"Improvident and Profligate": The Alexandra Readers Controversy in Saskatchewan, 1908–1909.

This article examines the politics and economics surrounding textbook provision in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan in the first decade of the twentieth century, a period in which debates around the publication and provision of textbooks raged in Canada. It focuses on the 1908 contract between...

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Publicado en:Journal of Canadian Studies Vol. 56; no. 2; pp. 356 - 393
Autor principal: Clark, Penney
Formato: Artículo
Publicado: University of Toronto Press Spring2022
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Acceso en línea:Ver este registro en EBSCOhost
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        atl: "Improvident and Profligate": The Alexandra Readers Controversy in Saskatchewan, 1908–1909.
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        au: Clark, Penney
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        Textbook publishing
        History of education
        Educational publishing
        Haultain, Frederick
        Saskatchewan
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          Saskatchewan
          Textbook publishing
          History of education
          Educational publishing
          Haultain, Frederick
      keyword:
        histoire de l'édition scolaire
        histoire de l'éducation
        histoire des programmes d'études
        history of curriculum
        history of education
        history of educational publishing
        manuels scolaires
        politics of education
        politique de l'éducation
        textbooks
        histoire de l'édition scolaire
        histoire de l'éducation
        histoire des programmes d'études
        manuels scolaires
        politique de l'éducation
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        This article examines the politics and economics surrounding textbook provision in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan in the first decade of the twentieth century, a period in which debates around the publication and provision of textbooks raged in Canada. It focuses on the 1908 contract between the Saskatchewan Department of Education and the Morang Educational Company of Toronto involving the Alexandra Readers. Frederick Haultain, leader of the opposition Provincial Rights Party, used the contract as a club to beat James Calder, commissioner of education for the ruling Liberal government. Haultain claimed that the contract had been offered to Morang because he and John Cameron Saul, editor in chief of the company, had been "college chum[s]." He also claimed that the majority of the textbook selection committee actually had favoured the readers submitted by rival Toronto publisher the Canada Publishing Company. As a result of Haultain's accusations in the Saskatchewan legislature, a royal commission was established to inquire into "the alleged 'improvident and profligate' Morang school book contract and the reasons why it was granted." This study makes evident how controversial textbook provision has been and examines the political influences and commercial pressures that fuelled one such controversy.
        L'article étudie la politique et l'économie entourant la fourniture des manuels scolaires dans la province canadienne de la Saskatchewan dans la première décennie du xxe siècle, période fertile en débats sur la publication et la fourniture des manuels scolaires au Canada. Il est axé sur le contrat de 1908 entre le ministère de l'Éducation de la Saskatchewan et la Morang Educational Company de Toronto concernant les Alexandra Readers. Frederick Haultain, chef du Provincial Rights Party – le parti d'opposition –, s'est servi de ce contrat comme d'une arme contre James Calder, commissaire à l'Éducation du gouvernement libéral au pouvoir. Selon Haultain, le contrat avait été offert à Morang parce que ce dernier et l'éditeur en chef de la société, John Cameron Saul, avaient été des « camarades de collège ». Il prétendait également que la majeure partie du comité de sélection des manuels scolaires avait en fait préféré les livres soumis par la Canada Publishing Company, un éditeur concurrent de Toronto. Par suite des accusations de Haultain à l'Assemblée législative de la Saskatchewan, une commission royale a été mise sur pied pour enquêter sur « le contrat de manuels scolaires Morang – un contrat prétendument accordé de manière "inconsidérée et extravagante" – et les raisons justifiant son attribution ». Cette étude, qui montre à quel point la fourniture de manuels scolaires a suscité la controverse, examine les influences politiques et les pressions commerciales qui ont alimenté cette controverse.
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