A night school is an

adult learning Adult education, distinct from child education, is a practice in which adults engage in systematic and sustained self-educating activities in order to gain new forms of knowledge, skills, attitudes, or values. Merriam, Sharan B. & Brockett, Ralp ...

school that holds classes in the evening or at night to accommodate people who work during the day. A

community college A community college is a type of educational institution. The term can have different meanings in different countries: many community colleges have an "open enrollment" for students who have graduated from high school (also known as senior sec ...

university A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...

may hold night school classes that admit

undergraduates Undergraduate education is education conducted after secondary education and before postgraduate education. It typically includes all postsecondary programs up to the level of a bachelor's degree. For example, in the United States, an entry-lev ...

Italy

The Scuola serale (evening school) is a structured institution for the

education Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty. Va ...

and training of professional adults in

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

. The first evening schools opened in the first half of the nineteenth century under the pressure of the first civil strike organised by

labor movement The labour movement or labor movement consists of two main wings: the trade union movement (British English) or labor union movement (American English) on the one hand, and the political labour movement on the other. * The trade union movement ...

s, with the main aim of reducing

illiteracy Literacy in its broadest sense describes "particular ways of thinking about and doing reading and writing" with the purpose of understanding or expressing thoughts or ideas in written form in some specific context of use. In other words, huma ...

. Major philanthropic actions contributed to the continued spread of Scuola Serale. Beginning with

elementary education Primary education or elementary education is typically the first stage of formal education, coming after preschool/kindergarten and before secondary school. Primary education takes place in ''primary schools'', ''elementary schools'', or firs ...

, the first evening schools employed the educational process of "mutual education" (or mutual teaching) originated by British educators Andrew Bell and

Joseph Lancaster Joseph Lancaster (25 November 1778 – 23 October 1838) was an English Quaker and public education innovator. He developed, and propagated on the grounds both of economy and efficacy, a monitorial system of primary education. In the first de ...

, despite the scarcity of teachers. Initially, classes operated during the afternoon and evening. They were mainly frequented by peasants, workers and child laborers. At the end of the century, provoked by a growing need to provide a complete technical and vocational training, evening classes spread in large industrial cities. Port technical schools helped initiate "Festive Sundays", a complement to the workshops that were only open on Sundays. Subsequently, these Sunday courses moved to the evening.

USA

In the late 19th century and early 20th century, some elementary and high schools in the USA provided evening classes for children from poor families, who were engaged in farm work. By 1910, the main focus had changed to teaching English to non-English speaking immigrant children.

References

External links

Night School Ireland
Adult education Night {{edu-stub