The Royal Commission on Technical Instruction was a British Royal Commission that sat from 1881 until 1884 and was chaired by Sir

Bernhard Samuelson Sir Bernhard Samuelson, 1st Baronet, (22 November 1820 – 10 May 1905) was an industrialist, educationalist and a Liberal politician who sat in the House of Commons in 1859 and from 1865 to 1895. Early life Samuelson was born in Hamburg, the e ...

. The Commission's terms of reference were "to inquire into the Instruction of the Industrial Classes of certain Foreign Countries in technical and other subjects, for the purpose of comparison with that of the corresponding classes in this Country".Argles, p. 98. Alongside Samuelson on the Commission there were H. E. Roscoe,

Philip Magnus Sir Philip Magnus, 1st Baronet (7 October 1842 – 29 August 1933) was a British educational reformer and politician, who represented the London University constituency as a Unionist Member of Parliament from 1906 to 1922. He had previously ...

John Slagg John Slagg (junior) (24 Oct 1837 – 7 May 1889) was a British businessman and Liberal politician. He was the eldest son of John Slagg, a justice of the peace at Manchester, and his wife Jane née Crighton.''Obituary'', The Times, 8 May 1889, ...

, Swire Smith and

William Woodall William Woodall (Shrewsbury 15 March 1832 – Llandudno 8 April 1901), was a British Liberal politician, philanthropist and supporter of women's suffrage. Life He was the elder son of William Woodall, of Shrewsbury, and his wife Martha (née Ba ...

. Its secretary was Gilbert Redgrave. The Commission's Report appeared in five volumes. Volume I was made up of general reports on technical education on the Continent and in Britain, with reports on manufacturing and schools. Volume II contained a report by H. M. Jenkins on agricultural education in Britain,

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

and

Holland Holland is a geographical regionG. Geerts & H. Heestermans, 1981, ''Groot Woordenboek der Nederlandse Taal. Deel I'', Van Dale Lexicografie, Utrecht, p 1105 and former province on the western coast of the Netherlands. From the 10th to the 16th c ...

, with a report on technical education in the United States and on Canadian elementary education by

William Mather Sir William Mather (15 July 1838 – 18 September 1920) was a British industrialist and Liberal politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1885 and 1904. Life Mather was born in Manchester, the son of William Mather and his wife, Am ...

. Volumes III, IV and V contained

Thomas Wardle Sir Thomas Edward Wardle (born 1912 in West Leederville, Western Australia, died in 1997) was a businessman and supermarket proprietor from Western Australia. He was best known for his "Tom the Cheap" supermarket chain as well as revolutionisi ...

's report on the silk industry, Professor Sullivan's plan for Irish technical education and the minutes of evidence and appendices.Argles, p. 102.Correlli Barnett, ''The Audit of War'' (London: Pan, 2001), p. 207. The Commission recommended a unified system of elementary and secondary education. The Commissioners reported on their visit to a Swiss elementary school that they "were especially struck with the clean and tidy appearance of the boys, and there was difficulty in realising that the school consisted mainly of children of the lower classes of the population". In regards to Germany, they said: "The one point in which Germany is overwhelmingly superior to England is in schools, and in the education of all classes of the people. ... e dense ignorance so common among workmen in England is unknown". The Commissioners also wrote,

is our duty to state that, although the display of continental manufacturers at the Paris International Exhibition in 1878 had led us to expect great progress, we were not prepared for so remarkable a development of their natural resources, nor for such perfection in their industrial establishments as we actually found. ... Your commissioners cannot repeat too often that they have been impressed with the general intelligence and technical knowledge of the masters and managers of industrial establishments on the Continent.Barnett, p. 208.

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