This week, within our unit/scheme of work, we are looking into the conditions of teachers under the union in the 19th century. We will also examine the lives of teachers under the national school system, and how acts and events influence education in Ireland. We will also use EPPI (Enhanced British Parliamentary Papers on Ireland) in locating sources to use within the classroom. Studying these sources and delving into the conditions and houses given to teachers by the education boards offers insight into teachers’ societal status. This connects us to the Leaving Cert and A Level curriculum and objectives by illustrating the impact of educational policies and reforms on individuals’ lives and the development of the National School system.
Topics to focus on this week:
- The National School system and the establishment of teacher’s houses.
- How did the state fund these homes for teachers, and how does this benefit education in Ireland under the union?
- Teachers’ accommodation became a practical concern since many schools in Ireland were in rural areas, and finding suitable housing was a challenge.
Lesson 1: Teachers’ accommodation in Ireland.
| Learning Intentions | Success Criteria | Learning Outcomes |
| Understand the living conditions of teachers in 19th-century Ireland and how these conditions reflected social and economic priorities. Analyse primary sources to draw conclusions about the expectations placed on teachers during this time. Relate the historical context of teacher housing to broader themes in the National School system and its reforms. Understand the role of education shaping Irish identity and society. | Accurately identify key features of teacher accommodation using the house plan as a primary source. Critically assess the impact of living conditions on teachers’ roles and status in the community. Draw connections between the conditions illustrated in the plans and broader social and economic trends in 19th-century Ireland. Effectively participate in the creative task, demonstrating an understanding of the historical context. | To promote understanding of the present through the development of a historical perspective on issues of contemporary importance. Engage with a primary source related to the National School System To develop a range of research skills essential for the study of history |
- Many teachers in the 19th century had responsibilities such as maintaining and establishing a school’s reputation, and making sure the non-denominational stance was upheld despite being run by local religious institutions. We can use this to highlight how a teacher living on school grounds was essential in perpetuating these responsibilities.
- Many teachers lived in modest, attached houses or lodgings provided by the school. This was especially common in rural areas, where accommodation options were limited.
- School buildings often included living quarters, which were typically small and basic.
- In more urban areas, the teachers might receive a housing allowance or be expected to find private accommodation, which could be costly.
- We can use the teacher’s house plan to show the layout and space, providing an example of the expectations for teacher living standards.
- Teachers must make sure that throughout their course of teaching that, they constantly reiterate to students the 19th century in Ireland was a period of significant change – famine, emigration and agrarian reform, all of which influenced education and children’s access to education.
Students will be distributed a series of planning papers from the Office of Public Works. They can analyse and see the housing plans for a teacher’s residence on campus, how it is laid out, how much it will cost, etc. These resources were provided by the Education Collection, National School Administration in the National Archives.
So, after all these weeks, why are we still giving our students sources on the same topics? It is important for students not to be thrown buckets of information, as teachers we have to continue to scaffold their learning even when some advanced students and students are struggling to keep up. Using primary sources in the classroom is a building block to establish an understanding and context, teachers can provide students with comprehensive tasks surrounding that source, which allows students to read and analyse the source for themselves or they can use it as part of their History Research Study Report (RSR).
Image Courtesy of the National Archives of Ireland
These sources are extremely insightful in understanding the housing conditions of teachers. Students should be able to identify that teachers and schoolmasters still had to pay for these buildings to be built on their school grounds. We can also tell that one or more teachers would reside in these houses together next to the school grounds. In Figure 7, they are still responsible for the loan repayments and how much each design costs. The design in Figures 5 and 6, is the most expensive design at £250. I was unable to access the other two designs for this unit.
Group Activity: Analysing Teacher’s Residence during the Union
Students can be split into groups of 4/5 depending on the class size. The student’s objective is to analyse the primary sources to help further understand how involved the government was in education and how they attempted to improve it.
The student groups will be given one of the 4 primary sources to analyse and a set of questions with each.
Group 1: Figure 5
- How might this house compare to the typical housing of other professionals or rural families during this period?
(This question encourages students to contextualize the residence within the broader societal structure and consider social class differences, ie, homes for poorer families during the famine.)
- Why do you think the government provided such specific plans for teachers’ housing? What might this indicate about the government’s view of the teaching profession?
(This question prompts students to think about government intentions, the value placed on education, and teachers’ role in society.)
Group 2: Figure 6
- How does the appearance of the teacher’s residence (e.g., facade, structure) convey the social status or authority of the teacher?
(Students should consider the government’s intentions for the house and what it says about the teacher’s position in society.)
- Why might this be important in the context of the government’s investment in rural education?
Group 3: Figure 7
- From the information provided in Figure 7, would there have been more than one teacher living in the residence? What evidence is there to suggest this?
- Using the previous sources on teacher salaries etc. is this property affordable for teachers at the time?
Group 4: Figure 8
- Compare the size of the site to the school grounds, are they similar in size? Does the size of the grounds for the teacher’s residence emphasize the importance of the teacher’s role in educating rural students?
- Why is it important for the Government to provide teachers with accommodation close to school grounds? Consider what housing was like at the time.
| Assessment | Inclusion Considerations | Planned Progression of the lesson |
| Formative assessment through group work and class discussion, observing students’ engagement with source material and their responses to questions. Listen for historical reasoning and the ability to link the residence plans to broader themes in 19th-century Irish education and government control. | Provide visual aids (e.g., enlarged images of the plans) and allow verbal or written responses based on student needs. Group students heterogeneously to encourage peer support and ensure everyone can contribute. Prepare simplified question prompts for students who may benefit from additional scaffolding. Consider quiet or individual time for students who may be overwhelmed by group settings. | Introduction : Overview of the National School system and the role of the Office of Public Works. 2. Group Activity: Students work in groups, analysing different sections of the residence plans with guiding questions. 3. Class Discussion: Groups share their findings, linking observations to the topic of Ireland and the Union, 1815-1870. |
| Linkages: | Resources Used: | Prior Knowledge: |
| Literacy: By analysing historical documents, enhancing their reading ability – learning to interpret language used in 19th century. Numeracy: Analysing data and fees involves interpreting numbers and calculating differences. Digital Skills: Use online tools for research, report writing, and presentations (e.g., Microsoft Word, PowerPoint). | Primary Sources: Copies of Teacher’s Residence plans (pages from the Office of Public Works) Secondary Sources: History textbooks or articles on 19th-century education in Ireland. Visual Aids: Projector for displaying primary sources and facilitating group analysis. | Students should already understand basic elements of British government influence in Ireland, including policies aimed at improving education. They should also know the structure of 19th-century Irish society and have some familiarity with social reforms under the Union, particularly regarding education. |
Lesson 2: Using Policy and Published documents to further our analysis.
After our previous lessons, we can cross-check our analysis on the EPPI website. I was directed to search here by the generous staff in the National Archives, this website gives us access to legislative documents from Ireland whilst under the Union. Upon my research, I wanted to find a document that would give students context to the employment of teachers at the time and who was being given these houses, and why they were important. Searching the EPPI website is remarkably simple and can be efficient for all types of research regarding Ireland. I simply put in a date range; we are more specifically looking at the period of the Act of Union until the 20th Century. The search can be condensed more to find specific documents. My search led me to this document from 1864, which is the perfect time period for what we are studying at present.
Enhanced Parliamentary Papers on Ireland
I have extracted this paragraph in Figure 9 within this first snippet of the larger 48-page document. This source highlights the struggles of teachers in the 19th century which notes their lower salaries which do not suffice in the high living costs in post-famine Ireland. This piece argues that teachers not only hold a respected societal role but they deserve fair pay that allows them to focus solely on teaching and maintaining that place in society. The source also calls for better financial support to ensure teachers fully dedicate themselves to their profession.
Enhanced Parliamentary Papers Ireland
These screenshots are just excerpts from the larger 40-page document on the Enhanced Parliamentary Papers website. In these excerpts, we have an insight into the treatment of teachers, but the gender pay gap is also relevant in figure 12. Students can use this link to more modern gender issues and how much disparity there was between male and
For students approaching this documentary source, we can incorporate our skills for the Documents Based Question (DBQ). We can take this source and use our 4 Cs when creating questions for our students:
- Comprehension
- Comparison
- Criticism
- Contextualisation
- Comprehension: What does the source suggest about the societal expectations of teachers in 19th-century Ireland?
- Comparison: Can you examine the differences between the teaching conditions outlined in this source and the conditions emphasised in sources in previous lessons? (e.g the Stanley Letter, Teachers’ residences, school reports). What are their similarities and their differences?
- Criticism: What are the potential biases of this source? Consider the author, its audience, purpose and context, with reference to the source and the information you have studied.
- Contextualisation: How does this source provide historians insight into the development of the National School system and its impact on Irish society? What were the broader economic and social changes in Ireland between 1815 and 1870 (1800-1900 for A Level Student)
| Learning Intentions | Success Criteria | Learning Outcomes |
| For students to explore the challenges faced by 19th-century teachers, focusing on their salaries, housing, and societal expectations under the Union. For students to develop skills in analysing primary historical sources and applying them to broader societal themes. | Students can identify and extract relevant information from a source. They can discuss how societal expectations influenced teachers’ roles and highlight the challenges they faced within the Union Students can successfully adhere to the 4 C’s criteria of the DBQ. | To promote understanding of the present through the development of a historical perspective on issues of contemporary importance. Engage with a primary source related to the National School System To develop a range of research skills essential for the study of history |
| Assessment | Inclusion Considerations | Planned Progression of the lesson |
| Observation of student participation in discussion. Analysis of highlighted excerpts in the primary source. Taking notes and summarizing the document in their copies to assess comprehension and personal reflection. | Provide simplified excerpts for students with learning difficulties. Pair students together to ensure participation and cooperation. Use visual aids to scaffold learning for visual learners. | Introduction : Overview of what we have covered previously Primary Source Analysis: Students are presented with the source for them to read in their pairs and answer the questions associated with it. Class Discussion: Each pair presents what they discussed and how they approached the questions. The teacher encourages an open discussion. Assessment and Recap: Introduce homework essay to be due the following week. Ask students to write an exit ticket on their thoughts or any questions they may have. |
| Linkages: | Resources Used: | Prior Knowledge: |
| Literacy: By analysing historical documents, enhancing their reading ability – learning to interpret language used in 19th century. Numeracy: Analysing data and fees involves interpreting numbers and calculating differences. Digital Skills: Use online tools for research, report writing, and presentations | Primary Sources: DIPPAM Documents found on www.dippam.ac.uk Secondary Sources: History textbooks or articles on 19th-century education in Ireland. Visual Aids: Projector for displaying primary sources and facilitating group analysis. | Students should already understand basic elements of British government influence in Ireland, including policies aimed at improving education. Students know how to analyse primary sources and have an understanding of the role of education in 19th-century Irish society. |
At the end of our module, we can prepare our students to answer an essay question for homework. I have selected the 2024 paper, Section 2, topic 1, and Question 1, using the exam papers archive on www.examinations.ie.
- What were the main social and economic developments in Ireland,1815-1870? (100)
Or on the A Level paper from 2019:
Option 36.2: Ireland and the Union, c1774-1923
- Assess the value of the source revealing the impact of the Famine on Ireland and the Irish attitude to the role of Britain in dealing with it.
Explain your answer, using the source, the information given about its origin and your own knowledge about the historical context. (20 marks)
To conclude, using all these available websites gives teachers no excuse for not incorporating primary sources into a lesson. I would encourage teachers to use a wide variety of sources such as visual, documentary or geographical. By using these materials, it allows students to engage directly with historical evidence which helps enhance and foster their critical thinking and analytical skills. We are also creating a bridge between Leaving Certificate and A Level history courses, which creates historical empathy for students of both courses. Also by engaging with historical sources it creates an appreciation of Irish history and understanding the importance of sources when discussing the past. This would not be possible without the help of the Irish Archive Resource, the Office of Public Works, the National Archives and DIPPAM. This scheme can be replicated, expanded, shortened, and sources added to it, all to suit your classroom.
Author: Sarah O’Flatherty, PME Student
This project was funded by the Department of Culture, Communications and Sport
