Revolutionary Schooling in England: General Education in the Stuart Period

Graham, Samuel Joseph

Revolutionary Schooling in England: General Education in the Stuart Period

Authors

Graham, Samuel Joseph

Abstract

As a sub-field of children’s history, the history of education has received little attention aside from studies of its role in the nineteenth century. This thesis examines the field of children’s education in Stuart England. While some attention to the subject has been paid, a number of questions still must be addressed. Children’s education in seventeenth century England was guided by both confessional conflict and Christian humanism, each driven by the Reformation’s impulse towards literacy-based education. This education differed drastically by class, with the poor receiving an informal, spotty education in contrast to the private tutors of the rich. Through the works of reformist educators in Stuart England it becomes evident that a combination of Christian humanism and confessional education created a drive for general education.