National Education League
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The National Education League was a political movement in
J. H. Chamberlain, George Dawson, and William Harris. Twenty founding members subscribed £14,000. The first general meeting was in October 1869, by which time William Dronfield of Sheffield was acting as Secretary. It resolved that a bill should be prepared to present to Parliament
at the next session.
The League was opposed[Anglicans.
Dixon and Chamberlain were campaigners for the provision of non-sectarian education free of influence by the churches. The Anglicans and
Dissenters
wanted compulsory education without religious doctrine.
In the end, the
school boards
, was a compromise filling in the gaps of the voluntary system. The League continued campaigning for eight years for adoption of their original requirements, before being dissolved in 1877.
Objectives
Each of the League's documents included their objectives:
Object
The establishment of a system which shall secure the education of every child in the country.
Means
- Local authorities shall be compelled by law to see that sufficient school accommodation is provided for every child in their district.
- The cost of founding, and maintaining such schools as may be required shall be provided out of local rates, supplemented by government grants.
- All schools aided by local rates shall be under the management of local authorities and subject to government inspection.
- All schools aided by local rates shall be unsectarian.
- To all schools aided by local rates admission shall be free.
- School accommodation being provided, the state or the local authorities shall have power to compel the attendance of children of suitable age not otherwise receiving education.
See also
Sources
- Auspos, Patricia (1980). "Radicalism, pressure groups, and party politics: from the National Education League to the National Liberal Federation". Journal of British Studies. 20: 184–204. S2CID 144879295.
- ISBN 0710805365.
- Kenrick, George H. (1909). "George Dixon". In Muirhead, J. H. (ed.). Nine Famous Birmingham Men. Birmingham: Cornish Brothers. pp. 51-73.
- MacLure, J. Stuart (1985) [1965]. Educational Documents, England and Wales, 1816 to the present day (5th ed.). London: Methuen. ISBN 0-416-39470-1.
- Marsh, Peter (1994). Joseph Chamberlain: entrepreneur in politics. New Haven: Yale University Press. pp. 34–55. ISBN 0300058012.
- Stephens, W. B. (1998). Education in Britain, 1750–1914. Basingstoke: Macmillan. ISBN 0-333-60511-X.
- Collected reports and publications of the National Education League, Library of Birmingham, A370.8, z1103222
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