EDUCATION STATISTICS.*
Tars extremely valuable book answers a double purpose at the present time. To all those who wish really to appreciate the exact educational position in England as shown by official figures—and those who do not appreciate it are unfit to offer an opinion upon the Education Bill—the book offers an admirable survey with full statistics of that position. On the other hand, Mr. Hughes has worked out in equal detail the educa- tional school systems of France, Germany, and the United States, so that we are enabled to see how we actually stand in the practice of education with respect to those countries, and are able to estimate what we may gain from them and the many points in which imitation is by no means desirable. With respect to England, we quote for the use of our readers certain figures that should be kept in mind. The tremendous growth of the voluntary schools since 1870 is shown by the fact that whereas in 1870 there were 8,281 voluntary schools, there are now 14,359, made up as follows : "11,777 connected with the Church of England, 458 Wesleyan schools, 1,045 Roman Catholic schools, and 1,079 British and other schools." "There are being educated in the Church schools 2,300,150 children, 156,666 in the Wesleyan, 316,769 in the Roman Catholic, and 269,421 in the British schools." An increase in these numbers has taken place in the present year. The latest figures are : 2,303,370 children in Church schools, 157,734 in the Wesleyan, 324,558 in the Roman Catholic, and 269,047 in the British and other schools. We are glad Mr. Hughes recognises that "it is by no means unusual to find Nonconformist teachers in Church schools." It is not, however, at all correct to say that "there are over 8,000 Parishes in England and Wales where the Church school is the only school available." Mr. Balfour stated in the House of Commons on July 30th last that there were only 7.470 single-school districts. "Of those about 5,600 were National schools, which, he supposed, might be taken to repre- sent Church of England schools; 418 were voluntary schools 'which were not denominational; 62 were British schools, 37 Wesleyan, and 35 Roman Catholic; and there were 1,326 Board- schools." It is necessary, therefore, to emphasise the fact that 5,600, and not "over 8,000," are single- Rug, XA. Oxon.) S BC. (Loud.) London: The Walter Scott Publiahing LesuparT. [es. • The Mokinc of Citizens: a Study in Comparative Education. By R. E. Church-school districts, and that 1,806 single-school dis- tricts are undenominational. With respect to the training of teachers, it should be remembered that there are in all 44 resident Training Colleges containing 1,488 men and 2,597 women, or 4,085 young persona preparing for the teaching profession ; and in addition to this number, there are 1,523 (630 men and 893 women) day students in Training Colleges. The Church of England Training Colleges number 32, and in the year 1900 contained 1,102 men and 1,678 women. We must add that the day Training Colleges are nude- nominations', and (though we think Mr. Hughes omits this) that the day students at the new St. Gabriers College, Camberwell, have to adopt no religious tests. Con- sequently, the Nonconformist has 13 residential Training Colleges where he can obtain (presumably) as sound a training as he could obtain by submitting to religious tests at any of the 32 Church of England Training Colleges; and he can also attend as a day student without testa at St. Gabriers College, or he can attend the undenominational day Training Colleges. We commend these facts to those who have been told that the Nonconformist students are subjected to cruel disabilities in the way of education. We may add, while on the question of statistics, that Sir William Harcourt's statement at Ebbw Vale on Wednesday to the effect that the voluntary schools were only worth £15,000,000 is an instance of the necessity for more accurate knowledge in education statistics. Mr. Hughes shows us that the average cost per seat of the Board-schools is 214 18s. 7d. (the cost vary- ing from £10 to £20 per seat). The average cost per seat of the voluntary schools must be higher than this, as the schools are small and more numerous. There are nearly four million voluntary-school seats, and to replace these it would probably cost the Government fully £80,000,000. We are glad to see that Mr. Hughes does not take a dismal view of the future of education in England. The improvement in England under the combined voluntary and Board school system has been greater than in any other country in elementary education in the last thirty years. We are better provided with schools than America. No less than 95 per cent. of our children are on school registers. We are told that out of nearly five millions of children on the registers (the present number is 5,758,143), probably not much more than eighty thousand are employed as "half-timers," though about a hundred and forty thousand are still employed out of school hours. The corresponding evil in Germany is far worse. "There are three-quarters of a million children between six and fourteen years of age working for wages in Germany." The truth is, our educational machinery will work excellently when its various parts are fitted together.
Apart from the question of the fitting together and adjust- ment of educational machinery, the weak point of English elementary education at the present time is the untrained teacher. "Fifty-eight per cent. only of English certificated teachers have been trained for two years." Mr. Hughes puts this down to three causes,—the cost of the Training College course, the inadequate amount of Training College accommoda- tion, and the fact that most of the Training Colleges are denominational. "It is unfortunate," he says, "that the State does not, as in other countries, take over the education of its own teachers." On the question of State maintenance of Training Colleges the English educational specialists and a Royal Commission are against Mr. Hughes. What is wanted are more Colleges. The weakness of the voluntary schools is the employment of untrained "additional teachers." This is due to want of funds. No such excuse can be made for the fact that such a large proportion of the teachers in Board- schools are pupil teachers.
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