American Education: A History » (4th Edition)

Wayne J. Urban is Regents’ Professor in the Department of Educational Policy Studies and Professor of History at Georgia State University, where he has taught since 1971. His previous books are Accountability in American Education: A Critique (1976), Why Teachers Organized (1982), and Black Scholar: Horace Mann Bond, 1904-1972 (1992). He is currently president of the American Educational Studies Association and is past president of the History of Education Society. He is a former editor of Educational Studies and of the American Educational Research Journal. His current research interests are the history of desegregation in education, the history of educational research, and the history of teachers, their work, and their organizations.

Jennings L. Wagoner, Jr. is William Clay Parrish, Jr. Professor of Education at the University of Virginia. He is author of numerous articles in educational history and has a special interest in the educational views of Thomas Jefferson. Previous books include Thomas Jefferson and the Education of a New Nation (1976) and The Changing Politics of Education (1978). He has taught at the University of Virginia since 1968 and served as a department chairperson for 12 years. He is past president of the History of Education Society and has served as a member of the Editorial Board of the History of Education Quarterly and Educational Studies. He has served as Vice President of Division “F” (History and Historiography) of the American Education Research Association. In 1987 he received the Outstanding Professor Award from Virginia’s Curry School of Education.

American Education: A History, 4e is a comprehensive, highly-regarded history of American education from pre-colonial times to the present. Chronologically organized, it provides an objective overview of each major period in the development of American education, setting the discussion against the broader backdrop of national and world events. The first text to explore Native American traditions (including education) prior to colonization, it also offers strong, ongoing coverage of minorities and women.

Key points that define the fourth edition of this volume include:

Balanced Perspective – The authors provide contrasting views of American educational traditions, reforms, and theories in order to maintain a balanced view of events. They focus on conflicts, compromises and outcomes (positive and negative) that have defined America’s educational past and that shape its future options. They also set discussions against the broader backdrop of national and world events.

Pre-colonial Focus – A unique and much praised opening chapter discusses the educational traditions of Native Americans and the two-way learning exchanges that occurred between two distinct "old world" cultures, that is, between Native American and European cultures. The Indians taught as well as learned from the colonists. No other text has this feature.

Cultural Conflict Focus – Throughout the text attention is paid to the cultural conflicts embedded in the majority-minority struggles of Native Americans and various immigrant groups throughout the nation’s history. Chapter 5: Class, Caste and Education in the South provides an in-depth analysis of the educational legacy of Southern culture throughout the 19^th and 20^th centuries.

Readability – Reviewers have labeled this the "best written text on the market" in terms of style, clarity and interest. "It’s clarity and readability differentiate it from other books."

Changes – The fourth edition will include more visual illustrations as well as substantial new material. A new epilogue adds closing comments on the present and future prospects for American education.

Ch. 1 Education in Precolonial America: Native American Cultural Traditions 1

Ch. 2 Colonization and Cultural Transplantation: 1607-1776 15

Ch. 3 Education and the Building of a New Nation: 1776-1830 71

Ch. 4 The Common Man and the Common School: 1820-1860 107

Ch. 5 Class, Caste, and Education in the South: 1800-1900 141

Ch. 6 Beginning a Modern School System: 1865-1890 185

Ch. 7 Organizing the Modern School System: Educational Reform in the Progressive Era, 1890-1915 223

Ch. 8 Completing the Modern School System: American Education, 1915-1929 265

Ch. 9 The Effects of Depression and War on American Education: 1930-1946 293

Ch. 10 Education during and after the Crucial Decade: 1945-1960 325

Ch. 11 The Pursuit of Equality: 1960-1980 355

Ch. 12 From Equality to Excellence: American Education, 1980-2008 389

Epilogue 445

Index 449