The purpose of this study is to determine. whether Charles Dickens's educational theories in England during the nineteenth century are conclusively juxtaposed to John Holt's educational theories in America during the twentieth century. Chapter One introduces the proposition and states the general nature of the discussion in -subsequent chapters. Chapter Two presents a history of economic conditions in nineteenth-century England and shows how its evolution influenced Dickens's educational theories. Chapter Three discusses the economic conditions in twentieth-century America, the moral crisis- and its affect on youth, and Holt's theories of how children fail and how they learn. Chapter Four synthesizes Dickens's and Holt's -theories and establishes that their philosophies and aims in the field of education are closely juxtaposed.