At the dawn of the twentieth century, the Irish national school system catered for the educational needs of almost 800,000 children in 8,500 schools. Despite its manifest numerical success and its agency in the near elimination of illiteracy, issues such as clerical management, the payment by results system, inferior school conditions, the proliferation of small schools, the restricted curriculum, the teaching of Irish and the reorganisation of the inspectorate generated a confluence of challenging circumstances for all participants. This was the scenario presented to Dr William Starkie, academic and classical scholar, who was appointed Resident Commissioner of Education in 1899. This study charts the fortunes of the national school system from 1899 to 1922, a period roughly coinciding with the tenure of Dr W.J.M. Starkie as Resident Commissioner of National Education. This commenced with an active programme of curricular and administrative reform that served to modernise primary education in Ireland, which had lagged behind systems elsewhere. Parallel with this programme of change, there were strong intimations that the British government harboured plans to reform Irish education and its administration along the de facto lines recently pursued in England. As the primary education system in Ireland had evolved into a denominational one, financed by government but clerically managed, the various Churches were in the main generally satisfied. As a result, every suggestion that schools be financed by rates and under local control was stoutly resisted. Successive chief secretaries failed to progress this policy. Furthermore, Starkie's energetic approach to administrative reform not only encountered opposition, it generated additional problems. The new system of pay, increments and promotion for teachers, introduced in tandem with the Revised Curriculum, and combined with a changed inspectoral remit proved problematic, with the result that although curricular reform was successfully introduced, progress was disrupted by financial and organisational issues. Two vice-regal inquiries, in 1913 and 1918, delved minutely into primary education provision under the National Board. These highlighted the scale of the deficiencies of the existing system and provided the impetus, had it been fully grasped, for further organisational and administrative change. The outbreak of the First World War in 1914 ensured the matter was put on the back burner for the duration, and when it was taken up again, in its immediate aftermath, it was too late. A final attempt was made in 1918 20 to address the structural deficiencies of the Irish educational system. Had this been achieved, it would have resulted in the replacement of the National Board, which was no longer fit for purpose, by a state Department of Education in the manner of that already in place in Great Britain. This was not possible in Ireland because of political and ideological developments that heralded the breakup of the Union. The rise of cultural nationalism, and with it the Gaelic League, had brought increasingly exigent calls for the introduction of a bilingual programme of education. These were addressed at first by curricular accommodation, but the 1916 Rising raised nationalist aspirations. When it came to education provision, nationalists and the Catholic Church increasingly found common cause in the late 1910s and, as a new political disposition beckoned, the alliance forged was a hallmark f or the future in which the churches and the Catholic Church in particular were permitted to retain their ascendant position in the provision of education and the state acceded to an essentially subordinate, administrative position.

"Timely, original and scholarly, this book is compulsory reading for anyone interested in the history of education in Ireland and the history of modern Ireland more broadly. The compelling narrative questions various invented traditions in Irish education in the period 1900-1922, shining a spotlight on the life and work of William Starkie, Resident Commissioner for National Education in the period 1899-1920. The book contributes significantly to the body of scholarship on the growth of child-centred education internationally and examines the reforms of Irish schooling during the early decades of the 20th century." -Judith Harford, Professor of Education, University College Dublin, Ireland. This book examines the radical reform that occurred during the final two decades of British rule in Ireland when William Starkie (1860-1920) presided as Resident Commissioner for the Board. Following the lead of industrialized nations, Irish members of parliament sought to encourage the establishment of a state-funded school system during the early nineteenth century. The year 1831 saw the creation of the Irish National School System. Central to its workings was the National Board of Education which had the responsibility for distributing government funds to aid in the building of schools, the payment of inspectors and teachers, the publication of textbooks, and the cost of teacher training. In the midst of radical political and cultural change within Ireland, visionaries and leaders like Starkie filled an indispensable role in Irish education. They oversaw the introduction of a radical child-centered primary school curriculum, often referred to as the 'new education'. Filling a gap in Irish history, this book provides a much needed overview of the changes that occurred in primary education during the 22 years leading up to Ireland's independence. Teresa O'Doherty is President of the Marino Institute for Education and Adjunct Professor at Trinity College Dublin. Having been a teacher, educator, and scholar for over twenty years, her research revolves around teacher education and the history of education. Together with Tom O'Donoghue, Teresa published the book, Irish Speakers and Schooling in the Gaeltacht, 1900 to the Present (Palgrave) in 2019. Tom O'Donoghue is Professor of Education in the Graduate School of Education at The University of Western Australia, Australia, and Elected Fellow of the Australian Academy of the Social Sciences and the Royal Historical Society, UK. In 2021, he is also Full Visiting professor at the University College Dublin. He co-authored Irish Speakers and Schooling in the Gaeltacht, 1900 to the Present with Teresa O'Doherty.

This book explores the impact of the Lesson Books of the National Board of Education in Ireland in the nineteenth century. The author contextualizes the books used in national schools as well as across the wider British Empire: in doing so, he highlights the influence of the religious, social, political and cultural realms of the time. Firmly grounding the volume in its historical context, the author goes on to explore the contemporary moral climate and social influences, including imperialism, morality, rote-learning and socialization. Through meticulous analysis of each Lesson Book, the author traces the evolution of education in Ireland as a reflection of contemporary society, as it changes and transforms in line with cultural, religious and social changes. This pioneering and comprehensive volume will be of interest and value to students and scholars of education in Ireland as well as education in the British Empire more widely.

First published in 2000. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

The puzzling adoption in 1930 of a deaf-mute method for teaching beginning reading to hearing children in America can only be understood when the long history of teaching beginning reading is known. The deaf-mute method adopted almost immediately after 1930 from the Atlantic to the Pacific Oceans and from Canada to Mexico was the "meaning" approach to teach the reading of alphabetic print instead of the "sound" approach. "Dick and Jane" primers and their clones, which teach beginning reading by meaning instead of by sound are, indeed, the disgraceful source for America's functional illiteracy problem. The history is an attempt to bring together most historical sources on those primers and on the long teaching of beginning reading itself so that functional illiteracy can be properly understood and successfully corrected.

Madman, tyrant, animal—history has given Adolf Hitler many names. In Mein Kampf (My Struggle), often called the Nazi bible, Hitler describes his life, frustrations, ideals, and dreams. Born to an impoverished couple in a small town in Austria, the young Adolf grew up with the fervent desire to become a painter. The death of his parents and outright rejection from art schools in Vienna forced him into underpaid work as a laborer. During the First World War, Hitler served in the infantry and was decorated for bravery. After the war, he became actively involved with socialist political groups and quickly rose to power, establishing himself as Chairman of the National Socialist German Worker's party. In 1924, Hitler led a coalition of nationalist groups in a bid to overthrow the Bavarian government in Munich. The infamous Munich "Beer-hall putsch" was unsuccessful, and Hitler was arrested. During the nine months he was in prison, an embittered and frustrated Hitler dictated a personal manifesto to his loyal follower Rudolph Hess. He vented his sentiments against communism and the Jewish people in this document, which was to become Mein Kampf, the controversial book that is seen as the blue-print for Hitler's political and military campaign. In Mein Kampf, Hitler describes his strategy for rebuilding Germany and conquering Europe. It is a glimpse into the mind of a man who destabilized world peace and pursued the genocide now known as the Holocaust.

The American State Normal School is the first comprehensive history of the state normal schools in the United States. Although nearly two-hundred state colleges and regional universities throughout the U.S. began as 'normal' schools, the institutions themselves have buried their history, and scholars have largely overlooked them. As these institutions later became state colleges and/or regional universities, they distanced themselves from the low status of elementary-literally erasing physical evidence of their normal-school past. In doing so, they buried the rich history of generations of students for whom attending normal school was an enriching, and sometimes life-changing experience. Focusing on these students, the first wave of 'non-traditional' students in higher education, The American State Normal School is a much-needed re-examination of the state normal school.This book was subject of an annual History of Education Society panel for best new books in the field.