Essays on Professional Education

This work of 1809 by a distinguished scientist and writer on education discusses the appropriate education for the professions.

The scientist Richard Lovell Edgeworth (1744–1817) was greatly interested in education. Drawing on his own experiences of raising twenty children, he wrote the two-volume Practical Education in 1788. The present work of 1809 deals with education for the professions, including the Church, the Army and the Law.The scientist Richard Lovell Edgeworth (1744–1817), educated at Trinity College, Dublin, and Oxford, was known for his significant mechanical inventions. He was a Member of the Lunar Society of Birmingham, where he exchanged ideas with other scientists, including James Watt. However, Edgeworth was also greatly interested in education: drawing on his own experiences of raising twenty children (by his four wives), in 1788 he published, with his daughter, the poet Maria Edgeworth, his famous two-volume Practical Education (also reissued in this series). The work was very influential, and led to this book, published in 1809, a series of essays on professional education (again written in co-operation with Maria), dealing with the nature of different occupations in a state. He discusses education for the professions, including the Church, the Army and the Law, but also refers to the education of statesmen, gentlemen and even princes.