ABSTRACT
This chapter argues that an examination of the way the school was run demonstrates John Wesley's belief in the teleological nature of education, and his assumption that the rules he implemented provided pupils with a pathway to the kind of conversion he himself had experienced. For Wesley, education and the pursuit of a life of holiness went hand in hand. Wesley's Arminian conviction that salvation was available to all shaped the teleology of his educational programme. Wesley's educational work, whether individualistic, familial or evangelical, was grounded in two fundamental and congruent tenets: his belief that the teleology of education was salvation, and his Arminian conviction that salvation was available to all. While the teleology of education was salvation, the nature of that teleology varied considerably. Intrinsic in the teleology of Wesleyan education was individual salvation; its extrinsic value centred on evangelism and a desire for universal salvation.
