TY - JOUR

T1 - Education and Opportunity during the First World War

T2 - Post-compulsory Study at the Harris Institute, Preston, 1914–18

AU - Vernon, Keith

AU - Wilkinson, Oliver

PY - 2023/5/31

Y1 - 2023/5/31

N2 - Education during the First World War is generally overlooked. Schooling was seriously undermined by the demands of war, and the principal educational measure to emerge from the war offered little recompense. Similarly, studies of education and opportunity in the early twentieth century pass quickly over the war years and the 1918 Education Act to focus on the inter-war period. This article argues that an important sector of education, that of part-time, post-compulsory vocational education, has not received due recognition as a factor during the war, and in studies of social mobility more broadly. Through a close analysis of student cohorts who attended the Harris Institute in Preston, we show that there were significant new opportunities arising during the war. Different kinds of students, notably younger people, women, and from poorer backgrounds, took advantage of the expanding opportunities. Combining details of students’ courses of study with evidence of their family and occupational backgrounds, gives insights into the aspirations of these working people to advance their careers, move into new sectors of work, or broaden their cultural horizons.

AB - Education during the First World War is generally overlooked. Schooling was seriously undermined by the demands of war, and the principal educational measure to emerge from the war offered little recompense. Similarly, studies of education and opportunity in the early twentieth century pass quickly over the war years and the 1918 Education Act to focus on the inter-war period. This article argues that an important sector of education, that of part-time, post-compulsory vocational education, has not received due recognition as a factor during the war, and in studies of social mobility more broadly. Through a close analysis of student cohorts who attended the Harris Institute in Preston, we show that there were significant new opportunities arising during the war. Different kinds of students, notably younger people, women, and from poorer backgrounds, took advantage of the expanding opportunities. Combining details of students’ courses of study with evidence of their family and occupational backgrounds, gives insights into the aspirations of these working people to advance their careers, move into new sectors of work, or broaden their cultural horizons.

KW - History

U2 - 10.1093/tcbh/hwac025

DO - 10.1093/tcbh/hwac025

M3 - Journal article

VL - 34

SP - 192

EP - 219

JO - Twentieth Century British History

JF - Twentieth Century British History

SN - 0955-2359

IS - 2

ER -