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University of Arkansas

A Gentleman's Burden: Difference and the Development of British Education at Home and in the Empire During the Nineteenth and Early-Twentieth Centuries

Abstract

dc:description.abstract

<p>A Gentleman's Burden is a comparative analysis of state-funded primary education in Britain, Ireland, West Africa, and India during the nineteenth and early-twentieth centuries. Starting with early-nineteenth century theories on primary education, this dissertation traces the evolution of state-funded educational ideology alongside Britain's domestic and imperial development. Key innovations in educational ideology are considered alongside the core moments of educational change during this period, specifically the major policies and reforms that shaped British state-funded education at home and abroad. Through this lens, education is shown to be a central component in how British officials and educationists perceived, categorized, and ruled the disparate populations and cultures of Britain and its empire. These themes and arguments stress the interconnectivity of British domestic and imperial narratives during the nineteenth and early-twentieth centuries, as well as the impact of state-funded education on the formation of both British national identity and anti-imperial identities in the British Empire.</p>

Degree

thesis:*
Name thesis:degree_name
Doctor of Philosophy in History (PhD)
Level thesis:degree_level
Dissertation
Year dc:date.available
2016

Author and committee

dc:creator, dc:contributor.*
Author dc:creator
  • Grooms, Jeffrey Willis
Advisor dc:contributor.advisor
  • Grob-Fitzgibbon, Benjamin J.
Contributors dc:contributor
  • Sonn, Richard D.
  • Arrington, Andrea L.

Subjects

dc:subject × 11

Identifiers

dc:identifier.*
Repository record dc:identifier
https://scholarworks.uark.edu/etd/1623
OAI identifier oai:identifier
oai:scholarworks.uark.edu:etd-3162

Chain of custody

source
Harvested from
University of Arkansas
Base URL
scholarworks.uark.edu/do/oai/
Last updated
2026-07-24
Source record
OAI-PMH GetRecord
citation

Grooms, Jeffrey Willis. A Gentleman's Burden: Difference and the Development of British Education at Home and in the Empire During the Nineteenth and Early-Twentieth Centuries. Dissertation thesis, 2016. https://scholarworks.uark.edu/etd/1623