Spread of infant schools outside Britain and Ireland

Lore & Background

The first infant school in Great Britain opened in 1816 at New Lanark, Scotland, for the children of mill workers. More charitable infant schools soon appeared across Britain and Ireland. At the time, early childhood education was a fresh idea, viewed as a way to address social issues caused by industrialization. A teaching method emerged that stressed moral education, physical activity, and a firm yet kind teacher.

Within decades, infant schools spread rapidly across Europe, the British Empire, and the United States. In many places, their numbers grew quickly for a time before interest waned and expansion slowed. Historians point to several reasons for this global appeal: a push to expand Christianity, a growing focus on young children's development, a wish to improve society's moral character—especially among the working class—and the need to provide education where schooling was scarce.

Missionary groups used infant schools to try converting non-Christian people in the empire. Colonial governments also brought British practices to their territories. For example, in 1855, the government of Victoria (in modern Australia) asked for two trained teachers to set up a model infant school. In the British West Indies, some plantation owners created infant schools for enslaved children before they were old enough to work, hoping to make them more productive laborers later. After slavery ended in 1833, more plantation infant schools were established to encourage freed workers to stay and to spread Christianity among their children.

The idea of infant schools entered American public debate in the mid-1820s. Professor John Griscom started a class inspired by the New Lanark school in 1825. Robert Owen toured the United States from 1825 to 1826, and educator William Russell promoted the movement through the *American Journal of Education*, founded in 1826. Americans were receptive: the country faced similar economic changes to Britain, though more slowly, and a more sentimental view of childhood was emerging. An Infant School Society formed in New York City in 1826, followed by societies in other cities. Within a few years, infant schools were common in urban areas. By 1831, the New York Infant Society ran nine schools, two for non-white children. A range of groups established these schools, which attracted families from various economic backgrounds, though they mainly served the poor. Some state governments provided public funding. The first American advice book on infant education, *Infant Education or Remarks on the Importance of Educating the Infant Poor from the Age of Eighteen Months to Seven Years*, appeared in 1827, heavily influenced by British texts. No formal training was available.

Reader's Guide

The spread of infant schools outside Britain and Ireland represents a significant chapter in the history of early childhood education. The movement was influential globally, with schools founded across Europe, the British Empire, and the United States. In France, they inspired the creation of Salles d'asile from 1826, which later became part of the state education system as l'école maternelle. In the United States, infant schools became common in urban areas by the early 1830s, but the movement ended by 1840 due to declining financial support, competition from public schools, and a growing belief that young children belonged at home with their mothers. The movement's legacy includes the integration of some infant schools into public school systems and the lasting influence of their methods. The American infant school movement was largely forgotten, rarely mentioned in literature from the middle decades of the 19th century. Writing in 1986, academic Alan R. Pence argued that a worry that young children being cared for outside the home might undermine the family continued to be a theme in American public debate throughout the 19th and 20th centuries.

Did You Know?

• The first infant school in Great Britain was established in 1816 for the children of mill workers in New Lanark, Scotland.
• Infant schools inspired the creation of Salles d'asile in France from 1826.
• In the United States, the New York Infant Society operated nine infant schools in 1831, two of which were for non-white children.
• By 1840, the infant school movement had ended in the United States.