The book deals with Thomas Orde, Chief Secretary for Ireland 1784–1787, and his plans for an innovative education scheme for Ireland. His education plan was introduced in the Irish House of Commons in 1787, but because of circumstances beyond Orde’s control, it never reached the stage of a second or third reading. It is, nevertheless, an important intervention in the history of Irish education, as it paved the way for educational research and a host of fresh plans for Irish education over ...

This book outlines the principal features of the Payment by Results policy, first introduced in England in 1862. It draws attention to some of the positive aspects of the system but it also considers the more salient features of a system that preyed heavily on both pupils and teachers. Inspectors were used as agents of its implementation, resulting in a divergence of views between them and the teachers. Very few regretted its demise in 1900 when it was replaced by the Revised Programme, a ...

«Tony Lyons’s study restores Thomas Wyse to the prominent place where he belongs – as one of the most consequential and far-seeing educational thinkers in nineteenth century Ireland. Long a neglected figure, everybody interested in the history of Irish education will profit from this work.»(Professor James Kelly, St. Patrick’s College, Dublin City University)This is the first major work on Thomas Wyse, and his plans for education reform. It places him, first and foremost, as...

The book deals with the clash between the free, enterprising pay schools and the controlled and systematized national schools. Many commissions of inquiry were instigated, beginning in 1791, and continuing until the foundations of the national school system of 1831. From Thomas Orde in the 1780s to Thomas Wyse in 1830, the cumulative evidence of the commissions of inquiry led to the substitution of the long-running pay schools. The new systematic approach introduced teacher training, purpo...

This book explores the impact of the Lesson Books of the National Board of Education in Ireland in the nineteenth century. The author contextualizes the books used in national schools as well as across the wider British Empire: in doing so, he highlights the influence of the religious, social, political and cultural realms of the time. Firmly grounding the volume in its historical context, the author goes on to explore the contemporary moral climate and social influences, including imperia...