Jane Elizabeth Senior and work with girls and young women. Jane Senior (1828-1877) (also known as Mrs Nassau Senior) was the first woman civil servant (the inspector of workhouses). She was also an important social reformer – helping to found the British Red Cross, the Girls’ Friendly Society and the Metropolitan Association for Befriending Young …
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Over 50 years Richard Sennett (1943-) has contributed to our understanding of the experiences of class, capitalism and the life of cities – and our appreciation of Homo faber – humans as makers, users of tools and creators of common life. Sennett is variously described as a sociologist, urbanist, planner and polymath. He is also …
Ernest Thompson Seton and woodcraft. Known as a writer of animal stories, and the Chief Scout of the Boys Scouts of America, Ernest Thompson Seton was a champion of the spirit of woodcraft. Ernest Thompson Seton (1860-1946) grew up in Toronto (although he was born in South Shields, County Durham, England). He was the son …
E. Leslie Sewell and youth work. E. Lesley Sewell made an outstanding contribution to the development of youth work – both being a pioneer of mixed-club work and the facilitator of a range of innovative projects and provision. We explore her contribution. contents: introduction · national association of mixed and girls’ clubs · conclusion · further …
Samuel Smiles and self help. Samuel Smiles’s Self-Help is said to have reflected the spirit of its age. It also proved to be a best seller – with more than a quarter of a million copies sold by the time of Smiles’s death. Arguing for the importance of character, thrift and perseverance, the book also …
William Alexander Smith – the founder of the Boys’ Brigade as a youth worker. Jonathan Roberts examines the William Alexander Smith’s contribution to the founding, character and development of the Boys’ Brigade. He seeks to get behind many of the mistaken images of the work that those outside it have. Contents: introduction · William Alexander …
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Rotherhithe children – Waldo McGillycuddy Eagar CBE circa 1933 – placed by the National Maritime Museum in Flickr Commons. Creative Commons Attribution-Non-Commercial-ShareAlike (CC BY-NC-SA) licence. Here we explore the nature of social action through a walk in Bermondsey and Rotherhithe in London. This area has experienced severe poverty and disadvantage over the years. Settlements, missions …
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Founder of the Working Men’s Club and Institute Union and a great propagandist for clubs, Henry Solly provided a much needed conceptual clarity to the notion of club work. He also was an important advocate for the extension of working-class political rights and helped to set up the Charity Organization Society. contents: introduction · involvement …
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This article by Octavia Hill, included in Homes of the London Poor (1883), outlines her case for the need for all people to be able to access space: places to sit in, places to play in, places to stroll in, and places to spend a day in. Octavia Hill (1838-1912) is remembered, chiefly, for her …
Maude Stanley, girls’ clubs and district visiting. A youth work pioneer who produced an early comprehensive youth work text – and helped to found the London Union of Girls Clubs. Contents: introduction · work around the Five Dials · the Soho Club · clubs for girls · conclusion · further reading and references · how …
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John Stansfeld (“the Doctor”) and ‘Oxford in Bermondsey’. John Stansfeld (“The Doctor”) gathered together a remarkable group to work with boys and young men in Bermondsey. Their work and subsequent contribution helped to define the shape of modern boys’ club work and social policy more widely. They were also a significant force in the Church …
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Frances Herbert Stead, Robert Browning Hall and the fight for old age pensions. Herbert Stead (1857-1928) – the Congregationalist minister who established and ran Robert Browning Hall (a settlement in Walworth, London) – was a key figure in the fight for old age pensions in Britain. We explore his contribution both to the development of …
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Arthur Sweatman and the idea of the club. Known as an early advocate of specific youth provision, the Most Rev. Arthur Sweatman also contributed to thinking around the development of working men’s clubs. Arthur Sweatman (1834-1909) was the son of a doctor on the staff of the Middlesex Hospital, and was educated at University College …
Rabindranath Tagore on education. As one of the earliest educators to think in terms of the global village, Rabindranath Tagore’s educational model has a unique sensitivity and aptness for education within multi-racial, multi-lingual and multi-cultural situations, amidst conditions of acknowledged economic discrepancy and political imbalance. Kathleen M. O’Connell explores Rabindranath Tagore’s contribution. contents: background · …
Richard Henry Tawney was a noted economic historian, democratic socialist and educator. Here we make a brief assessment of his contribution as an adult educationalist – and his strong belief in fellowship. contents: introduction and life · equality· association and the dispersion of power · social function · democratic citizenship · fellowship · adult education …
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Exploring thinkers central to the development of the theory and practice of lifelong learning, social action, social pedagogy and informal education Featured bell hooks on education. Barry Burke assesses the contribution that bell hooks has made to thinking about education and sets this within the context of her biography and work. Sissela Bok on lying …
Allen M. Tough, learning projects and lifelong learning. Allen Tough deepened our appreciation of lifelong learning through his studies of the ways in which adults conduct learning projects as part of everyday life. Here we examine his contribution. Under construction Allen M. Tough (1936-2012) is best known for his research and writing around the processes …
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Bruce W. Tuckman – forming, storming norming and performing in groups. Bruce W. Tuckman produced one of the most quoted models of group development in the 1960s. We consider his contribution and the model’s continuing use. contents: introduction · storming, forming, norming and performing – developmental sequence in groups · a fifth stage – adjourning …
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Walking informal education. Walking in central London we can find many places associated with key figures and moments in the making of informal education. Explore them through a virtual (or real) walk. The walk: Embankment • The Strand • Covent Garden • Trafalgar Square • St Martin’s Lane and Five Dials • Soho and Chinatown • …
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Colin Ward: the ‘gentle’ anarchist and informal education. Often described as ‘Britain’s most famous anarchist’, Colin Ward’s political beliefs provoked and inspired his publications, as well as his long-held concern with place and social justice. Here, Sarah Mills explores the contribution of Colin Ward and the significance of his work for those involved in informal …
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William Foote Whyte, street society, organizations and learning from the field. William Foote Whyte made a seminal contribution to our appreciation of local community life and the possibilities of participant observation. He also explored organizational behavior and became an expert in employee-owned firms. We explore his work and his continuing significance for informal and community …
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George Williams and the YMCA. George Williams and the small group of other young men who set up the Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA) had a great belief in what they were doing – but they probably have been amazed at the scale and scope of the worldwide movement that emerged. Here we examine the …
Raymond Williams and education – a slow reach again for control. Raymond Williams was a literary critic, cultural historian, cultural and political theorist, novelist, dramatist, and the virtual inventor of the interdisciplinary field known as ‘cultural studies’. Josh Cole explores his little appreciated contribution as an educational thinker. Contents: introduction · early encounters with community …
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Peter Willmott – community, family and public policy. Peter Willmott (1923-2000) played an important role in deepening appreciation of the experiences of people in families and local communities. As a sociologist, researcher and communicator he was able to speak to some of the most important concerns of his time. We assess his work and contribution. …
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Gertrude Wilson and social group work. Gertrude Wilson was a pivotal figure in the development of the theory and practice of group work during the 1940s and 1950s. Here we briefly assess her contribution. Contents: Gertrude Wilson · on group work · conclusion · bibliography · how to cite this article. Gertrude Wilson (1895-1984) was …
Being chapter XII of Mary Wollstonecraft’s (1792) A Vindication of the Rights of Women. This classic piece ‘On National Education’ by Mary Wollstonecraft sets out some of the key elements of her view of education and schooling. Mary Wollstonecraft had written earlier pieces on the education of girls and young women, but this was significant …
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Mary Wollstonecraft has long been appreciated as a major political thinker – but she also made important contributions to educational theory and practice. Barry Burke investigates. contents: introduction · Mary Wollstonecraft on education · conclusion · bibliography · how to cite this article. See, also in the archives Mary Wollstonecraft on national education from A …
Robert A. Woods: Settlements, neighbourhoods and associations. Robert Archey Woods played a pivotal role in the introduction and development of university and social settlements in the United States of America. In this brief assessment we outline his contribution. contents: introduction · conclusion · bibliography · how to cite this article Robert Archey Woods (1865-1925) was …
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A key, but overlooked figure, Basil Yeaxlee wrote the first book on lifelong education; argued that informal education was as significant as formal; and explored the spiritual nature of education contents: introduction and life · the YMCA and the huts · the 1919 report · spiritual values in adult education · Basil Yeaxlee, lifelong education and …
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Michael Young: community, change and social innovation. Michael Young made a profound contribution to social reform in Britain during the second half of the twentieth century. The innovative organizations he helped establish in the fields of education, consumer rights and health services have touched the lives of many people. Some of Michael Young’s proposals such …
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