The object of this study is to trace the development of the extension
services offered by the University of British Columbia from its founding in
1915 until the end of the program year 1954-55. The first chapter summarizes
some of the outstanding features of the history of adult education and more
particularly of university extension as it has developed in the United Kingdom,
the United States of America and Canada. Chapter II describes the experience
with extension activities at U.B.C. up to 1933, the year in which the Carnegie
Corporation offered a grant which made It possible to expand these activities
significantly. The important formative years between the offer of the grant
and the appointment of a full-time director of extension activities in 1936 are
dealt with in Chapter III. Chapters IV to VIII describe the various extension
services offered by the University between 1936 and 1955. Chapter IV deals
with Vocational Education; Chapter V with Evening Classes, Lectures and Credit
Courses; Chapter VI with Social Education; Chapter VII with Fine Arts and
Summer School; and Chapter VIII with Audio-Visual, Library and Radio Services.
The final chapter summarizes the general development of the Extension Department
and examines some of the factors influencing that development.
There were two main problems involved in writing this study. The first
of these was to acquire the factual information concerning the development of
Extension services. This proved to be a difficult task because of the gaps in
the records available. Correspondence and interviews with persons involved over
the years and other means were used in order to gather this information. Some
questions remain unanswered. The other problem was to identify and evaluate
the relative importance of the various factors which have influenced the growth
of the Extension program. An attempt has been made to do this especially in
the second, third and last chapters. Some of these factors include: the
desire for better public relations on the part of the University; the attitude
of the University Presidents and others concerning the relative importance of
extension work; the abilities, understanding and degree of commitment of the
three directors of the Extension Department; the resources which were available
at different times to develop aspects of the work (such as the Carnegie grant
and the federal government funds for certain activities); economic and social
Conditions in the province; and the characteristics of the staff employed by
the Department since its creation in 1936.
The attempt to trace and to understand the development of extension
services at the University of British Columbia is felt to be of particular
significance because the Extension program of this University became during
this period one of the most outstanding in Canada. / Arts, Faculty of / History, Department of / Graduate
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UBC/oai:circle.library.ubc.ca:2429/42401 |
| Date | January 1963 |
| Creators | Selman, Gordon R. |
| Publisher | University of British Columbia |
| Source Sets | University of British Columbia |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text, Thesis/Dissertation |
| Rights | For non-commercial purposes only, such as research, private study and education. Additional conditions apply, see Terms of Use https://open.library.ubc.ca/terms_of_use. |
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