Effects of the Social and Economic Environments On Workers' Education: United States and British Examples

Abstract

Labor education programs in Great Britain and the United States have differed over time with respect to administration, finance, purpose, and content. However, the essential nature and scope of the programs in each country remained constant until recently. British labor education was traditionally concerned with the worker as an individual member of society and was administered by in dependent, working class organizations, while American labor education was primarily the responsibility of the unions and was concerned with the worker as a union member. By 1965 the tradi tional characteristics of the programs in the two nations had be come almost totally reversed. The present study traces the events within each country which led to the reversal of the traditional programs and purposes of labor education.