Skip to content
    History A-Level

    'self-help'

    What 'self-help' means in History A-Level, as defined for AQA.

    Definitions of 'self-help'

    Exam boards and our study guides word this term in slightly different ways. Learn the version your board uses.

    Check what you remember

    Read the wording for your board, then hide it and explain 'self-help' in your own words. Rough notes are fine. This is a self-check, with no mark or grade.

    Reference: AQA

    Samuel Smiles' concept encouraging individual thrift and hard work, emphasising individual responsibility and voluntary mutual aid.
    AQA · 1F Industrialisation and the people: Britain, c1783–1885 – Economy, society and politics, 1846–1885 (A-level only) (study guide)
    Ideology popularised by Samuel Smiles that championed individual thrift and shaped attitudes to poverty.
    AQA · 1G Challenge and transformation: Britain, c1851–1964 – Reform and challenge, c1851–c1886 (study guide)

    Topics that use 'self-help'

    Related terms

    Using 'self-help' in the exam

    Check the command word and mark scheme for your exact question. After comparing your explanation with the reference, use the term in an answer on the linked topic. This practice does not predict an exam mark.

    Practise History questions

    Create a free account to answer exam-style questions on this topic and get feedback on your answers.

    Start free

    A week of Premium from your first lesson · Then the free plan continues · No card, no charge

    All History A-Level terms