The New Student's Reference Work/Education, History of

Education, History of. A liberal professional preparation for teaching is hardly possible without a comparative study of educational progress as shown in past and present educational systems. It may take either of two general forms: that of education as a whole or that of formal pedagogy in particular. If the former, the field includes a history of the growth of all branches of learning and of the various institutions of civilization in general; if the latter, it is limited to the development of educational doctrine and the growth of systems and methods. There are commonly recognized five great epochs in educational history: the Oriental, the Classical, Christian before the Reformation, the Reformation and the Modern Epoch. Each epoch is rich in instructive material, throwing light upon nearly every problem which the teacher meets and helping him to a more comprehensive view of the methods by which they may be solved.

The following are among the most commonly used texts on this subject: Compayre, Painter, Seeley and Williams. See also Boone's Education in the United States, Swett's American Public Schools, Klem's European Schools, Quick's Educational Reformers, Laurie's Rise and Early Constitution of Universities, Lang's Great Teachers of Four Centuries and the histories of education in the different states of the Union, published by the bureau of education. Among these texts one of the oldest and perhaps the most interesting is Quick's Educational Reformers. A more recent and comprehensive work is Paul Monroe's History of Education. This is a volume of nearly 800 pages, and is an extremely valuable work. The substance of this is now available, also, in a volume of a little over half the size, suitable for beginning students. The title is A Brief Course in the History of Education.