Book reviews

Malcolm Prentis

History of Education Review

ISSN: 0819-8691

Article publication date: 2 June 2022

Issue publication date: 2 June 2022

178

Citation

Prentis, M. (2022), "Book reviews", History of Education Review, Vol. 51 No. 1, pp. 103-104. https://doi.org/10.1108/HER-06-2022-097

Publisher

:

Emerald Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2021, Emerald Publishing Limited


A history of Catholic education and schooling in Scotland

Edited by Stephen J. McKinney and Raymond McCluskey

Palgrave Macmillan

London

2019

x + 207pp.

ISBN: 978-1-137-51369-4 (hbk)

Review DOI

A non-Scottish reader who is generally acquainted with the history of Scottish education might, under the influence of the usual focus on the country's post-Reformation progress to a very high rate of literacy and knowing of the Scottish influence on secondary and university education in the diaspora, be tempted to wonder at the significance of the subject of this book. Certainly, first, Scottish Roman Catholics were a small minority of the diaspora which, until the mid-20th century, was overwhelmingly Presbyterian and, secondly, Scots were also a tiny minority amongst Roman Catholics in the British diaspora. In Australia's case, this is tempered somewhat by awareness of the work of Scottish-Australian nun, St Mary Mackillop. Of course, as Tom Devine has pointed out, Scotland was like a bathtub with the plug out and the taps on: relevantly, as Presbyterian Scots emigrated, Irish Roman Catholics immigrated from the early 19th century – and later Italians and Poles. The country has changed since the great emigrations and this part of Scottish educational history demands more general recognition and analysis.

Secondly, at first sight, the title and sub-title might seem a little puzzling, perhaps attempting to combine two different approaches to a subject. “A history” is a common signal of a (newish but coherent) general treatment of a subject rather than a collection of essays; “new perspectives” commonly signals a group of professedly original, perhaps challenging, insights into a possibly tired subject. Thirdly, the fact that six of the nine chapters have The Education (Scotland) Act of 1918 in their titles might lead one to expect the latter approach at the expense of the former.

Putting aside the three preconceptions of the topic and of the title, this book successfully fulfils the promise of both title and sub-title, it proves itself to be an important contribution to a neglected yet significant part of Scotland's educational history and it fully justifies its dual identity as “a history” which presents important fresh insights. It seems to this reviewer to be as close to a definitive study of its clearly defined subject from the late 18th century to the early 21st century as one could reasonably expect. (There is, appropriately, little on the pre-Reformation period apart from some reference to the role of the monks and universities in educating the elite.) The editors contribute four of the nine chapters, which helps give the book its unity. The fear that one Act in one year might be a narrow focus or overpower the bigger picture proves false. The Introduction and Chapter 2 (both by the editors) fully justify the focus on 1918 without letting it crowd out other important parts of the story by placing that Act in the broader historical perspective, before and after. They set out five themes, all of which thread their way through most chapters and at least two in every one: the impact of poverty, male and female religious orders, teacher-training, Roman Catholic identity in Scotland (Irish, Scottish, British?), and sectarianism. This scheme unifies the work without putting any author in a straightjacket.

In relation to the fifth theme, unlike in Australia, where Irish teaching orders were very strong, the orders active in modern Scotland were mainly French and English. (It is conceded here that at the “grass-roots”, there was “residual Irishness”. Pretty obvious in football.) The chapter on the Presbyterian campaign against the 1918 Act is admirably balanced, taking full account of how “mainstream” (including Protestant) historians' interpretation of it has changed over the years. It always seemed to this reviewer that this campaign was a doomed attempt to bolt the stable door a century too late. It was a campaign which also confused religious and ethnic issues and exploited prejudice. The hierarchy's downplaying of the aggressive Irishry helped make the campaign look even more foolish. One stark irony is the support given to Roman Catholic schooling in the early 19th century by the likes of Free Kirk statesman, the Rev. Thomas Chalmers, and the philanthropic industrialist David Dale, as noted in Chapter 2.

The editors – and their authors – are to be congratulated on this volume. In its presentation, everything is as it should be, e.g. the index of six pages is excellent and accurate. More importantly, the new perspectives are not narrowly limited to Roman Catholic schooling alone, but are relevant to the Scottish educational community in general, as well as to issues facing Church and state in relation to schools anywhere. There are also useful insights for the Australian reader regarding sectarian (and secularist) opposition to the funding of Roman Catholic schools and the alternative not pursued, of the integration of Church schools into a state system, as well as the currently topical issue of religious freedom and schools. Indeed, the last footnote in the last chapter (on the legal implications of the 1918 Act) cites a reference from as recently as September 2019: a paper by Devine et al., in which it is asserted that the 1918 Act was a pioneer of religious freedom. Food for thought.

Related articles