19

E.—ls.

Continuation Classes in Wuerttemberg date from 1559, when they were held on Sunday after morning service. In 1818 some of these classes became industrial or technical in character ; in 1854 there were 45 industrial improvement schools having both Sunday and evening classes. " The increased efficiency of those workers who attended the fully equipped schools was so marked as to win for all time the influence of industrial employers and unions in favour of the improvement schools. Communes began to exercise compulsion, but results were not always satisfactory, because of the dearth of qualified instructors." The progress of these schools is shown by the following table :— Year. X umber of Number of Schools. Students. 1846 .. .. .. 69 4,500 1861-62 .. .. .. 84 7,273 1871-72 .. .. .. 155 9,763 1881-82 .. .. .. 153 10,225 1891-92 .. .. .. 188 17,250 1901-2 .. .. .. 239 21,054 1907 .. .. .. over 250 over 30,000 It must be remembered that these schools are independent of the general continuation schools (Allgemeine Fortbildungsschulen) and of the special trade and technical schools, as also'of the higher Techniken and the Technical College at Stuttgart. Evening instruction having for|rnany years to a large extent replaced Sunday instruction (the form first taken by these classes), the last step has been to substitute, as far as possible, attendance at day classes for attendance at evening classes, and the establishment of industrial school classes is to be made compulsory. On the Ist January, 1907, an Act came into force, the chief provisions of which are as follows : — Every locality, or commune, in which for three successive years an average of at least forty male workmen under eighteen years of age are engaged in commercial or industrial pursuits, is obliged to provide an industrial improvement school for their reception and instruction, and to maintain the same so long as the number of workmen of the stated age does not fall below an average of thirty for three years. The ordinary school under the law will be an " industrial school," but. if necessary, a " commercial school " is to be erected in addition. Every young man in a commune who is engaged in an industrial or commercial pursuit, and is of the required age, under eighteen (boys are usually through the common schools at fourteen) is obliged to attend the school for three years, or until the end of the semester (half-year) in which he reaches eighteen. Communes which establish a four-year course may make the attendance compulsory for the fourth year also. Those may be freed from the compulsory-attendance requirement who attend a guild, or trade school, or other recognised equivalent. Those not of the compulsory age may attend the schools as heretofore. The communes may erect industrial schools for girls, and in accosdance with the Imperial law of 1900 may make attendance at these schools compulsory for employed girls under eighteen years. The communes may collect tuition fees from the pupils, or may compel employers to advance the amount of the fees. The State pays half of the amount required for maintenance after the fees and gifts are applied towards it. The minimum number of hours of instruction is 280 per year. Employers must make it possible for the young workers to attend, and penalties are provided against employers and parents who fail to observe the law. The law will come into operation gradually in order to allow time for the training of qualified teachers. Attendance at the option of the communes has been compulsory for some time in other States of Germany besides Wuerttemberg —for instance, in Baden attendance was in 1904 compulsory in 157 schools out of 160 ; in Prussia (1903), compulsory in 1,082 out of 1,209 industrial improvement schools, and in 182 out of 273 commercial improvement schools ; Bavaria (1904) has compulsory attendance for 217 out of 301 industrial improvement schools. These facts relating to Wuerttemberg are taken from a report by Albert A. Snowden, of the Teachers' College, Columbia University, New York, who, further, in discussing the effects of the system, says, — " The question of .the increase in efficiency through attendance at an industrial or commercial school has long ago been placed beyond the pale of doubt in It is now accepted as a matter of course, and some statistics gathered at first hand from employers, apprentices, and parents by the present writer confirm the soundness of this belief. In a word, the employers are uniformly enthusiastic over the results obtained, and the workers are similarly minded. The institutions make it possible