Jane Annie Roadknight born Jane Annie Powell (1852 – 17 March 1929) was a British schoolteacher and inspector of schools. She was an advocate of the kindergarten and Froebel approach to education.

Life

Roadknight is believed to have been born in

Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by populati ...

in 1852 or 1853. Her parents were George and Eliza Powell. She went into t St Mary's national school, Quarry Hill, Leeds as a girl pupil teacher in 1865. She was still there as a teenager in 18721 when she was awarded a first class queen's scholarship. By the following year she had a kindergarten certificate and she went on to attend the Home and Colonial College in London. There she learned about new ideas in education created by

Heinrich Pestalozzi Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi (, ; 12 January 1746 – 17 February 1827) was a Swiss pedagogue and educational reformer who exemplified Romanticism in his approach. He founded several educational institutions both in German- and French-speaking r ...

and

Friedrich Froebel Friedrich may refer to: Names *Friedrich (surname), people with the surname ''Friedrich'' *Friedrich (given name), people with the given name ''Friedrich'' Other *Friedrich (board game), a board game about Frederick the Great and the Seven Years' ...

. In 1883 she married Tom Roadknight who was a maltster. They married in Kings Norton and she went on to work at Nottingham's Blue Bell Hill Board school in 1885 which had opened two years before. Her effect on the school was appreciated ans inspections of the school led to her being promoted to be the Nottingham school board's inspector of kindergarten and needlework in 1893. When the Nottingham educational authority was formed she became their inspector for infant education. She is creditted with introducing play into teaching and to make the tone of the classroom less intimidating. She held the position of infant inspector until 1919 when she stood down because of her health. In 1905 she had founded the Nottingham Froebel Society which demonstrated her enthusiasm for her approach. Roadknight died in Winshill in 1929.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Roadknight, Jane 1852 births 1929 deaths People from Leeds People from Nottingham British women educators