ABSTRACT
This chapter traces the development of a national system of education from the early 19th century to the end of the 1930s. In the 18th century, education in England was mainly provided by individual philanthropy and voluntary efforts. The chapter shows that the voluntary principle remained dominant in the most part of the 19th century, though the state gradually increased its intervention in popular education from the 1830s. Although voluntary efforts did provide a foundation for the development of popular education, many children still received an improper education. The Bill proposed the establishment of parochial schools in every parish where parents could not afford to pay for their children’s education. In 1832, the Parliamentary Reform Bill became law and petitions pleading for the creation of a national system of education flowed in the parliament of 1833.
