Philanthropic networks for children at risk in nineteenth-century Europe

• Published in: Paedagogica historica 2007-04, Vol.43 (2), p.235-244
• Main Author: Dekker, Jeroen J. H
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: 19. Jahrhundert; At Risk Persons; Bildungsgeschichte; Children; Delinquency Prevention; Europa; Europe; Foreign Countries; Geschichte (Histor); Internationale Zusammenarbeit; Kinderschutz; Netzwerk; Philanthropismus; Private Financial Support; Residential Institutions; Social Support Groups; Sozialpolitik; Vereinigte Staaten
• ISSN: 0030-9230; 1477-674X
• DOI: 10.1080/00309230701248347

In the first half of nineteenth-century Europe, the founding fathers of the philanthropic network developed a specific network for the care of children at risk. This network eventually resulted in institutionalized solutions for the care of these children. In this article, three topics are looked at: the meaning of the general concept of networks for this specific network; the building up of the network; and, finally, the working of the network at close quarters. It is concluded that the members of this network worked on the basis of reciprocal activities, were organized in an informal and horizontal way, knew each other very well and were regular philanthropic tourists across the frontiers of their respective countries. 1 The first sketch of this paper was presented at the workshop on "Europe of Networks", European University Institute, Florence, November 2001, a second version at the ISCHE ISWG on Cross-cultural Influences in Geneva, July 2004. I thank the organizers, respectively Peter Becker and Raffaele Romanelli (EUI), and Klaus-Peter Horn and Christoph Lüth (ISCHE) as well as the anonymous reviewers for their comments.