‘Cheap, efficient, and easy to implement’? Economic aspects of monitorial education in Swedish elementary schools during the 1820s

Abstract

This article investigates the economic aspects of monitorial education in Sweden during the 1820s. In contrast to previous research, which has often emphasised monitorial education as a cheap method of education, this article shows that this was rarely the case. Monitorial education could in fact lead to increased costs, especially during the initial stage of implementation. By analysing the minutes and accounts of some 30 Swedish schools which introduced monitorial education during the 1820s, it is shown that the new method did not result in any real savings in terms of expenditure on teachers, school premises or school supplies. The method’s only real potential for savings was lowering the total cost per pupil by increasing the number of children per teacher. However, this was possible only in cities, where the population concentration was high. Overall, monitorial education was not cheap, efficient and easy to implement from an economic perspective.