Conference to examine role of Edgeworths in education

In the early 19th century, Edgeworthstown in Longford was a place of pilgrimage for educationalists, scientists and enlightenment figures, who came to examine the pioneering work being carried out in the field of education by Maria Edgeworth and her father Richard Lovell.

In this, the 225th anniversary of the publication of their major work ‘Practical Education’, a conference with international speakers will examine The Education of a Nation and The Role of the Edgeworths on the origins of our primary school system.

In 1798 Ireland was in the midst of a failed rebellion with its aim of severing connections with Britain and establishing an Irish republic based on the principles of the French Revolution. Meanwhile, at Edgeworthstown in County Longford, a quiet revolution in the field of education was taking place.

The aim of that revolution was the establishment of a universal interdenominational system of education for all the children of the nation. It was led by Richard Lovell Edgeworth and his daughter Maria. Their work to achieve this ideal had been going on for many years and culminated in the publication of their major work, ‘Practical Education’.

Practical Education was a radical educational treatise based on the principles of European philosophers. The Edgeworths’ theory of education was based on the premise that a child’s early experiences are formative and that the associations they form early in life are long lasting. They also encouraged hands-on learning and proposed experiments that children could perform and learn from, through fun. Children educated to Edgeworthian principles should see themselves not as passive recipients of knowledge, but as participants in an evolving process of knowledge formation.

Practical Education, when published, was radical for the time and its publication was not encouraged by the establishment or the established churches. In the late 18th century, to discuss education, as Alan Richardson has pointed out in Literature, Education and Romanticism: Reading as Social Practice, was to discuss a topic that was ‘tied inextricably to issues of religion of economics, of politics’ and which brought out ‘inequalities between the genders no less than those between the classes’.

Practical Education was translated into a number of European languages and was well received in educational circles. Its publication was soon followed by Richard Lovell Edgeworth’s Education Bill of 1799. Unfortunately, the bill did not get through parliament, due to factors including the dissolution of the Irish Parliament as a result of the Act of Union and opposition from the established churches to new ideas on education.

Edgeworth was not deterred, he was appointed to two commissions on education established to inquire into the state of education in Ireland. Their findings led to the passing of the 1831 Education Act.

While Richard Lovell Edgeworth did not live to see his dream come to pass, his daughter Maria (1768-1849) did. In the late 1830s she was the applicant for funding to build the first school to be established in Edgeworthstown under the 1831 Education Act, and it is now home to the Maria Edgeworth Visitor Centre.

Their pioneering work, though widely acknowledged in academic circles, is largely forgotten by the general population today. In the early 1800s Edgeworthstown was a place of pilgrimage for educationalists and scientists from across Europe. They included William Wordsworth, Sir Walter Scott, Sir Humphry Davy, astronomers William and Caroline Herschel, Sir William Rowan Hamilton and the Swiss philosopher Charles Pictet, who translated Practical Education into French.

As a result of the many years of work by the Edgeworth Society, the legacy of Maria Edgeworth is gaining widespread interest. The opening of the Maria Edgeworth Visitor Centre and Museum in Edgeworthstown is a major development and its collection of artefacts and rare books and manuscripts are of national and international importance. The inclusion of a recreated 19th century school room with its original artefacts has rekindled memories in visitors. The centre is fast becoming a must-visit for schools looking for something unique, informative and immersive.

On Friday May 5, as part of its annual Maria Edgeworth Festival of Literature and Arts, the town will once again become a place of pilgrimage for educationalists, students of education, historians and those interested in exploring a rich cultural heritage.

The Edgeworth Society will host an International Conference on Education with speakers from St Andrew’s Scotland, York University UK, Roma Tre University Italy, Harvard University USA and from the Froebel Department Maynooth University.

Registration and details for the conference are at mariaedgeworthcentre.com or email info@mariaedgeworthcentre.com.