True Government by Choice Men?: Inspection, Education, and State Formation in Canada West

George G. Ambury is an associate professor of adult education at
Queen’s University.

The author, an associate professor of sociology and anthropology at
Wilfrid Laurier University, uses what he calls historical sociology to
analyze the use of inspection (particularly in the field of public
education) in the formation of Canada West during the critical years
following the Rebellion of 1837–38. An efficient bureaucratic
administration was recognized as an essential element in making
responsible government function. But there needed to be compliance by
the masses, who had no direct voice. Education of the young was to be
the means by which all would learn to share the values and endorse the
priorities of the governing class. To centrally control this education,
however, it would be necessary to know what was going on in the schools,
and to influence (control) the purveyors of the new morality. The system
of educational inspection used by the English in Ireland provided the
model for Canada West. “I argue,” says Curtis, “that educational
inspection was about state formation: the creation, stabilization, and
normalization of relations of power, authority, domination, and
exploitation.”

Curtis sees the inspectoral system in education as not being uniquely
Canadian, or even English, but as having its origins in Europe. He
explores the impact of the various school acts and the personal
influence of Egerton Ryerson on building a uniquely Canadian
manifestation of this phenomenon as central control was consolidated.
Considerable detail is provided regarding the educational, social, and
political background of the 37 inspectors who were active during the
1840s. The extent of the inspectors’ influence on local political and
educational decision-making is illustrated by three case studies.
(Curtis sees the inspectors as having three major roles vis-а-vis the
development of centralized bureaucratic procedures: gatherers and
transmitters of intelligence from the field; controllers of standards
and procedures; and, in some instances, advocates for the areas in which
they served.) This work has been thoroughly researched and documented.
The author demonstrates that the use of sociological analysis in
historical research can open interesting and challenging possibilities
for new understandings.