The third in a series exploring the educational ideal that shaped learning across Europe for centuries. Part 1 of this series traced the roots of the Seven Liberal Arts back to Ancient Greece and explored their central role in medieval Christian education. In part 2, we learned how the first three arts – Grammar, Rhetoric and Dialectic, known collectively as […]
Category: Essays
The day passes profitably: Robert Raikes and the Sunday school movement
An essay about the role played by the Sunday school movement in widening access to education in England and beyond. For more on the advance of mass education during the 18th and 19th centuries, look out for my chapter on the subject in the forthcoming History of Education (Routledge). Trouble on the Sabbath By the latter half of the 18th […]
What do we mean by ‘the best that’s been thought and known’?
I was recently interviewed about my essay The Liberating Power of Education for a future episode of Dr James Mannion’s excellent long-form podcast, Rethinking Education. In the often intolerant and tribal world of educational theory and policy, James is to be commended for his willingness to explore differences of opinion in a generous and civil fashion. And we disagreed, civilly, […]
