|
THE CONTINUING
HISTORICAL EFFORT TO IMPROVE EDUCATION
OBJECTIVES
Learning outcomes - after
reading this chapter, you will be able to:
- Decide, explain, and defend the degree to
which you believe it is possible to know,
understand, and profit from the history of
education
- List and detail several of the most important
improvements that have been made in the US
educational system over the past half century
- Explain important educational contributions
that have been made during the last 60 years
by private schools, the federal government
researchers, teacher organizations, teacher
educators, and other groups that have helped
to improve US schools
- List and explain several of the major ideas
regarding the history of US education.
- Explain why knowledge of the history of
education is important to educators and how
it might be used to improve education today.
OUTLINE
More Students
and Bigger Schools
The Rapid
Growth of the Educational Enterprise
- The single most dramatic change in education
is the sheer expansion in size of the educational
enterprise.
- Therefore, need for more schools and more
teachers.
- A person who wants to learn will always
find a teacher - Persian proverb
School District
Consolidation, pages 273-274
- One-room schools to today - see figure 8.1
on page 274.
- Growth of busing.
- Bigger school budgets.
Growth of
Programs, pages 274-278
- As enrollment increased and schools became
larger, more diverse curriculum and programs
developed in US schools.
- World affairs affect growth, 1958 the Soviet
Union launched Sputnik. Therefore, federal
govt. gave more money for science education.
- Growth of special education programs. Previously,
teachers did the best they could for students
with disabilities. Not until the govt. pasted
Public Law 94-142, the Education for Handicapped
Children Act, did schools begin to develop
well-designed programs for students with disabilities.
- Asian American education: during W.W.II
the US place more than 100,000 Japanese Americans
in internment camps. It was not until 1990
that the govt. apologized.
- Hispanic American education: many Hispanics
have added to educational history. Rafael
Cordero, a self-taught free black Hispanic,
established an early (1810) school in Puerto
Rico. George Sanchez in 1923 began teaching
in one-room schools at the age of 16!
- Interesting professional dilemma, "Can a
knowledge of History help to improve multicultural
education?" found on page 277.
The Development
of the Teaching Profession,
pages 278-291
The Increasing Complexity of the Educational Enterprise
- Federal govt. has played an important role
in education.
- GI Bill of 1944 provided for the education
of veterans of W.W.II. In 1966, another GI
Bill for veterans of the Vietnam War.
- National Science Foundation, in 1950, emphasized
the need for continued support of basic scientific
research.
- National Defense Education Ace of 1958,
the Elementary and Secondary Education Act
of 1965, Project Head Start, Upward Bound.
- The past half-century has also been characterized
by an increasing struggle for equal educational
opportunity for all children.
- Professionalization of teaching.
- Continued importance of private schools.
- Home schooling.
- Evolution of educational assessment.
Changing Aims
of Education, pages 283-285
- 1892, Committee of Ten, studied secondary
education
- 1918, the Commission on Reorganization of
Secondary Education published the report Cardinal
Principles of Secondary Education.
- 1938, the Progressive Education Association
listed the needs of youth.
- 1944, the NEA published a study entitled,
Education for all American Youth.
- 1952, the Educational Policies Commission
issues a statement on the Imperative Needs
of Youth.
Preparation of Teachers, pages 285-289
- Read about the historical progression of
teacher preparedness from colonial teachers,
to teachers as indentured servants, to teaching
apprenticeships, to teacher training in academies,
to normal schools, to state teachers' colleges,
to teacher education in the mid-20th century.
- I think you will find the 1786 Advertisement
for Indentured Servants, found in Figure 8.2
on page 287, very interesting.
Education of Women, pages 289-291
- This section offers a brief look at a few
of the many outstanding female educators who
helped to develop our country's educational
system including: Emma Willard, Ella Flagg
Young, and Mary McLeod Bethune.
New Emphasis in Education, pages
292-295
- Analysis of teaching: procedures
used to enable teachers to critique their
own performance in the classroom.
- Effective teaching: a movement to
improve teaching performance based on the
outcomes of educational research.
- Cognitive development: a learner's
acquisition of facts, concepts, and principles
through mental activity.
- Behavioral theory: a theory that
considers the outward behavior of students
to be the main target for change.
- Interesting debate found on pages 294-295
on the issue of discipline.
Additional topics, pages 296-298
- Read about the educational critics, school
reform, school public opinion over the past
60 years, major educational events of the
20th century, and the value of history.
QUESTIONS TO BE ANSWERED AND SENT TO DR. FITZPATRICK
VIA E-MAIL
1. There are four amendments to the
US Constitution cited in these chapters.
Summarize the four amendments and their impact
on education. State which one you think
is most important and why.
2. There are debates found in most ot these
chapters. Choose two debates, summarize
both sides of the debates, and state your opinion
on each debate topic.
3. What are your thoughts about the balancing
of student rights against school officials' need
to maintain an environment conducive to learning?
Use court cases cited in chapter 6 to support
your position.
4. State the grade level you hope to teach.
How do you plan to manage your classroom to positively
build on the racial, ethnic, gender, socioeconomic,
and ability difference of students? What
pedagogical strategies will you use and why?
[This question was formulated by the authors of
this textbook]
E-Mail: mfitzpat@stac.ed
|
