FROM IMPERIALISM to British COLUMBIA
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A FROM IMPERIALISM TO INTERNATIONALISM IN BRiTISH COLUMBIA EDUCATION AND SOCIETY, 1900 TO 1939 by WAYNE CHARLES NELLES B.A., Simon Fraser University, 1979 M.A., Simon Fraser University, 1984 A THESIS SUBMLTED iN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY in THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES (Department of Educational Studies) We accept this thesis as conforming to the required standard UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA April 1995 ØWayne Charles Nelles, 1995 ___________________ In presenting this thesis in partial fulfilment of the requirements for an advanced degree at the University of British Columbia, I agree that the Library shall make it freely available for reference and study. I further agree that permission for extensive copying of this thesis for scholarly purposes may be granted by the head of my department or by his or her representatives. It is understood that copying or publication of this thesis for financial gain shall not be allowed without my written permission. (Signature) Department of hica%o> / $%6j’ The University of British Columbia Vancouver, Canada Date / /, “9 DE-6 (2/88) 11 Abstract This study argues for a transition from imperialism to internationalism in British Columbia educational thought, policy and practice from 1900 to 1939. Three contrasting and complementary internationalist orientations were dominant in British Columbia during that period. Some educators embraced an altruistic “socially transformative internationalism” built on social gospel, pacifist, social reform, cooperative and progressivist notions. This contrasted with a self-interested “competitive advantage internationalism,” more explicitly economic, capitalist and entrepreneurial. A third type was instrumental and practical, using international comparisons and borrowing to support or help explain the other two. The thesis pays special attention to province-wide developments both in government and out. These include the work of the British Columbia Teachers’ Federation (BCTF), of several voluntary organizations, and provincial Department of Education policy and programme innovations. Examples include the rise, demise, and revival of cadet training, technical education, Department curriculum policy, and the work of the Overseas Education League, the National Council on Education, the Junior Red Cross, the World Goodwill Society of British Columbia, the Vancouver Board of Trade, and the League of Nations Society in Canada. A diverse array of BCTF leaders, parents, teachers, voluntary organizations, students, educational policy makers and bureaucrats, editorialists, the general public, and the provincial government supported international education and internationalist outlooks. The argument is supported chiefly by organizational and government documents, by editorials, letters, articles, commentaries, conference reports, and speeches in The B.C. Teacher, by Department of Education and sundry other reports, by League of Nations materials, and by newspapers and other publications. Distinctive imperially-minded educational ideas and practices prevailed in British Columbia from about 1900 to tle mid-1920s, whereas explicitly internationalist education notions and practices complemented or overshadowed imperial education from about 1919 to 1939. The transition from imperialism to internationalism in British Columbia education and society coincided with Canada’s industrialization in an interdependent global economy, and its maturation into an independent self governing nation within the Commonwealth and League of Nations. 111 TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract ii Table of Contents iii Acknowledgement V Chapter One: IMPERIAL AND INTERNATIONAL IDEAS AND PRACTICES IN BRITISH COLUMBIA EDUCATION Problem and Research Question 2 Research Scope 5 Related Research and Significance of this Study 6 Definitions and Principal Concepts 22 Chapter Two: IMPERIALIST AND INTERNATIONALIST EDUCATIONAL INNOVATION IN BRITISH COLUMBIA, 1900-1919 Background 38 Imperial Education Ideas and Policies in Canada, 1900-19 19 41 Rhodes Scholarships and Cadet Training, 1900-19 19 47 Internationalism, Progress, Patriotism and National Development 56 Nationalist and Internationalist Challenges to Imperialist Education: Imperialism’s Reluctant Demise 62 Promoting Economic Internationalism: Competitiveness and Technical Education 65 Chapter Three: INTERNATIONALISM IN THE BRITISH COLUMBIA TEACHERS’ FEDERATION, 1919-1939 Harry Charlesworth, J.G. Lister and the BCTF--Educational Imperialism, Internationalism and Diplomacy 90 Charlesworth and BCTF Visions for a Better World 105 The BCTF, Internationalism, and the Labour Affiliation Debate 112 The BCTF and Anglo-American Educational Cooperation 116 BCTF and CTF in the World Federation of Education Associations 126 The 1923 San Francisco Conference and its Aftermath 134 BCTF, CTF and the WFEA: World Progress, Politics and Educational Diplomacy 138 Chapter Four: CANADIAN VOLUNTARY ASSOCIATIONS AND INTERNATIONALISM IN BRITISH COLUMBIA PUBLIC EDUCATION, 1919-1939 Junior Red Cross 156 The Imperial Order of the Daughters of the Empire 163 Internationalism and Canadian Education Week 168 World Good-Will Day 173 Pedagogy for Profit: The Vancouver Board of Trade and Education 188 The League of Nations Society in Canada and British Columbia 199 iv Chapter Five: INTERNATIONALISM iN BRITISH COLUMBIA DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION POLICY AND PROGRAMMES, 1919-1939 The Putman Weir Report and After 228 Cadet Training and the New Internationalism 258 Imperialism, Internationalism and the 1937 Coronation 267 Imperialism, Internationalism and the National Council of Education 270 The Overseas Education League, Educational Exchanges and Travel 282 Internationalist Teacher Training, League Teaching, and International Educational Relations and Policies in British Columbia 293 Chapter Six: THEMES AND CONCLUSIONS From Imperialism to Internationalism 301 Two Dominant Internationalist Visions 304 International Borrowing, Standards and Policies 305 Internationalization 307 Progressivism and the Social Gospel 308 Canadian Foreign and Economic Policy 309 General Conclusions, Policy Implications and Future Research 311 Bibliography: PART I--PRIMARY SOURCES 1. Reports and Proceedings (Published) 321 1.1 GovernmentDocuments 321 1.2 Association Reports and Proceedings 323 2. Contemporary Books 323 3. Contemporary Periodicals, Pamphlets and Reports 325 3.1 The B.C. Teacher 325 3.2 Pamphlets and Reports (Printed and Typescript) 330 3.3 Contemporary Periodicals 332 4. Newspapers 336 5. Manuscript Records and Published Corresdondence 340 5.1 Minutes of BCTF and CTF 340 5.2 Correspondence 340 (a) Published Correspondence 340 (b) Manuscript Correspondence 340 5.3 Manuscript Records 341 (a) Collections 341 (b) Unpublished Papers 341 6. School Textbooks 341 Bibliography: PART H--SECONDARY SOURCES 7. Government Documents 343 8. Articles 343 9. Books 350 10. Theses 357 Appendix 1: WORLD CONFERENCE ON EDUCATION (SAN FRANCISCO, 1923> SIGNIFICANT POLICY AND PROGRAMME RESOLUTIONS 358 Appendix 2: LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS 361 V Acknowledgement This study would not have been possible without the encouragement and support from my research supervisor, William Bruneau. I thanlc him for allowing me to pursue a topic which I enjoyed veiy much, and should prove useful for my future academic and professional career. Dr. Bruneau’s editorial assistance helped immensely, and he gave generously of his time and expertise. Professors Peter Seixas and Ivan Head were also extremely helpful thesis committee members providing insightful comments, guidance, and moral support. I would also like to thank the archivists, librarians and others who assisted me locally at the British Columbia Teachers’ Federation, the British Columbia School Trustees Association, Vancouver School Board, Vancouver City Archives, and University of British Columbia Special Collections. Those at the Canadian Teachers’ Federation, and National Archives of Canada in Ottawa, Victoria’s provincial archives, and the League of Nations Archives in Geneva were also a great help. Finally, I would like to thank my mother, Catherine Nelles, for some financial assistance which allowed me to complete my thesis. I 1 Chapter One IMPERIAL AND INTERNATIONAL IDEAS AND PRACTICES IN BRITISH COLUMBIA EDUCATION From 1900 to 1939 British Columbia educational thought, policy, and practice moved from a predominantly imperialist outlook to incorporate distinctively internationalist views. Imperialism itself was not static, as it evolved to embrace internationalist orientations. Internationalism both as popular attitude and as an organized “movement,” variously grew out of imperialism, of North American continentalism, and of Canadian nationalism after 1919. Notions of internationalism among British Columbia educators varied, often exhibiting both altruistic or social transformational, and self-interested economic or competitive tendencies. No one has yet systematically described or explained the development of internationalism in British Columbia educational thought and society from 1900 to 1939, or its links to imperialist and nationalist attitudes and practices. I have tackled the question under several thematic heads. I examine the evolution of technical education and training in British Columbia. I also explore the promotion, demise and revival of cadet training in schools; education abroad through teacher, student, and academic exchange; the international educational work of various non-governmental organizations that directly