| Description | Adult School Lesson Handbooks were published annually by the National Adult School Union from 1911. Each volume explored a different theme each year and included a wide range of subjects which Adult Schools were encouraged to use as the basis for their classes. A dated lesson scheme was devised for 52 weeks of the year and centred around the Bible lesson which was seen as the central activity of the schools' weekly meeting in which members explored the problems of the world from a Christian viewpoint. It contained lesson notes, advice on how to use the material, ideas for the 'First Half Hour' of the Adult School Class which traditionally preceded the Bible lesson, and was intended to provide help which could be used, adapted, or ignored, rather than to dictate a standardised teaching model.
A number of the Handbooks were written by local members of the Midland Adult School Union.
Additional National Adult School Organisation Handbooks entitled 'Enriching Life' & 'Turning Points', 1983 - 1984, can be found in the Local Studies Collections, ref. L 48.76.
See MS 703/4/2/5/3 'National Adult School Handbook Classified List of Studies 1911 - 1984' edited by Renate and Ronald Latham for a list of all the topics covered by the Handbooks in the period 1911-1984 with the names of their authors.
See MS 703/1/7 for Midland Adult School Union administrative papers relating to National Adult School Union Lesson Handbooks. |