H. C. Barnard – författare

Professor Barnard's book studies the history of education in France, of children and adolescents up to the end of secondary school age. Higher education is not formally examined. He discusses aspects of education in France during the centuries which succeeded the Renaissance, and sketches in greater detail the careers of certain educationists and educational institutes which have not received elsewhere the attention which they deserve. Education during the period of the evolution is not covered.

The French Revolution was the first of the great social upheavals which transformed European society; its effects on the French national educational system and its wider influence on education is obviously important. Little has been written on the topic and Professor Barnard offers a modern study. He begins with a survey of the educational system under the Ancien Régime and describes the criticisms and schemes of reform which had already been offered before the Revolution. Then follow accounts of the educational activities of the revolutionary assemblies and the individual institutions set up during the period. The story ends with an account of the lasting influence of these reforms. Throughout, Professor Barnard emphasises the importance of the concept of education as a fundamental civic right and the duty of the state to provide and regulate it. The book gives the student of the history of education, of social history and modern France a useful survey of a central topic.

The learned, pious and gentle Archbishop Fénelon (1651-1715), author of Télémaque and royal tutor, was one of the great European educationists and especially important for his writings on the education of girls; but his work is little known to students of the history and theory of education because suitable translations of the main texts have been lacking. Professor Barnard now makes them available in English, with a substantial introduction and notes. The introduction gives a biography and character sketch of Fénelon, against the religious, political and educational background of his times; a second section analyses Fénelon's educational theories.

Originally published in 1918, this book contains edited English translations of French texts written by the Jansenist inhabitants of Port-Royal during the seventeenth century. Barnard provides an introduction with historical background to the state of education in France at the time, and annotates each translation with pertinent historical and literary references. This book will be of value to anyone with an interest in the history of education and the history of faith schools.

Originally published in 1913, this book charts the development, growth and legacy of the schools of the Jansenists of Port-Royal based in Paris. The Port-Royalists used many innovative teaching methods in the years before they were closed down in the mid-seventeenth century, such as their use of the vernacular and their views on the role of the teacher, and Barnard examines the place that the Port-Royalists held in the context of French education more generally to illustrate their lasting influence on other schools. This book will be of value to anyone with an interest in Jansenism and the history of education.