The n ationalization of education in England : Fabian influe nces on the Education Bill of 1902

approved: (Thesis Adviser) The purpose of this paper va. to prove that the 'abians were a political pre.aure group and that Fabian methods were responaible for the enactment of the 1902 Education Act that nationalized education in Bngl.n.. Also. that Sidney Webb played. far greater and more significant part in the formulation of the actual Bill than dld Robert MQrant. who ie usually credited •• the perleo responsible for the B111. It seemed to me that it was nece.sary to trace the evolving educational .yetem in England; therefore. I made the arbltury decision of beginning with the nSunday schooll1 which 1 view.. the beginning of "education for all.'~ It was necessaty to select the ele.ents of the social and political affairs that 1 felt pertained to the subject .a I dealt with it. There are situations that have been omitted, and there were t~e. when it was difficult not to digrei8 into areal of lesser significance. TherefOre. the paper is divided into two sections: th' first section trace. the historical pattern of the eaergel\Ce of education for the CQJIBOn people; the second section is devoted to the active involvement of the Fabians and cove... a much sborter spa.n historically. The first part of the paper traces the dual sy.tem of education that consisted of the nboard' schoola, which datefl'OIll 1870, and the nvoluntar:r~ schools. Although the ~;voluntartf schools are a8 old as the Christian Church in England, the development of the nvoluntary" syatem. for the purpoae of this paper, beainl at the time t. of the Wesleyan rift with the Church of England. It was frOJU that time that the volunta'll'y schools developed into l~den_1natlonal~" schools and. as a consequence, reflect the power struggle that developed between the landed gentry and the entrepreneurs as a result of industrialization. Throuahout the nineteenth century, the everextend1ng franchise brought with it an increasing demand for change. in the ed.ucational system in England. 'the .econd part of this paper deals with the manner in which the 'ablans, •• a pl'essure stoup, influenced the enactment of the 1902 8ducation Act. It 1s .y theai. that the baste structure of the act va. outlined originally by stoney Webb and that Fabian tract No. 1Q! w•• the primary model used by the Conservative government in f~l.tlns the Bl11. lna••uch a8 the ed~catlonal .Y"tem of England 1s still in the proee'8 of fulfilling the IUSge.tiona contained in the Act of 1902, perhaps from an historian's standpoint. it is too early to be definitive concerning the role of the l'abiawh Nevertheless, enough _ceria1 about therablana 1s available to prove their influence in securing the enactment of the B111. Much more work need. to be done on the Fabiana. They were a remarkable 8XOOUP of aen and women whose impact) 1n my judgment, ia far &yeater than we are able, at present, to measure. Partypolitlcs are of re~ent origin and the rabian. belong to what some poltt1cal scientist.• h.-ve termed the Ptbli'd bouse's in the legislative process. The 'abians are a pressure group and the activity they carried on Inrqaro"to the Education Act, in my vie., was a form of lobbying. It is fr01l this v:Lewpoint that 1 have dealt with the Fabiana in this paper.