The Origins and Development of the Mechanics’ Institute Movement 1824 – 1890 and the Beginnings of Further Education

With the rapid developments and changes in the Further Education (FE) sector which have taken place over the last 20 years or so, it is appropriate to pause and question the origins and early developments of adult education and, in particular, the contribution made by the nineteenth century mechanics’ institute movement. This paper questions the hypothesis that mechanics’ institutes failed in offering education of any significance to working class adults. In doing so, the research provides a general history of the movement and its contribution to what became state funded FE which was emerging during the last decade of the nineteenth century