Historical Survey of Pre-Christian Education

by Simon Somerville Laurie

Book by Simon S. Laurie

411 pages, Library Binding

First published January 12, 2010

About the author

Professor Simon Somerville Laurie FRSE LLD was a Scottish educator. He became Bell Professor of Education at Edinburgh University in 1876. He campaigned energetically and successfully for better teacher training in Scotland. He also wrote extensively on philosophy, giving the Gifford Lectures in 1905-6.

In 1855 Laurie became secretary and visitor of schools for the Church of Scotland's education committee, which was then responsible for Scottish parish schools and for teacher training. He held this role for 50 years, in which time he greatly improved the education of teachers in Scotland. He vigorously campaigned to have all teachers educated at university, with the teacher training colleges providing professional training only after that. It took until 1873 for the Scottish board of education to give the training colleges the right to send their best students, at least, to universities to gain full degrees. Laurie went further, campaigning to have day training colleges set up in England, and in 1890 he succeeded in this also, personally inaugurating the teacher training department of University College, Liverpool.