Pedagogic knowledge and the Victorian era Anglo-American teacher
Marianne A Larsen2002, History of Education
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Abstract
In 1981, Brian Simon posed the question`Why no Pedagogy in England?'. In doing so, he presented the historical reasons for the neglect of pedagogy, asserting that in contrast with some brief periods of time in England's past, and in other places, the English approach to educational theory and practice has been amateurish and highly pragmatic in character. 2 In his article, Simon referred to the entry on pedagogy in the 1889 Cyclopaedia of Education, which similarly noted the lack of pedagogic interest in England. Furthermore Fletcher, editor of the Cyclopaedia, remarked in a subsequent edition that the word`pedagogy' had hardly taken root in the English language, and was considered`as something of an intruding foreigner' in England. 3 Mid-nineteenth century educationists also pointed out the unfortunate neglect of teaching principles and methods. Teachers, wrote Drew in 1856, have failed to seek`general principles upon which the e ective conduct of their operations and the consequent elevation of their pursuit depend'. 4 While it would appear as if the case were closed on this matter, comparative research sheds some new light on this topic, revealing that there was much more interest in pedagogy in Victorian England than has been previously acknowledged. This article will discuss the interest held amongst philosophers and education reformers in pedagogic principles and practices, from the 1830s through to the end of the nineteenth century. Speci®cally, archival research in England and Ontario, Canada 5 reveals that Victorian elementary school teachers were expected to be well versed in the rational and scienti®c study of both pedagogy and didactics. Additional sources from Scotland and the north-east USA reveal striking similarities. As many of these
