Education and teacher training in the Victorian era. Matthew Arnold, intellectual and school inspector

The aim of this essay is to propose an analysis of Matthew Arnold's contributions to the debate on education during the Victorian era. Widely recognised as an eminent critic and poet of his time, Arnold served as a school inspector for thirty years, from 1852 to 1882. During his service he had the opportunity to observe and comment on the state of elementary education in England and to compare it with the foreign systems that were developing in continental Europe. Firstly, a summary of his biographical and bibliographical information will be presented, together with his main reflections on the role of culture and its impact on the educational system. Secondly, it analyses Arnold's figure as a school inspector and his main concerns about education as they emerge from the 'Reports on Elementary Schools 1852-1882'. Throughout this work, Arnold made clear the need for a reforming intervention, not only in the school curriculum but also in teacher training programmes, in order to achieve educational outcomes that reflected his social ideal, as set out in his 1869 book 'Culture and Anarchy', his major essay in social criticism.