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Manual Training
In the late 1800s, new educational methods emerged that emphasized handwork. These methods were influenced by Russian educational techniques, European folk art traditions, and the arrival of the Arts and Crafts movement. Beginning in the 1880s, the term manual training came into use by American educators in reference to art disciplines and crafts that were being taught in schools.
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Ch. 3 - Manual Training Arts Education in the United States
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Art Education and the Working World
Like today, the efforts of early educators aimed to prepare school-aged children for future careers. However, the goals of manual training schools were to build an industrial-age workforce. Students’ skill and competence in various practical arts readied them for the hands-on vocations and responsibilities of adult Americans at the time.
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Serving Industrial Needs
Instead of teaching traditional academic methods that would prepare students for more professional employment, manual training schools provided education for industrial employment. Antebellum America was focused on business, industry, and consumerism. Art educators who advocated the benefits of manual training likened students to factory workers who could feed the demand for more goods.
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Kindergarten as Industrial Education
Friedrich Froebel (1782-1852) was a German educator whose methods for teaching children formed the American Kindergarten movement. Kindergartens emphasize working with the hands using real objects and manipulatives to symbolize abstract concepts. This hands-on learning style inspired manual training programs. link text -
Elizabeth Palmer Peabody
An early American supporter of the kindergarten method was Elizabeth Palmer Peabody (1804-1894). Peabody was an educator and philosopher who opened the first American kindergarten, where students could explore through play and, in her words, learn the value of work. link text -
The Philadelphia Industrial Art School: Led by Charles Godfrey Leland (1824-1903) and J. Liberty Tadd (1854-1917) from 1880-1916.
The school promoted active learning with tools and materials and took advantage of the interdisciplinary aspects of art. Leland believed that children, through training and practice in techniques using their hands, could inspire success in other studies. He believed that the ability to make something of value would promote the pride and confidence required to approach and master other areas of study.
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Psychological Bases for Manual Training
Because of specialized lobe functions of the brain, manual training was justified. The belief that exercising the brain in certain areas would lead to effective development in those areas. It was believed both brain and hand work were correlated. Superintendent Balliet from Massachusetts, supported this concept and used it to justify manual training during learning periods to establish working habits. Link text -
Gender Differences in Manual Training
A beginning drawing supervisor, Henry Turner Bailey, designed lessons specifically to appeal to boys and girls but taught them to both genders in class. The tasks designed for each gender followed expectations of domesticity for women and outdoor construction for men. It was believed that training women in design would help with their work in industrial arts. [Link text](file:///C:/Users/9940116/Downloads/ubc_1997-0548.pdf) - Recent Qualitative Research on Gender Differences in Art Education -
Connecting the Child with Society
In the early 1900s manual arts were included in Progressive schools. As promoted by John Dewey, these schools encouraged learning by doing and organizing content by occupations. Building off of this, Ella Victoria Dobbs helped to promote connecting the students’ interests and daily life to the handworks they were creating in school. This led to relevant and meaningful artmaking.
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John Dewey (1859-1952)
John Dewey was a philosopher and educational reformer. His Laboratory School at the University of Chicago promoted learning about raw materials, history of materials, cultural uses, and practical application of technique to create a life-lesson application for learners.
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Ella Victoria Dobbs (1866-1952)
Dobbs was an art education professor who studied under Dewey, applied curricular unification to her program. She advocated for expression and experimentation in handwork. Dobbs began to promote the balance between expression and technique. Dobbs believed this practice would promote citizenship and relationship building. Notably, she argued that students’ work should relate to their interest and connect to their daily life.
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Emulating Industrial Values
Under the leadership of Dr. James Parton Haney, arts education, began to mimic industry. Haney promoted partnerships with practicing artists, exhibitions, and intensive curriculums to prepare students to enter the craft industry.
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Dr. James Parton Haney (1869-1923)
Haney was the director of art and manual training for public schools in New York schools, presiding over drawing and manual arts teachers. He developed a curriculum and encouraged a two year study in art for high school students. The art teachers he supervised organized exhibitions, held art clubs, and offered specialized classes. Haney also created The School Art League and the Council of Supervisors of the Manual Arts.
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The School Art League
The School Art League, which was organized by Haney in 1911 offered scholarships, visits to museums, lectures, and other activities facilitated by artists and volunteers.
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Social Efficiency Criticisms of Art Education
At the Eastern Arts Association, David Snedden, the Commissioner of Education criticized the industrial state of handwork and arts education, stating that arts education should focus on making art and appreciating art rather than preparing future workers. He believed the primary focus of art education should be an appreciation of aesthetics.
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