Sir George Trevelyan, Residential Adult Education and the New Age: 'To Open the Immortal Eye' (Palgrave Studies in Adult Education and Lifelong Learning)

This book examines the development of British post-Second World War short-term residential adult education, through the lens of the Shropshire Adult Education College (1948-1976) and the tenure of Sir George Trevelyan as its first warden. Trevelyan is acknowledged as the godfather of new-age spiritualism in the UK and is credited with the development of eclectic and esoteric learning opportunities in arts, traditional crafts, culture and ecology. Embodying the spirit of a new national drive for optimism and enterprise in the post-war period, Trevelyan, and his contemporaries at other colleges, took risks and innovated in new pedagogical approaches to adult education, capturing the imagination of hundreds of students, before being stifled by an increasingly restrictive policy framework and financial strictures. The book considers the ideological drivers and tensions behind this unique form of education - its inception, evolution and virtual demise - and seeks to learn from its complex history to inform education in the future. Foreword Preface Contents List of Figures Chapter 1: Introduction References Chapter 2: The College, Its Leader, and Their Inspirations References Chapter 3: Residential Adult Education—Ideas and Antecedents References Chapter 4: Adult Education and the Residential College: Theories and Approaches References Chapter 5: Attingham Hall: Adult College as the English Country House Networking and Publicity—How the College Was Promoted The Early Years Students—1948–1960 Student Profile Occupation and Class Gender Geographical Background Perceptions of the Student Body Course Costs The Students—1957–1971 References Chapter 6: Space and Place: The Residential Experience for Staff and Students The Staff Experience The 1960s—A Changing Staff Experience Retirement and Post-Trevelyan References Chapter 7: Courses at Attingham and the English Way of Life Introduction Social Purpose and the ‘Whole Man’ Course Trends Analysis The Courses Family, Children, and the Home Ecology and Agriculture Social and Current Affairs Archaeology and Local History Music Architecture, Art Appreciation, and Conservation Arts and Crafts Thought—Spiritual/Religious Thinking Alternative Course Provision The College Closure and Beyond References Chapter 8: Spirit and Character—George Trevelyan as Warden References Chapter 9: Legacies and Impact of the Shropshire Adult College (Part I) and the Future of Residential Adult Education and Its Significance (Part II) Legacies and Impact of the Shropshire Adult College The Future of Residential Adult Education and Its Significance References Appendices Appendix A: Research Methodology and Interviewees The Interviewees Appendix B: Course Analysis Appendix C: Additional Material on the Short-Term and Long-Term Colleges Current Status of the Short-Term Colleges Appendix D—A Visual Map of the Estate (Fig. D.1) References Index