Growth of non-compulsory education
In the early 1670s, clergyman Thomas Gouge began to preach in Wales, by 1675 he had established 87 schools which were attended by a total of 2225 children.[1] The schools were intended 'to teach the poor Welsh children to read and write English, cast Accompts [numeracy] and repeat the Catechism.' They closed after his death in 1681.[2] The Society for the promotion of Christian Knowledge (SPCK) was founded in 1699 with similar aims.[3]
In 18th century England and Wales, schools were operated by private business, charity and the church, becoming reasonably common. According to historian W.B Stephens, charity schools in Wales tended to have a particularly heavy emphasis on religion reflecting the preferences of the Welsh peasantry. In the early 18th century, many charity schools were established with the support of the SPCK but later founding's were associated with the "circulating [travelling] school movement" which originated in Wales. The second group catered for both children and adults. By the late 18th century these circulatory schools largely faded away replaced by Sunday Schools. Sunday schools developed from the 1780s onwards. Early Sunday schools tended to admit adults as well as children. In Wales, they were generally Nonconformist and often associated with the Methodist revival. Welsh Sunday Schools tended to focus on bible studies and reading avoiding the wider secular education sometimes taught at Sunday Schools elsewhere.[4]
In the early 19th century, the British and Foreign School Society (which was Nonconformist) and the National Society for Promoting Religious Education (which was Anglican) were founded. These organisations began to establish "voluntary schools".[4] From 1833,[5] they began to receive government funding leading to government oversight. In practice, a large majority of voluntary schools belonged to the latter group which had various practical advantages. In Wales, the Anglican schools were reported to be poorly attended as Nonconformists,[4] who formed a clear majority of the Welsh population,[6] preferred private schools. While school participation rates in the early-to-mid 19th century are somewhat hard to assess, a lower proportion of the population were enrolled in day schools in Wales than in England or Scotland. Sunday schools were often used as a substitute for fulltime schooling. In 1844, 56% of grooms and 35% of brides were able to sign the marriage register in South Wales counties, this was lower than any individual Scottish or English county. That year, 58% of grooms and 39% of brides in North Wales counties were able to do so, this was lower than any Scottish or English county other than Monmouthshire (then part of England) and Staffordshire. The number of people who were able to write was lower than those who could read during this period because reading was seen as a more basic skill which was taught first and tended to be more practically useful for most people. According to historian T.B Stephens:[4]
... in Wales and Monmouthshire educational progress suffered from the difficulties Welsh speakers experienced in schools using English as the medium of instruction, from the absence of resident gentry, the weakness of the Church of England and the opposition of dissenters to its influence. This was compounded by widespread poverty and the expansion of coal mining.
Compulsory education
Maude Morgan Thomas, a Welsh immigrant to the United States, wrote a biography intended for American children about her early years in Pontypool during the Edwardian period. In the chapter on her schooling she describes lessons in art, Welsh mediaeval history, needlework (for girls), domestic science (for older girls), optional piano lessons and frequent corporal punishment. She comments on her experience that:
School days in Wales were rather more uncomfortable than happy for me. There were always so many rattan canes lashing about, so much writing and arithmetic. Copy books had to be neatly filled with carefully written words, evenly spaced and shaded properly on each down stroke. One blot or one imperfect letter would bring the rattan cane stinging down on laboring knuckles... As I look back now, kindergarten[note 1] days were very pleasant. Welsh children usually began school at a very early age, many of them as young as three years. So school days were play days for the beginners.[7]
- ^ Due to its intended audience the biography frequently uses American terms
- ^ L. Greaves, Richard (3 January 2008). "Gouge, Thomas (1605–1681)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/9780198614128.001.0001/odnb-9780198614128-e-1003012;jsessionid=9d93c50db434282482df39ae721ec5bd. Retrieved 2023-07-22.
Gouge began evangelizing work in Wales in 1672... By 1675, 2225 children were learning to read, write, and cast accounts in eighty-seven new charity schools in Wales, with all of the counties represented except Merioneth. He visited the schools once or twice a year, assisting them with monetary contributions.
- ^ Clement, Mary. "GOUGE, THOMAS (1605? - 1681), Nonconformist divine and philanthropist". Dictionary of Welsh biography. Retrieved 2023-07-22.
- ^ Collins, Sian (16 March 2017). "Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge (SPCK)". Cambridge University Library. Retrieved 1 March 2019.
- ^ a b c d Stephens, T.B (1998). Education in Britain, 1750-1914. Palgrave Macmillan. pp. 1–12, 21–35. ISBN 978-0-333-60512-7.
- ^ Lloyd, Amy. "Education, Literacy and the Reading Public" (PDF). Gale Primary Sources. University of Cambridge. Archived (PDF) from the original on 5 November 2020.
- ^ Mitchell, Sally (2011). "Nonconformity". Victorian Britain An Encyclopedia. Routledge. pp. 546–547. ISBN 9780415669726.
- ^ Morgan Thomas, Maude (1936). "IV. School Days". When I Was A Girl In Wales (PDF). New York: LOTHROP, LEE AND SHEPARD CO.