英國的初等教育在十九世紀是從社會自由辦學逐漸轉向國家規劃的時代，其中又以1839年成立的樞密院教育小組（The Committee of Privy Council on Education）為英國政府介入民間初等教育的開始。
英國的樞密院教育小組為英國初等教育發展的分界點，在此之前的英國教育主要由宗教與慈善團體推行，教授課程多以宗教教育為主，其中又以英國國教為最大的教育團體。由於工業革命的發展，民眾的技術能力與知識程度受到更大重視，世俗教育的發展也因應這種情況而擴大。為了增強國力，培養更多英國人民接受完善的教育，樞密院教育小組為英國第一個專門處理教育事務的政府機構，完成一系列政府介入教育的工作，為1870年開始實施的〈初等教育法〉（Elementary Education Act）做了準備。
在這段期間內，樞密院教育小組採取循序漸進的方式，從英國初等學校的校舍建造、以學徒教師培養師資、教師的評量制度、建立督學制度，以及擴大世俗教育的內容等，都有相當的進展。相對而言，宗教教育在此時則逐漸降低了在教育體制中的影響力。英國政府也順應社會形勢，和平理性地介入初等教育，經由樞密院教育小組的設立，與有效的執行發展國家教育的工作，不僅展現英國民主化的特質，也使英國走向國家提供義務性國民教育的方向。

The primary education in nineteen-century Britain has been transformed from the free and private education to that of the state control. The establishment of the Committee of Privy Council on Education in 1839 was considered as the beginning of the state and government to get involved in elementary education.
The establishment of the Committee of Privy Council on Education was a turning point in the history of education in England. The public education in England was largely organized by the church and charities, especially the evangelist Church of England. The contents they taught were mainly religious text. However, following the development of Industrial Revolution, both technique and knowledge of people were thought more important than before, and that’s the reason why the secular education also expanded quickly. In order to strengthen the power of the nation, it is necessary to educate more British people in Britain. The Committee of Privy Council on Education was the first step to reach the target. It was also the first government institution to deal with education matters and pave the way for the passage of the Elementary Education Act in 1870.
During this period, the Committee of Privy Council on Education gradually moved forward to building school-houses, training teachers, measuring the quality of teachers, setting school inspector system and expanding secular education. Simultaneously, the religious education was decline. The successful involvement of elementary education by British government was a peaceful and rational process. It was not only characterized the democratic feature of Britain but also moving towards the trend of compulsory national education.

一、原始資料
1. Cobden, Richard, A few questions on secular education, what it is, and what it ought to be: with an attempt to answer them. London：Smith, Elder and co., 65, Cornhill, 1848.
2. Dawes, Richard, Observations on the working of the government scheme of education and on school inspection, suggesting a mode of providing an efficient and more extended inspection for those schools in connexion with the church without expense to the country : with other general remarks on elementary education. London, Great Britain：Groombridge and Sons, 1849.
3. Eagle, Francis King, Observations upon the expediency of establishing a board for the superintendence of public endowed charities and the easier and better application of such portion of their funds as can be made available for the promotion of a general system of national education with general rules for the regulation of charities and charity schools as sanctioned by the Court of Chancery in the case of the Attorney-General v. Cullum. London, Great Britain：T.C. Newby, 1842.
4. J. Stuart Maclure（ed.）, Educational Documents. Volume II: England and Wales.1816 to the present day. Oxon：Routledge, 2006.
5. Kay-Shuttleworth, James, Recent measures for the promotion of education in England- 9th ed. London, Great Britain, Ridgway, 1839
6. Metropolitan Church Union Office（ed.）, History and present state of the education question: being a collection of documents explanatory of the proceedings of the Committee of Privy Council on Education, from its first appointment in 1839 to the present time, and of the steps taken for the defence of Church education against the encroachments of the said Committee. London: Francis & John Rivington, 1850.
7. Webster, Thomas, “On technical education and the means of promoting it”, Journal of Society of Arts, No. 1045, Vol. 21, Nov. 29, 1872.
8. Edinburgh Review, Edinburgh, July, 1850 - Apr., 1860.
9. Minutes of the Committee of Council on Education; with appendices, and plans of school-houses. 1839-40. London：printed by William Clowes and sons, Stamford Street, 1840.
10. Minutes of the Committee of Council on Education, in August and December, 1846. Presented to both Houses of Parliament, by command of Her Majesty. London: presented by the Worshipful Company of GoldSmith, 1903

二、專書
（一）西文專書
1. Black, Jeremy, Education in Britain 1750-1914. London：Macmillan press LTD, 1998.
2. Blyth, W. A. L., English primary education: A sociological description. London：Routledge, 1999.
3. Edmonds, E. L., The School Inspector. London：Routledge, 1999.
4. Goodman, Joyce, McCulloch, Gary, and Richardson William（ed.）, Social Change in the History of British Education. London：Routledge, 2008.
5. Lynd, Sylvia, English Children. Tokyo, Japan：Hon-No-Tomosha, 1997.
6. McCann, Phillip, Popular Education and Socialization in the Nineteenth Century. London：Routledge, 2007.
7.Musgrave, P. W., Society and Education in England since 1800. London：Routledge, 2007.
8. Rubinstein, W.D., Britain’s Century：a political and social history, 1815-1905. London：Arnold, 1998.
9. Sanderson, Michael, Education, economic change and society in England 1780-1870. Cambridge：Cambridge University Press, 1995.
10. Schleunes, Karl A., Schooling and Society：the Politics of Education in Prussia and Bavaria. 1750-1900, Oxford：Berg Publishers, 1989.
11. Stephens, W. B. Education in Britain, 1750-1914. London, Great Britain： Macmillan Press LTD, 1998.
12. Sturt, Mary, The education of the people. Oxon：Routledge, 1967.
13. Warner, Rex, English Public School. Tokyo, Japan：Hon-No-Tomosha, 1997.
14. Willcocks, John, Kinder, Kay, and Nelson Nick, Versions of primary education. London：Routledge, 1995.

（二）中文專書
1. 周愚文，《英國教育史. 近代篇(1780-1944)》，台北：學富文化事業有限公司，2008年4月。
2. 王曉焰，《18-19世紀英國婦女地位研究》，北京：人民出版社，2007年6月。
3. 李奉儒主編，《英國教育：政策與制度》，嘉義：濤石文化事業有限公司，2001年8月。
4. 吳培源，《英國教育視導制度》，高雄：復文圖書出版社，1999年2月。
5. 林玉體，《西洋教育史》，台北：文景書局，民86年7月11版。
6. 李恩國等著，《歐洲各國教育制度》，台北：幼獅文化事業公司，民75年9月。
7. 林清江，《英國教育》，台北：臺灣商務印書館，民61年11月。
8. Neill, Alexander Sutherland著，王克難譯，《夏山學校：實踐自由發展，見證愛的教育》，台北：遠流，2003年7月。

三、期刊論文
（一）英文期刊
1. Anderson, Michael, ‘Sociological History and the Working-Class Family Smelser Revisited’, Social History, Vol. 1, No. 3（Oct., 1976）, pp. 317-334.
2. Best, G. F. A., “The Religious Difficulties of National Education in England, 1800-70”, Cambridge Historical Journal, Vol. 12, No. 2（1956）, pp. 155-173.
3. Bidwell, Charles E., and Kazamias, Andreas M., “Religion, Politics, and Popular Education An Historical Comparison of England and America”, Comparative Education Review, Vol. 6, No. 2（Oct., 1962）, pp. 97-110.
4. De Leon, Edwin W, “Accidents to Working Children”, Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, Vol.33, Supplement: The Child Workers of the Nation: Proceedings of the Fifth Annual Meeting of the National Child Labor Committee（Mar., 1909）, pp. 131-143.
5. Doheny, John, “Bureaucracy and the Education of the Poor in Nineteenth Century Britain”, British Journal of Educational Studies, Vol. 39, No. 3（Aug., 1991）, pp. 325-339.
6. Goodnow, Frank J., “Primary Education in England”, Science, Vol. 8, No. 199（Nov. 26, 1886）, pp. 485-488.
7. Grey, Noel, “The Story of National Education”, Macmillan's Magazine,（1906）, pp. 872-880.
8. Hamilton, Rowland, “Popular Education in England and Wales before and after the Elementary Education Act of 1870”, Journal of the Statistical Society of London, Vol. 46, No. 2（Jun., 1883）, pp. 283-349.
9. Johnson, Richard, “Educational Policy and Social Control in Early Victorian England”, Past & Present, No. 49（Nov., 1970）, pp. 96-119.
10. Mitch, David F., “The Impact of Subsidies to Elementary Schooling on Enrolment Rates in Nineteenth-Century England”, The Economic History Review, New Series, Vol. 39, No. 3（Aug., 1986）, pp. 371-391.
11. Musgrove, F., “Middle-Class Education and Employment in the Nineteenth Century”, The Economic History Review, New Series, Vol. 12, No. 1（1959）, pp. 99-111.
12. Murphy, James, “Religion, the State, and Education in England”, History of Education Quarterly, Vol. 8, No. 1（Spring, 1968）, p. 18.
13. Musgrave, P. W., ‘The Relationship between the Family and Education in England A Sociological Account’, British Journal of Educational Studies, Vol. 19, No. 1（Feb., 1971）, pp. 17-31.
14. Paz, D. G., “Working-Class Education and the State, 1839-1849: The Sources of Government Policy”, The Journal of British Studies, Vol. 16, No. 1（Autumn, 1976）, pp. 129-152.
15. Rich, E. E., “Education and the Dissenters：A Sidelight on Nineteenth-Century Political Thought”, Economica, No. 29（Jun., 1930）, pp. 188-199.
16. Sanderson, Michael, “Literacy and Social Mobility in the Industrial Revolution in England”, Past & Present, No. 56（Aug., 1972）, pp. 75-104.
17. Schupf, H. W., Education for the Neglected Ragged Schools in Nineteenth-Century England, History of Education Quarterly, Vol. 12, No. 2（Summer, 1972）, pp. 162-183.
18. Stephens, W. B., “Literacy in England, Scotland, and Wales, 1500-1900”, History of Education Quarterly, Vol. 30, No. 4, Special Issue on the History of Literacy（Winter, 1990）, pp. 545-571.
19. Stone, Lawrence, “Literacy and Education in England 1640-1900”, Past & Present, No. 42（Feb., 1969）, pp. 69-139.
20. West, E. G., “Educational slowdown and public Intervention in 19th-Century England”, Explorations in Economic History 12（1975）, pp. 61-87.
21. West, E. G., “The Interpretation of Early Nineteenth-Century Education Statistics”, The Economic History Review, New Series, Vol. 24, No. 4（Nov., 1971）, pp. 633-642.
22. West, E. G., “Resource Allocation and Growth in Early Nineteenth-Century British Education”, The Economic History Review, New Series, Vol. 23, No. 1（Apr., 1970）, pp. 68-95.

（二）中文期刊論文
1. 汪雪憬，〈Lord Ashley的童工政策及其時代意義－以十小時工時法為例〉，台南成功大學，歷史研究所碩士專班論文，2010。
2. 施義慧，〈19世紀前期英國宗教與工人階級子女教育〉，《江蘇工業學院學報》，第4卷第4期，頁46-49，2003年12月。
3. 施義慧，〈19世紀英國工人階級子女童年生活轉型原因探析〉，《史學月刊，Journal of Historical Science》，12期，頁89-94，2006年。
4. 施義慧，〈19世紀英國下層兒童生活史研究述評〉，《史學月刊，Journal of Historical Science》，04期，頁99-106，2008年。
5. 施義慧，〈近代西方童年觀的歷史變遷〉，《廣西社會科學》，11期，頁143-146，2004年。
6. 楊豫，〈英國工業革命與民眾文化水平〉，《南京大學學報（哲學社會科學版）》，04期，頁90-98，1994年。
7. 余文章，〈維多利亞文化身份與十九世紀的英國家庭道德觀〉，《中外文學》，第 33 卷第 6 期，頁126-153，2004年11月。
四、參考網站
http://hansard.millbanksystems.com/
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http://baike.baidu.com./