Why did Denmark develop mass education for all in 1814, while Britain created a public-school system only in 1870 that primarily educated academic achievers? Cathie Jo Martin argues that fiction writers and their literary narratives inspired education campaigns throughout the nineteenth-century. Danish writers imagined mass schools as the foundation for a great society and economic growth. Their depictions fortified the mandate to educate all people and showed neglecting low-skill youth would waste societal resources and threaten the social fabric. Conversely, British authors pictured mass education as harming social stability, lower-class work, and national culture. Their stories of youths who overcame structural injustices with individual determination made it easier to blame students who failed to seize educational opportunities. Novel and compelling, Education for All? uses a multidisciplinary perspective to offer a unique gaze into historical policymaking. This title is part of the Flip it Open Programme and may also be available Open Access. Check our website Cambridge Core for details.

Investigates how nineteenth-century fiction writers influenced the creation of public-school systems in Denmark and Great Britain.

About the Author
Cathie Jo Martin is Professor of Political Science at Boston University. Martin's book with Duane Swank, The Political Construction of Business Interests, received the APSA David Greenstone book award. She has received fellowships from the Radcliffe Institute, National Endowment for the Humanities and Russell Sage Foundation, among others.


Book Information
ISBN 9781009419666
Author Cathie Jo Martin
Format Paperback
Page Count 289
Imprint Cambridge University Press
Publisher Cambridge University Press