Education and Economic Decline in Britain, 1870 to the 1990s

An analysis of the role of education in Britain's relative economic decline since the 1870s.

Michael Sanderson (Author)

9780521581707, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 22 April 1999

140 pages, 15 tables
22.4 x 14.3 x 1.5 cm, 0.3 kg

' … a superb conspectus … [Sanderson] deals confidently with basic schooling, craft training, the education of the elite, and university-level education.' Economic History Review

Since the 1870s the British economy has steadily declined from its position as the 'workshop of the world' to that of a low-ranking European power. Michael Sanderson examines the question of how far defects in education and training have contributed to this economic decline. By looking at issues such as literacy, the quality of scientific and technical training, the supposed anti-industrial bias of public schools and the older universities, the neglect of vocational and technical training and the neglect of the non-academic teenager, Michael Sanderson demonstrates that education was far from the sole cause of economic decline, but that its deficiencies have certainly played a part. This book offers an accessible and concise analysis of a topic of current importance, interest and debate and will be of interest to students and teachers of the history of education and its impact on British economic development in the twentieth century.

Introduction
1. Literacy and schooling
2. Was technical education to blame?
3. The counterarguments
4. The education of the elite, 1870–1914
5. 1914–44: missed opportunities
6. Postwar decline: the betrayed teenager?
7. Higher education and the public schools: privilege and relevance?
Conclusion.

Subject Areas: Social & cultural history [HBTB]