Education, Ideology and Social Structure: An Examination of the Development if Higher Education in Nineteenth Century Ontario

Abstract

<p>The main argument of this thesis is that higher education in Ontario was promoted and financed by members of the dominant class who have developed an educational system to suit their needs and interests. Popular ideas concerning the need for and function of the early universities as espoused by the early educational promoters such as John Graves Simcoe, John Strachan and Egerton Ryerson are examined. During the stages of natural production, independent commodity producticn and industrial capitalism, it was found that higher education served as a major socialization agency by preparing students ideologically to accept and believe in the ongoing socioeconomic system.</p>