‘Rule of thumb methods no longer suffice’: development of British coal industry education and training 1900–circa 1970 and lessons for present-day education policy-makers

Abstract

This paper traces the origins and development of coal mining education and training in Britain from 1900 to the 1970s, by which time the coal industry had substantially declined. It looks at the progress from working-class self-help to national policy in support of education and training. The research makes use of college prospectuses and principals' reports to identify the kind of courses offered at several former mining and technical colleges located on the Lancashire and Yorkshire coalfields. The research also identifies funding available to those who worked in the industry, from new employees to those aspiring to be colliery and area managers. The paper also briefly summarises what policy-makers can learn from studying the former mining industry's education and training framework.

Keywords:

• coal mining
• further education and training
• higher education
• history of education
• Miners’ Welfare Fund
• policy-makers

Acknowledgements

I express my thanks to colleagues at Kirklees College, Huddersfield, and Havering College of Further and Higher Education, Essex, for their time in discussing present-day funding arrangements for post-school qualifications in support of this research.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes on contributor

Martyn A. Walker is a teacher educator and researcher at the University of Huddersfield. He is a member of the Centre for Research in Post-Compulsory Education at the University and his work, based on the history of adult education, has been widely published in scholarly journals. Between 1972 and 1974, Martyn took ‘A’ Levels at the then Wigan and District Mining and Technical College, prior to going into higher education. He also took ‘O’ Level Geology delivered by former mining lecturers.

Notes

1. Analysis of education institutions' information about courses and qualifications is becoming more difficult to use for historical purposes with online information being upgraded year on year and not archived.

2. Tom Ellis had previously gained B.Sc. degrees in Chemistry (Nottingham University) and Mining (University of Wales).