industrious and scholarly academics. He notes the efficient and organized manner
in which lectures are delivered and expresses high regard for the Gymnasium with
its comprehensive scholarly curriculum, producing students highly proficient in
classics and endowed with broad academic knowledge. ² Early nineteenth-century
German philologists had a compelling influence on American university life and
many American students spent time in Germany, where they endeavoured to
assimilate German scholarship in the humanities, particularly classical philology,
even if their own puritanical tradition prevented their complete immersion in these
studies, and confined them to the more practical aspects of scholarship with an
emphasis on strict empirical research. ³

This book is not written solely for the education specialist; its interdisciplinary
approach is geared also towards German Studies, as developed in recent years: a
study of institutions, their history and philosophy, all contributing to a 'German
tradition'. Though it takes a chronological line, there are certain recurring themes.
The evolving German university culture and the phenomenon of the German
mandarin, whose influence on scholarship and learning was often reactionary, are
treated as major themes. Discussed in relation to these are industrial training and
vocational education, interpreted as correctives or additions to the more theoretical
approach to learning. Humboldt's pioneering work and its tradition, as well as the
concept of Reformpädagogik, are regarded as generally positive contributions to
the development of a peculiarly German education programme; institutions such
as the Gymnasium and the churches, as well as the rise of nationalism, are forces
usually seen as distorting or slowing down reform programmes.

While the main part of the book concentrates on twentieth-century develop-
ments, it would have been a serious omission to ignore the Humboldtian tradition
and its partial success in surviving the effects of Germany's industrial revolution.
Education during the Third Reich, though intrinsically less important than is often
assumed, proved decisive in bringing to the fore deficiencies in the German system,
with antecedents in the Weimar Republic and the Second Empire, thereby enforcing
a wholesale post-war cleansing of anti-democratic elements. Chapter 8 discusses
education since unification and covers other related aspects, since education in
Germany today can only be understood against a background of the social and
economic developments which have been generated by the coming together of the
two Germanies.

Each chapter consists of a main section, examining educational and social
developments within a specific period. It is supplemented by a number of short
authentic texts in German which serve to illustrate the more salient points under
consideration. Texts are complemented by a brief commentary, with a translation
of the less common vocabulary.

Finally, I wish to thank my teachers and students for all the support and guidance
which I have received over the years. I have taught 'Education and Society', a

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