The Value of Schooling

Abstract

Schools have played an important role in nation building around the world. In the global political economy, throughout the world children spend increasing amounts of time in modern schools. Research on the changing values of young people’s time use highlights how the moral distinction of childhood from adulthood emerged in nineteenth-century Western Europe. Before that children learnt by means of work and apprenticeship (Ariès 1996: 186–187). Until the sixteenth century, boys typically spent two or three years in school studying Latin, the language of commerce, administration and religious affairs (Turner 2015: 3). In the UK the term ‘public school’ refers to the large ancient private schools, like Eton. Girls’ public schools usually focused on music, dancing and needlework. Training in Latin, Greek, French and arithmetic seemed unimportant, even for girls of high social status (Turner 2015: 52). And yet, Queen Elizabeth I received a comprehensive classical education and was taught foreign languages as early as the sixteenth century, a time when the idea that a woman should be silent and subservient was widely promoted and accepted. Elizabeth’s education is particularly interesting because people never thought she would be queen and therefore she was not being educated for this role. Possibly her tutors recognized her phenomenal brain from a young age and encouraged and developed it. Although William Grindal was her official tutor, the princess also received through Catherine (Kate) Champernowne, Roger Ascham, John Cheke, Robert Cox and Jacques Belmain a thorough grounding in Latin and Greek as well as in French and Italian. By her 12th birthday everyone who met the princess was impressed by her intellectual and womanly accomplishments (Loades 2006: 55).