Practical Education, Volume II

Richard Lovell EdgeworthProject Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.5

Word count: 599K words
Chapters: 60

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.Practical Education, Volume II by Maria Edgeworth and Richard Lovell EdgeworthAuthor: Edgeworth, Richard Lovell, 1744-1817,Language: English, Class: LB: Education: Theory and practice of education, Release Date: May 7, 2009

Editor's review

Practical Education, Volume II is the second volume of the educational theory work co-written by Maria Edgeworth and her father Richard Lovell Edgeworth, released as a public-domain electronic edition by Project Gutenberg. Grounded in empiricism and rationalism, the Edgeworths argue that education should follow children's nature and proceed from concrete experience, opposing mechanical indoctrination and empty preaching—a stance representative of educational thought in the late 18th to 19th centuries. This volume continues the book's approach, discussing educational methods at the practical level, and is suited to researchers in the history of education and theories of childhood education, as well as readers interested in early modern educational ideas. As a historical text, its specific claims bear the limitations of their time and should be understood within the social context of the period, drawing methodological inspiration rather than copying its conclusions. The electronic edition facilitates keyword searches and chapter citations, making it suitable as course reference or supporting material for academic writing.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Researchers and students in the history and philosophy of education
Primary and secondary school teachers concerned with the evolution of childhood education methods
Advanced readers interested in Enlightenment-era educational thought
Writers needing public-domain educational literature for course citations

Not a good fit for

Parents seeking modern parenting solutions they can apply directly
Beginners without a foundation in educational theory who want light reading
Readers expecting systematic textbook-style organization and contemporary case studies

Reading tips

Read the table of contents and introduction first to grasp the book's problem framework, then select chapters by theme.
Mark the authors' core claims and examples while reading, distinguishing period context from transferable methods.
Compare with educational works by Locke, Rousseau, and others to trace the lineage of empiricist educational views.
Take notes and excerpt key passages for accurate quotation in writing.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

Is there a Chinese translation of this book?

Available information shows that this is an English-language public-domain e-book released by Project Gutenberg, with no mention of a Chinese translation. Chinese readers will need some English reading ability, or may rely on translation tools and related research literature for support.

Do I need to read Volume I before Volume II?

The available information does not specify the dependency between the two volumes. As a multi-volume educational work, Volume II continues the same line of thought in discussing practice; it is advisable to first understand the book's main themes and the authors' basic positions before entering this volume, which will make for smoother reading.

Are the educational views in this book still applicable today?

Its emphasis on following children's nature and on cultivating experience and habits remains instructive, but specific claims are constrained by 18th- and 19th-century social conditions and should not be applied directly. It is best read as material in the history of educational thought and absorbed critically in light of contemporary research.

Is this book suitable for citation in academic papers?

It is suitable as a primary source for research on the history of education and educational thought. As a public-domain electronic text, it is easy to search and locate, but citations should verify edition information and be combined with secondary research to ensure an accurate grasp of the authors' original meaning.

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About the author

Richard Lovell Edgeworth Author · Anglo-Irish · 1744–1817

Richard Lovell Edgeworth (1744–1817) was an Anglo-Irish inventor, writer and educationalist. Born in Bath, England, he settled for a long time in County Longford, Ireland. He co-authored Practical Education (1798) with his daughter Maria Edgeworth, advocating an approach that follows children's natural inclinations and cultivates their abilities through practice and observation; the work exerted a certain influence on later educational thought. He was also an enthusiastic mechanical inventor, working in fields such as telegraphy, vehicles and surveying instruments, and he wrote memoirs that preserve firsthand material on his life and ideas. Three of his works are held in this collection, including the first and second volumes of Practical Education and a selection from his memoirs.