History Fact Finder | Culture and Recreation - How Old Is The Idea Of Public Schools?

How old is the idea of public schools?

The need for public access to education dates back as far as the fifth century B.C., when the Chinese philosopher Confucius (551–479 B.C.) began his campaign to offer universal access to education. He believed that "in education there should be no class distinctions" and it is said he never refused students even if they came to him barefoot and poor. This universal access to learning broke down class distinctions but remained largely inaccessible to girls and women.

The Age of Enlightenment (an intellectual and scientific movement of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries A.D.) in western Europe ushered in an unprecedented era of public education. In Prussia (modern-day Germany), Frederick the Great (1712–1786) was instrumental in founding a national public education system. After Prussia united with Germany to form a powerful state, other European countries started their...

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