report of 1944 highlighted the need for technical training colleges to support those wishing to teach and lecture in further education. The paper summarises how teacher supply was variable for adult education and how teacher training for the lifelong learning sector came about.

The impact of the Great Exhibition of 1851 on the development of technical education during the second half of the nineteenth century

This paper examines the contribution made by the mechanics’ institute movement in Britain just prior to, and following, the opening of the Great Exhibition of 1851 in London. It argues that far from making little contribution to education, as often portrayed by historians, the movement was ideally positioned to respond to the findings of the Exhibition, which were that foreign goods on display were often more advanced than those produced in Britain. The paper highlights, through a regional study, how well suited mechanics’ institutes were in organising their own exhibitions, providing the idea of this first international exhibition. Subsequently, many offered nationally recognised technical subject examinations through relevant education as well as informing government commissions, prior to the passing of the Technical Instruction Acts in 1889 and the Local Taxation Act of 1890. These acts effectively put mechanics’ institutes into state ownership as the first step in developing further education for all in Britain.

Education, work and identity

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