Peter Mandler - Democracy and the desire for more education

Greater social equality and civil rights lead to a greater demand for education, as individuals seek to leverage their improved standing in society.

About Peter Mandler

"I am Professor of Modern Cultural History at the University of Cambridge.

I’m a historian of modern Britain and of the modern world. Over the last 20 years, I’ve aligned my work representing historians as academics and teachers with my research in education: I’ve become immersed in the recent history of education. My main interest is asking why people have gotten more and more education over the last generation or two."

Key Points

• Democratic systems were developed in many countries throughout the 20th century. Their establishment ushered in a greater demand for education.
• The Flynn effect describes the increase in measurable intelligence occurring in developed and developing countries likely to be the result of increased mobility.
• Greater social equality and civil rights lead to a greater demand for education, as individuals seek to leverage their improved standing in society.

I think there are a few main factors that affect our demand for education. These are prominent circumstances that have affected a large part of the world over the last century. The most obvious is democracy. Democracy arrived in most places at the beginning of the 20th century, and since then it has typically expanded the demand for education.

Initially, this trend began, as the elite classes were forced to concede universal suffrage. At the time, elites needed a way to ensure a ruly and well-behaved electorate. In response to this concern, they implanted schools in every community. As democracy became embedded in societies, the education system began to work for democracy, rather than attempt to control it.

I believe newly and fully democratised populations understand that education is a necessary piece of equipment for citizenship. As such, individuals pursue it up to the age of citizenship, which is usually 18. Regardless, there’s a pretty good correlation between democratising societies and the provision of education.