Teaching the “Morally and Economically Destitute”: 19th-Century Adult Education Efforts in Newfoundland

This article focuses on the education of adults in 19th century Newfoundland through an examination of the early adult education efforts, formal and informal, by the colonial missionaries and the Newfoundland government and church leaders. These efforts include the Society of the Propagation of the...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: English, Leona M.
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Acadiensis Press 2012
Subjects:
Online Access:https://journals.lib.unb.ca/index.php/Acadiensis/article/view/20068
Description
Summary:This article focuses on the education of adults in 19th century Newfoundland through an examination of the early adult education efforts, formal and informal, by the colonial missionaries and the Newfoundland government and church leaders. These efforts include the Society of the Propagation of the Gospel (SPG), the Newfoundland School Society (NSS), private tutors, various literary societies and religious associations, on-the-job training in factories, navigation classes and apprenticeships, and church night schools. The article emphasizes the motivations underlying the specific initiatives, as many of the organizations had economic and moral goals and they used education (formal and informal) to accomplish them. Cet article porte sur l’éducation des adultes à Terre-Neuve au 19e siècle. Il examine les premiers efforts en matière d’éducation des adultes, tant formelle qu’informelle, déployés par les missionnaires dans la colonie ainsi que par le gouvernement et les dirigeants religieux de Terre-Neuve. Ces efforts comprennent ceux de la Society of the Propagation of the Gospel (SPG), de la Newfoundland School Society (NSS), de tuteurs à titre privé, de diverses sociétés littéraires et associations religieuses, la formation sur place dans les usines, des cours et des stages de navigation et des écoles du soir organisées par des églises. L’article met en évidence les motivations qui sous-tendaient les diverses initiatives, car bon nombre de ces organisations poursuivaient des objectifs économiques et moraux et utilisaient l’éducation (formelle et informelle) pour les atteindre.