Kirtepe, Sait; (2025) Education, Welfare and Working-Class Childhood in Late Nineteenth- and Early Twentieth-Century England: Exploring the ‘Unknown Land’. Doctoral thesis (Ph.D), UCL (University College London).

Text Sait Kirtepe PhD Thesis - final.pdf - Submitted Version Access restricted to UCL open access staff until 1 August 2027. Download (3MB)

Abstract

This thesis is situated at the intersection of the histories of childhood and education. It reexamines the relationship between elementary education, welfare provisions, and workingclass childhood in England during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. It investigates how various socialising agents, including working-class families, elementary schools, local communities, organisations and welfare services, shaped the experiences, character and identity of working-class children. Drawing on first-hand sources such as autobiographies and oral history interviews, the study analyses how individuals retrospectively recalled their childhood encounters with state-led educational and welfare initiatives. These memory-based narratives are considered alongside official documents, particularly inspectors’ reports, to illuminate the contrasts and convergences between the expectations of middle-class educationists and the lived experiences and later reflections of working-class individuals. The thesis argues that, while compulsory elementary schooling and welfare interventions had a discernible impact on the daily lives of working-class children, working-class identities and lifestyles retained significant levels of autonomy in shaping working-class childhood. It also identifies points of convergence, where the aims of elementary education aligned with the values and aspirations of working-class communities. In such cases, formal schooling could meaningfully influence the formation of working-class childhood. However, where no such alignment existed, working-class norms and priorities prevailed, limiting the influence of state education. By examining this complex interaction, characterised by mutual influence, overlap and tension between state policy and working-class environments, the thesis offers a nuanced contribution to the historiography of state intervention in working-class life. It deepens our understanding of the relationship between middle-class reformist visions and working-class perceptions and experiences within the context of educational and welfare reforms, providing valuable insights into a pivotal aspect of social history.

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