The basics of education in the Elizabethan Era are included in this encyclopedia.
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Elizabethan England offered formal education to people who could not afford private tuition.There was no compulsory national system of education, no fixed curriculum, and only a small number of children were sent to schools, but it was a progression from the situation in the Middle Ages.The idea was that education was designed to prepare children for the working life they would assume when they grow up.The clergy or the rich were the only people who study solely as a pursuit of knowledge.The universities were entirely male-dominated but at least now offer courses in subjects other than religious matters.The level of one's education still depended on gender and class.Over the last half of the 16th century, more people were being educated than ever before and levels of literacy greatly improved thanks to some free schools, cheap grammar schools and the availability of printed reading matter and teaching tools.
When children reach the age of six years old, they are expected to contribute more to the daily life of the family.What they learned depended on the position of their parents.The skills needed for those kinds of work were learned by the children of farmers and artisans.If you have a parent in the trades, you might enter an apprenticeship.Private tuition would have been given to the children of the gentry and aristocracy, as well as learning how to conduct themselves better by living in the residence of a local noble.The universities and Inns of Court attracted students from the very rich.Non-aristocratic children may have received private tuition to fill in gaps in their school's curriculum, such as French, dancing, or music.
Girls were not considered to be in need of school as they were expected to live a domestic life when adults.Girls were only taught to read so as to appreciate the Bible, but some received a better education if they were children of the aristocracy, thanks to enlightened parents.The schools for girls wouldn't arrive until the 17th century.In the Elizabethan era there were institutions that only took in girls, like babysitting services, where the adult guardian was often uneducated.
The ABC, alphabet or 'petty' schools for young children offered a rudimentary education, focusing on the alphabet, communal reading, and simple arithmetic.If satisfactory progress was made, a child could move on to mathematics.Many children never learned how to do anything else but count because of this policy.It was not easy to learn writing in a time without dictionaries and when there were different forms of spelling and punctuation.The letters i and j were considered the same, as were the letters U and v, which were only used at the beginning of words.
The separation of the Church from education was achieved by the English Reformation, but children still learned prayers and religious texts were used to teach reading.The children of Puritans were required to read and memorise parts of the Bible.Around 30% of men and 10% of women in late-Elizabethan England were able to read and write.For the reason of the educational opportunities in the capital, as many as 80% of people were attracted to the city.
Only a third of the teachers at the prep schools studied at a university.The horn-book was one of the few things a teacher could use to help them in their work.A written text was pasted onto a wooden board and covered with horn.These horn-books were used to teach children how to read.The birch rod was used extensively to punish children.Discipline was difficult to maintain due to the large classes and multi-aged groups within them.Children at the same level sat on a single bench or form, which is why in English schools today some class groups such as those to take the morning register attendance are still called forms.The age of the child was not usually related to what they were studying in the Elizabethan period, it was more about individual ability.There could be different ages of children sitting on the same form.
A local town council, a parish or a trade guild could manage the schools.They might have been established by a rich benefactor or maintained by the community.There was a small fee for materials in some schools.Most of the schools charged a fixed price.Some of these establishments were private, and they might be affiliated to a grammar school, just about every major market town now possessed.Some youngsters may have progressed to a cheap private tutor, a role often taken on by women and members of the clergy.
The parents of a boy who did well at a prep school could send him to a private school.Many girls did not attend after the age of nine or ten.The curriculum was based on classics like Latin and Greek and was taught to most children from seven to nine years old.The Bible, along with works of Greek and Roman literature, had a bit of modernity thrown in.
The classes began at 6 am and ended at 11 am.The day began at 1 pm and ended at 4 or 5 pm.During the winter months, the day was shortened by an hour at either end, and pupils were usually left free on Thursday and Saturday afternoons.The classes were led by a teacher or'master' who was assisted by an usher.Older boys would teach the younger ones to polish up their Latin and reach the required standard in the lessons with the master.
Even if some scholars questioned the value of these methods, they were the norm.The usual approach was to create situations of competition with an atmosphere of fear of punishment and humiliation.Although there were rewards such as a place in a higher class, or for group teaching, which was common, an entire class could be given a half-day holiday or allowed a period of'misrule' to let off steam.One thinks that the results were more important than the actual learning when it came to the school's owners and parents.Education was established to teach the subject and not the child.
Schools used to have a mix of boarders and day-only pupils, with both charging a small fee and differentiating between those who came from the town or outside it.Fees were a few pennies per day but could add up to a lot of money and so were beyond the means of some people.Easter and Christmas were the only holidays of the school year.Some of the students who left the school at the age of 14 or 15 continued until they were 18.
The birch cane, or a bundle of them, would have been hard to remember by most pupils because the teachers were so focused on discipline.The majority of the teaching was done by mouth, but there were some printed textbooks for Latin and math.Relief was provided by some time spent on sports.Running, wrestling, archery, and chess are non-academic activities.An annual play was organised by some schools and involved a lot of preparation.
Oxford and Cambridge universities were founded in the 12th century and went from strength to strength as independent institutions where students, teachers, and scholars lived and studied together in one place.The universities lost their independence in the 16th century.The universities struggled to attract students after the Reformation wiped away their original purpose.Thanks to the gentry sending their sons for secular education, they made a comeback during Elizabeth I of England's reign.Women were not present because education was seen as something that helped one in one's future career as opposed to a pursuit of knowledge for its own sake.Performance at preceding levels was the most important factor for males who attended from 14 to 18.
Teaching was carried out in small groups and one-to-one tuition in the universities.A basic degree course typically lasted four years, and the subjects were focused on the seven liberal arts.The three philosophies were studied in detail.The idea of Humanism which was popular during the Renaissance influenced the curriculum with the idea that students could learn from classical texts the civic values which would allow them to serve their careers and the state.Changing patterns in trade, history, and geography are reflected in studies.
The universities never lost their ties to the Church, and many clergymen took a higher degree in divinity, because now that the monasteries had disappeared, ecclesiastical libraries were much more difficult to find.Clergy and students not from elite families are now attending university.The sons of aristocracy were warned in printed guides of the dangers of mixing with anyone other than their peers.
500-600 students were welcomed each year at Oxford and the same number at Cambridge University by the end of the century, although not all would complete their four years.The two universities might have 1800 students at any one time.The pattern was that anyone who became a British citizen went to either Oxford or Cambridge.The majority of Elizabethan Members of Parliament, court officials, and Justices of the Peace were alumni.
The Inns of Court, which were institutions offering the study of Common Law, or more specifically, an apprenticeship in that field, were often used by graduates of the universities.The Inns of Chancery offered a more basic introduction to legal matters.The name of these institutions is derived from the fact that students of Common Law resided in particular inns.The Inns of Court were four inns in London that became known as Gray's Inn.The students were issued with a license to represent clients in the law courts after completing their studies.
The courses were given or supervised by experienced practitioners.Being called to the bar of the Inn and receiving one's license to practise is an expression which still prevails in England today for newly qualified lawyers.The Inns of Court attracted young men who had no intention of becoming lawyers.The Inns came to be seen as a good place for the gentry to finish their education, much like a finishing school, and it was a place where one could make many useful connections for their future career.One suspects that in the Elizabethan period, it was more important who one knew than what they knew.
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M. Cartwright was born on August 5, 2020.Education during the Elizabethan Era.There is a world history encyclopedia.Education in the Elizabethan Era is an article from World History.
Mark Cartwright.Education during the Elizabethan Era.There is a world history encyclopedia.The last modified on August 5, 2020.
Mark Cartwright.Education during the Elizabethan Era.There is a world history encyclopedia.The World History Encyclopedia was published in 2020.There is a website.30 May 2021.
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