Shaping alternative education for all: Baden-Powell’s affiliation network of educational reformers, 1900–1939

Abstract

Robert Baden-Powell’s role in initiating the Scout movement is well covered in historiography. This article addresses a little-researched question concerning his associations with contemporary educationalists as a means of promoting social reform through education. In combining social network analysis with the study of hitherto underutilised letters and writings, this article reveals that, from 1911 onwards, Baden-Powell intentionally built linkages with prominent educationalists. His contact with Professor Michael Sadler was particularly significant. The campaign culminated in the attempt to influence the 1918 Education Act. The findings of the present study show that the procedure used to spread the Scout scheme was the same as that used to market a ‘pedagogical product’, in a similar way to the Dalton Plan and the Montessori method. Moreover, this study provides an example of the use of social network analysis, which has been discussed but little applied in the history of education.