David Stow: Christian educator in nineteenth century Scotland

Abstract

The educational work of David Stow evolved in three phases. He established a Sabbath school and helped to introduce both infant schooling and teacher training in Glasgow, Scotland in the nineteenth century. He helped to establish the Glasgow Normal Seminary and later he joined the Free Church of Scotland Normal Seminary. Stow was a committed Presbyterian Christian, and this motivated him and was at the centre of all of the three phases of his educational work. He was dedicated to the school education of the poor, similar to other educators of his time. He understood this mission to the poor as a means to rescue them from the corrupting influences in their urban settings. The corrupting influences would be replaced, however, by social control and the promotion of Christianity. This article presents an examination of the close links between his strongly held Christian beliefs, Christian worldview and his vision of schooling and teacher preparation.