ABSTRACT
The Liberian nation usually traces its beginnings to settlement in the 1820s by blacks from the New World under the auspices of the American Society for Colonizing the Free People of Colour of the United States of America and the various state colonisation societies which sprang up in relation to it. As might be expected, the initial emphasis was on elementary (primary) education and from 1822 to 1839 only elementary schools existed. They were run by individual settlers who were already members of Christian churches. From 1833 the church missions began to work directly in Liberia and to play a dominant role in education. One of the weakest areas in the Liberian education system is that of technical/vocational education. During the nineteenth century practically nothing was accomplished in this area. The Christian missions which dominated education in the country were so preoccupied with Christianising and ‘civilising’ that they neglected vocational education.
