The board and its teachers : a study of the teaching profession under the Wellington Education Board, 1872-1888

Abstract

The reasons for choosing this particular period of the wellington Education Board's history may be summarised as follows:- Brought into avidence by the Wellington Education Act 1871 the Board first assembled and began its functions in 1872. By 1888, however, despite some 15 years of growth and development the system had almost reverted to its rudiments of 1872. The year 1888 marked the end of Vogelism as the dominant political philosophy, and the Board was accordingly compelled to adopt a policy of retrenchment, a policy that affected not only the educational system but its relations with teachers as an employer. Thus by 1888 the training of teachers had reverted to the primitive arrangement of 1872, and teachers' salaries were reduced to an almost undifferentiated pittance.