Full Description
Philosophic Conflicts in American Education, 1893-2000 offers a description of the ideas that educational reformers shared during the twentieth century. Although many commentators portray the debates about educational reform as a struggle for the American curriculum, this text stresses the fact that the competing groups of educators had a great deal in common showing how philosophical perspectives influenced practical school programs. The theme of this book is unique, and it challenges many conventional ideas found in previously published foundations texts.
Contents
Each chapter concludes with "Summary."Introduction. I. HUMANIST STUDIES AND THE PRACTICAL CURRICULUM, 1893-1918. 1. From Separate Studies to an Integrated Curriculum, 1893-1918. How did Harris think elementary schools could help students become more fully human?Why did other educators criticize Harris's views?How did the doctrine of appealing to students' interests illustrate the conflicting views of curriculum?How did educators want to reform secondary school programs?Why did critics complain about the report of the Committee of Ten?Could theorists forge a synthesis of the views of Harris and the Herbartians?2. Introducing the Practical Curriculum, 1893-1918. What benefits did people see in education, and why did they think state governments should require all children to attend schools?What did people think were the needs of different children, and how did they think that manual training could meet those needs?How did vocational educators decide what students needed and how did they want to meet those needs?According to officials and their critics, what was the effect of the National Vocational Education Act?How did vocational education influence educators' conception of guidance?What did John Dewey think vocational education did to society?II. Needs of the Immigrants and of the Society, 1916-1930. What was the liberal, progressive model of Americanization?How did Jewish Zionists and ethnic Catholics construct their own ways to help immigrants?How did the Americanization movement change efforts to meet the needs of immigrants during World War I?How did German-American newspapers try to preserve the German-American heritage?How did supporters of the Americanization movement, liberal progressives, and Pope Pius XI view the social role of Catholic schools?Why did concern for Americanization and for ethnic Catholic schools decline before the Great Depression?4. Balancing Individual and Social Needs, 1918-1929. In what ways did the model of the comprehensive high school express the then popular ideas of curriculum reform?How could curriculum theory encourage educators in local districts decide what was best to teach?How could a curriculum be designed that encouraged students to follow their own interests in ways that enabled them to become cooperative democratic citizens?How could educators construct a curriculum that encouraged students to think critically?What rationale guided the efforts to reform elementary and high schools after World War I?III. FROM RECONSTRUCTING Reconstructing Society, 1930-1940. How did the work of the AHA Commission on the Social Studies represent a blending of child centered education and social reconstruction?How was the work of the Civilian Conservation Corps different from or similar to the efforts of social studies educators?How was the education of Native Americans different from or similar to other educational reforms that took place during the Great Depression?How was education for Hispanic Americans in New Mexico during the New Deal different from or similar to other educational reforms?How did contradictory efforts to meet social needs share philosophical assumptions?6. Did Cooperative Activities or Academics Meet Students' Needs During the Depression? During the depression, how did child-centered educators seek social change?How did educators use their freedom to shape the curriculum during the Eight-Year Study?How could the subjects of English and art be restructured to meet the students' needs?How could public schools apply the ideas of the Eight-Year Study?What problems did critics find in the work of the Eight-Year Study?In what ways did cooperative activities and academic studies meet the needs of 1940-1964. 7. Balancing Individual and Social Needs After World War II, 1940-1964. How did educators think schools should meet the country's needs during the war?When the war ended, how did educators change their ideas about serving the needs of the children?What faults did critics find in educators' attempts to balance students' needs with social needs?How did James Conant recommend that schools balance attention to the students' and the society's needs?8. Academic Excellence to Meet Society's Needs, 1940-1964. How did the federal government want schools to meet national needs?What was the theoretical basis of the new math and science programs?How did Bruner and his colleagues use the idea of student interest when they constructed their curriculums? curicula?What happened to the effort to design new curriculums?In what ways were the new curriculums similar to and different from the reforms the progressive and the traditional educators attempted?V. Students' Rights Through Racial Integration and Compensatory Education, 1963-1981. For what reasons did the federal government initiate programs to improve schools?What did studies reveal about the effectiveness of the compensatory programs in raising academic achievement of youth from low income families?What did studies reveal about the effectiveness of racial integration in increasing the academic performance of African American youth?What reasons did officials give for slowing the movement for racial integration of schools?What were the effects of programs of compensatory education and of efforts to racially integrate the schools?10. Special Educators and Bilingual Educators Imitate the NAACP, 1963-1986. In what ways did the advocates for children with disabilities change their campaigns as a result of the civil rights movement?What were the effects of the campaigns by special educators and bilingual educators to establish students' rights to an Effective Education to Charter Schools, 1981-2000. In what ways did government officials and parent advocates seek to establish the parents' right to an effective education for the children?How could the proposal to create a national testing program establish the parents' rights to effective schools?If parents exercised their rights to free choice, would they act in ways that cause schools to improve?In what ways did standards, tests, and choice represent efforts to satisfy the parents' rights to effective educations for their children?12. Affirming People's Rights to Community Through Schools, 1981-2000. How did educators in the United States apply Freire's ideas to their classrooms?Did some feminists ignore or change Freire's ideas in their efforts to affirm their rights to their voices?Did gay or lesbian educators turn to Freire's model to support homosexual youth?Was there something in Freire's model of pedagogy that led advocates to hold limited notions of education?Conclusion. Works Cited. Acronyms.
