Illiteracy in Victorian England: 'Shut Out from the World'

Historical research methods in education are a vital tool for understanding contemporary concerns and for challenging our pre-existing assumptions and attitudes. The stigma associated with adult illiteracy is undoubtedly a barrier to effective teaching and learning. There is still a worrying juxtaposition of illiteracy with criminality, unemployment, and other 'social' issues, with the most damaging of all being the association of illiteracy with low intelligence. How was illiteracy regarded in the past? Is there any evidence of stigmatization? How can this increase our understanding of present-day problems? Based on original and innovative research, drawing on a variety of different disciplines and documentary sources, including Victorian fiction, and yielding elusive and subtle insights that are sometimes by-passed by more traditional documentary sources, this unique book explores the origins of these present-day negative attitudes to illiteracy. The book promotes a deeper understanding of attitudes to illiteracy and the difficulties these present for adult literacy learners. It is an original contribution to the understanding of the social and historical contexts of literacy and what the terms 'literate' and 'illiterate' have signified over the years. It also challenges the reader to question pre-assumptions about adult learning and attitudes, and to seek answers in non-traditional documentary sources.