Public education

Public education is schooling provided by the government, and paid for by taxes, in countries other than England where public schools are privately funded. Public education emerged in the late 18th century, as political philosophers argued that an educated citizenry was an essential component of a democratic society. While in colonial America, as in Europe, schooling was often regarded as a prerequisite for religion (in the Protestant Reformation concepts such as the priesthood of the laity or the importance of the individual conscience and the supremacy of Scripture had made widespread literacy take on greater importance), the Northwest Ordinance of 1787 provided that "Religion, morality, and knowledge being necessary to good government and the happiness of mankind, schools and the means of education shall forever be encouraged."

See also

• Education in the United States