The Education of the South African Native by Charles T. Loram was originally published in 1917 and later reissued in 1927 by Longmans, Green and Co.. The book is one of the earliest comprehensive academic studies examining the condition and development of education for Black South Africans during the early twentieth century. Loram, who served as an inspector of schools in Natal and later became a prominent educational administrator and scholar, based the work on extensive research as well as his own experience within the colonial education system.
In The Education of the South African Native, Loram provides a detailed survey of missionary education, government policy, and the broader social circumstances that shaped access to schooling for African communities in South Africa. The book examines the historical development of mission schools, the challenges of funding and administration, and the limited opportunities available to African students within the segregated structures of the period. Loram also compares South African educational models with those used in other parts of the British Empire and the United States, particularly drawing on ideas associated with industrial and vocational education.
Today, The Education of the South African Native remains an important historical document for understanding early twentieth-century debates about race, education, and social policy in South Africa. While reflecting the attitudes and assumptions of its era, the book offers valuable insight into the intellectual and administrative frameworks that influenced later educational policy. This 1927 Longmans, Green and Co. edition stands as a significant work for collectors of South African history, educational studies, and early Africana scholarship.
