The reasons associated with lecture absenteeism among student groups could shed significant light on student motivation levels and orientations in university settings. Paying attention to the rationales for lecture absence provided by students themselves could also help institutions to diagnose levels of student engagement and respond in…

The public science lecture, popular from the 1750s until the 1850s when a social revolution produced a class bound society, has played an important part in the genesis of modern scientific British education. Reasons include factors such as motivation and teaching methods which made audiences very receptive. (RM)