2. the first public school appeared well before both the Constitu-
tion and the Declaration of Independence, the small,
independent
public schools of centuries past bear little if any resemblance
to the system of universal public education now in place in the
United States. The factors which led to the inception, growth,
and
development of public education in America are numerous, and
they include not only the pursuit of learning, but also, perhaps
more importantly, the development of the nation's philosophy of
who should teach and who should be taught.
Public education in America in large part was the product of
historical movements that swept the nation, including national
incorporation, widespread urbanization, and modern industrial-
ization. In order to glean an accurate understanding of the
history
of America's educational system, each of these eras in our coun-
try's history must be studied in turn.
While these factors constitute a timeline in American
educational
history, they cannot be fully understood apart from a concurrent
examination of the development of educational philosophy, the
changing understanding of the purpose and aim of public educa-
Abstract
Overview
Further Insights
Colonial Era
Education in Puritan New England
3. Education in the Middle & Southern Colonies
Early National Legislation
Education in the New Nation
Specialized Schools
Compulsory Education Legislation & the
National Teacher Association
Segregation
Industrialization & Integration
Extended Compulsory Education Laws
Changing Educational Theories
Modern Legislation
The National Defense Education Act & the
Elementary & Secondary Education Act
Brown v. Board of Education & Engel v. Vitale
The Education of All Handicapped Children
Act
The U.S. Department of Education & the No
Child Left Behind Act
Terms & Concepts
Bibliography
5. to note that, during the colonial era, religion formed the basis
for American life, and the local church or meetinghouse was the
focal point of each community. To many people, the primary
purpose of learning to read was to gain the ability to obtain reli -
gious instruction from the Bible.
The year following the opening of the Boston Latin School
witnessed the establishment of America's first college, Harvard
College, whose founding purpose was to train preachers. Hence,
for those fortunate to attend, the college would be an extension
of the religious instruction received in local schools.
In addition to local schools, during this period Dame Schools
were popular. These schools were for young children ranging in
age from 6-8, although often younger. Taught by women, often
widows, Dame Schools usually met in the instructors' homes
and
focused on teaching reading skills rather than on mathematics
and writing. Although titled a "school," it was not uncommon
for Dame Schools also to function as early day care facilities
for
colonial children.
Apprenticeship programs were also primary sources of spe-
cialized education in colonial America, particularly among the
poor. Through apprenticeships, young boys, and by the mid-
17th
Century girls as well, were paired with a skilled tradesman. The
apprentice would spend several years working at his mentor's
side, and upon completion of the apprenticeship, it was
expected
that the student would possess the requisite knowledge and abil -
ity to begin working on his own. Beyond teaching only the
trade,
however, mentors, or "Masters" were also expected to train their
apprentices in matters of good moral behavior (Barger, 2004).
6. In these early American schools, a very common method of
instruction was the hornbook. Dating as far back as fifteenth-
century Europe, the hornbook was a small wooden paddle on
which was mounted a sheet containing lessons. A piece of horn
from oxen or sheep and later from materials such as leather or
metal, covered the sheet to protect the lesson. Oftentimes, a
hole would be placed in the horn handle, and this enabled pupils
to fasten these early textbooks to their clothing or carry them
around their necks. Standard studies contained on hornbooks
included the alphabet, formations of vowels and consonants, and
the Lord's Prayer.
In colonial America, education was deemed the responsibili ty
of the family. Parents were ultimately responsible for the rear -
ing and training of their children, and there was an absence of
reliance upon government institutions or entities to provide
qual-
ity education for the young. Nevertheless, in this early colonial
world, one can identify the roots of today's compulsory educa-
tion laws.
As early as 1642, Massachusetts passed a law that required that
children be instructed in religious education as well as in the
laws of the colony. Yet, the expressed onus for doing so fell
not to the state or local communities, but rather to parents and
apprenticeship masters. Negligence in either of these areas was
punishable by fine. Furthermore, the law stated that parents and
masters must "catechize" their children in the principles of reli-
gion, or if they were unable to do so themselves, that they must
provide for it. The 1642 legislation also stipulated that if par -
ents or masters failed to perform the duties outlined in the law,
local authorities could remove the children and place them with
masters who would properly instruct them. Although the Massa-
chusetts Law of 1642 stopped well short of establishing a
formal
8. was
Benjamin Franklin who helped to establish the Academy of
Phil-
adelphia in 1751. This Academy later grew into the University
of
Pennsylvania (Penn in the eighteenth century).
In the southern colonies, too, public education was taking root.
Even before the establishment of Roxbury and Harvard, Virgin-
ian Benjamin Syms passed away and bequeathed in his will a
plot of 200 acres with clear instructions that it was to be used
for
the establishment of a free school. Another Virginia school soon
followed, and by the close of the seventeenth century, public
schools could be found in northern, middle, and southern colo-
nies (Tyler, 1897).
Early National Legislation
As government took an increased interest in requiring and pro-
viding for the education of children, public schools continued to
multiply. As the pivotal events leading up to the unification of
the
colonies into a nation occurred in the latter portion of the 18th
Century, America witnessed additional landmark educational
milestones. The two most significant of these were the Land
Ordi-
nance of 1785 and the Northwest Ordinance of 1787.
Specifically
applicable to the Western Territories, the Land Ordinance of
1785
allotted land in each western township for the establishment of
a
public school. Two years later, the Northwest Ordinance of
1787
provided that since religion, morality, and knowledge were pre-
requisite to good government, schools should be "encouraged."
9. Thus, by the time the Constitution became the law of the land,
and before even the Bill of Rights had gained ratification, uni-
versal public education in America was well on the road to
establishment.
Education in the New Nation
Specialized Schools
While public schooling was becoming more widespread, the
implementation of government-mandated universal public
education still lay well in the future. Nevertheless, significant
developments in the 19th Century established a philosophical
foundation and showed a practical application for compulsory
education. Most significant of these was the establishment of
specialized schools for the blind and deaf. The early half of the
19th Century saw the establishment of three such schools:
• The Connecticut Asylum at Hartford for the instruction
of Deaf and Dumb Persons, founded in 1817 and the first
permanent school for the deaf in America;
• The New England Asylum for the Blind, which became
the
nation's first school of its type when it opened in 1829;
• The New York State Asylum for Idiots, founded in 1851
and authorized by the New York State Legislature.
Such institutions segregated certain members of society for
their
schooling and led the way for the enactment of compulsory leg-
islation, and many colonies pursued such legislation as a means
of gaining statehood and, consequently, uniting with fellow-
states to form a nation (Baker, 2004, p. 33).
10. Compulsory Education Legislation & the National
Teacher Association
In 1852, Massachusetts enacted the first compulsory education
legislation in the nation. The act required that children ages 8
through 14 attend school for a minimum of three months out of
the year, and of those three months, six weeks were required to
be consecutive. Violation of this act was punishable by fine.
Nev-
ertheless, exceptions were made for certain children, including
those who were deemed mentally or physically unable to attend.
Other states soon followed suit, and by 1885, sixteen states
had passed compulsory attendance legislation. It would not be
until 1918, however, that all states would have such educational
requirements as part of their state law.
In addition to compulsory attendance legislation, the 1850s
witnessed another educational milestone: the formation of the
National Teachers Association in 1857. Founded by a small
group of educators in Philadelphia, this group evolved into what
is today known as the National Educators Association, the larg-
est association of its kind in the world.
Segregation
Yet, while the popularity of public education continued to rise
during the 19th Century, the opportunity to attend was not equal
for all, particularly in the southern states.
Throughout the 18th Century, while there were instances of
integrated schools, most often in the Northern states, segrega-
tion between black and white was much more common. Yet,
many slaves viewed illiteracy as a perpetrating factor of
slavery;
hence, many pursued education, often at great cost to them-
selves, as offenses such as the schooling of a slave could be met
with severe punishment of both teacher and pupil. Nevertheless ,
12. The turn of the 20th Century and the Industrial Revolution
brought a marked increase in immigration. As parents went to
work in cities and factories, children went to school in order to
learn English and assimilate into their new culture. Despite the
age of children, many families saw employment as more benefi -
cial than education and preferred that their children work rather
than study. This reality, coupled with the recognition of the
nega-
tive effects of child labor and an uneducated populace, led to
child labor laws and additional compulsory education laws. By
1918, compulsory education legislation existed in every state.
By the following year, legislation providing funds for transport-
ing students to school existed in every state as well.
Changing Educational Theories
The early decades of the 20th Century also witnessed signifi -
cant development in philosophical thoughts related to
education.
American psychologist and educator G. Stanley Hall produced
works investigating the relationship between adolescent devel-
opment and education, and in 1916, American psychologist
Lewis Terman announced what is today known as the Stanford-
Binet Intelligence Test. This test helped lay the groundwork for
standardized testing that it still used today.
In this same year, John Dewey published Democracy and Edu-
cation: An Introduction to the Philosophy of Education. Dewey
popularized the philosophy of experiential education, which
encourages focusing more on a child's learning experience and
less on the teacher's espousing a rigid formula for instruction.
Modern Legislation
The National Defense Education Act & the Elementary
& Secondary Education Act
As new philosophies of education slowly overtook traditional
13. ones, the role of the government in providing education also
grew. In 1958, Congress passed the first comprehensive fed-
eral legislation regarding education. A reaction to the Cold War,
the National Defense Education Act (NDEA) was born out of a
necessity that the United States continue to have highly special-
ized technicians and engineers in order to compete with Soviet
technology. In addition to funding loans for college, the NDEA
provided support for improved mathematics and scientific
instruction in elementary and secondary schools.
The following decade, Congress followed the NDEA with the
ESAA, the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. While the
NDEA focused on subject matter, the ESAA focused on social
factors and sought to provide quality education to lower -income
children. Despite increases in funding, however, the measure
has fallen short of complete fulfillment of its mission as many
students from lower-income families continue to struggle edu-
cationally.
Brown v. Board of Education & Engel v. Vitale
The 1950s also saw the end of 58 years of legal segregation.
On May 17, 1954, in the case of Brown v. Board of Education,
the Supreme Court overturned its 1896 Plessy v. Ferguson deci -
sion, stating that separate educational facilities are by definition
unequal. While discrimination in public schooling often con-
tinued, it no longer had the legal backing of the United States
government, and Brown v. Board of Education paved the way
for full educational equality for black and white Americans.
Perhaps the most significant 20th Century legal occurrence
affecting education, however, came in 1962 with the Supreme
Court ruling in Engel v. Vitale. In its decision, the Court held
that
prayer in public schools violated the Constitution. The
following
year, in Abington v. Schempp, the Court further ruled that
14. official
use of the Bible in public education was unconstitutional.
The Education of All Handicapped Children Act
By the latter half of the 20th Century, education was both
univer-
sal and integrated, yet there remained individuals who still
could
not benefit from the public education system, namely, those
who
were physically handicapped or otherwise disabled. In 1975,
Congress sought to change this with the passage of Public Law
94-142, the Education of All Handicapped Children Act. Not
only did the act require that appropriate education be extended
to
handicapped children, but it also implemented a system of Indi -
vidualized Education Plans (IEPs) whereby disabled students'
educational needs are evaluated and, based on the evaluation,
students receive individualized educational and other services
aimed at helping them achieve specified goals.
The U.S. Department of Education & the No Child Left
Behind Act
In 1980, Congress officially established the U.S. Departme nt
of Education as a Cabinet agency. Although the Department
of Education acknowledges that education remains primarily a
responsibility of state and local government, increases in
federal
mandates on education have been met with resistance by some
states even as they have been concurrently welcomed by many
parents.
In 2001, the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) became the law
of the land. The NCLB was a reauthorization of the ESAA and
instituted requirements for both schools and teachers. Among
these requirements are annual testing, statewide standards for
16. was lost to public schools with the exit of students attending
char-
ters. Advocates of charters, however, argued that the challenge
of alternative models would force improvements at traditional
schools (Maloney, Batdorff, May, & Terrell, 2013).
From the humble school in Philemon Pormont's Boston home
to the present-day structure consisting of public school systems
nationwide, education in American history boasts a long and
vibrant heritage. As the effort continues to ensure that all
children
have equal access to quality education, public schooling in
Amer-
ica will continue to play an integral part in our nation's future.
Terms & Concepts
Apprenticeship: The process of pairing a youth with a mentor or
"Master" who is expert at a trade for the purpose of training the
youth in the study of that trade as a lifetime career.
Compulsory Education: Education which is required by law.
Dame School: Type of school for young children popular in
colonial and early America, usually taught by a woman, often a
widow, and stressed reading over other subjects.
Hornbook: A small wooden paddle on which was mounted
parchment containing lessons. The parchment was covered with
horn. Colonial children utilized hornbooks to study material s
such as the alphabet, letter formations, and the Lord's Prayer.
Public Education: Education required by the government and
open to the public, funded by tax revenue.
Public Schools: Schools supported by funding from the
17. public,
usually via tax revenue, and providing free education for chil-
dren.
Segregation: The act of separation based on race, class, or
ethnic-
ity; often used in reference to educational segregation between
black and white students in the nineteenth and twentieth centu-
ries.
Bibliography
Baker, B. (2004). The functional liminality of the not-dead-
yet-students, or, how public schooling became com-
pulsory: a glancing history. Rethinking History, 8 (1),
5-49. Retrieved January 27, 2007 from EBSCO Online
Database Academic Search Premier. http://search.ebsco-
host.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=12583895
&site=ehost-live
Barger, R. (Ed.). (2004). History of American education web
project. Retrieved January 27, 2007, from http://www.
nd.edu/~rbarger/www7/.
Cavanagh, S. (2011). Educators regroup in recession's after-
math. Education Week, 30(16), 6-10. Retrieved December
15, 2013, from EBSCO Online Database Education
Research Complete. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.asp
x?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=57468158&site=ehost-live
ESEA: It's time for a change! NEA's positive agenda for the
ESEA reauthorization. (2006). Retrieved January 7, 2007,
from http://www.nea.org/esea/posagendaexecsum.html
Lauderdale, W. (1975). Moral intentions in the history of
American education. Theory Into Practice, 14 (4),
19. Pulliam, J.D., and Van Patten, J.J. (2013). The history and
social foundations of American education. Tenth edition,
Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.
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www.cloudnet.com/~edrbsass/educationhistorytimeline.
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Schooling, education, and literacy in colonial America.
(n.d.) Retrieved January 27, 2007, from http://alumni.
cc.gettysburg.edu/~s330558/schooling.html
T.E.C. (1973). Description of a dame or primary school in
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Tyler, L. (1897). Education in colonial Virginia. Part III: Free
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Magazine, 6, 70-85. Retrieved November 27, 2007, from
http://www.dinsdoc.com/tyler-3.htm
United States Department of Education. Accessed January, 27,
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Walsh, K. (2013). 21st-century teacher education. Education
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EBSCO Online Database Education Research Complete.
http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=e
hh&AN=87934932&site=ehost-live
Suggested Reading
20. Cox, W. Jr. (2000). The original meaning of the establishment
clause and its application to education. Regent University
Law Review, 13 (1), 111-143. Retrieved January 28, 2007,
from www.regent.edu/education/pdfs/publications/cox/
Original_Meaning.pdf
Derrick, M. G. (2001). Reflections on the history of gender
bias and inequality in education. Essays in Education, 1.
De Young, A. (1987). The Status of American rural education
research: An integrated review and commentary. Review
of Educational Research, 57 (2), 123- 148. Retrieved
January 28, 2007 from EBSCO Online Database
Education Research Complete. http://search.ebscohost.
com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=19734469&sit
e=ehost-live
Henderson, C., Corner, J. P., Lagemann, E. C., Paige, R.,
Barber, B. R., Doyle, D. P., et al. (2004). Brown 50
years later. American School Board Journal, 191 (4),
56-64. Retrieved January 28, 2007 from EBSCO Online
Database Academic Search Premier. http://search.ebsco-
host.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=12597933
&site=ehost-live
Larson, E. (1998). Summer for the gods: The Scopes trial and
America's continuing debate over science and religion.
Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press.
Pulliam, J., & Van Patten, J. (2007). History of education in
America (9th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Essay by Gina L. Diorio, MA;
Edited by Karen A. Kallio, M.Ed.
Ms. Kallio earned her B.A. in English from Clark University
21. and her Master’s in Education from the University of
Massachusetts at
Amherst. She lives and works in the Boston area.
Copyright of History of Public Education in the U.S. --
Research Starters Education is the
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However, users may print, download, or email articles for
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Copyright of History of Public Education in the U.S. --
Research Starters Education is the
property of Great Neck Publishing and its content may not be
copied or emailed to multiple
sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's
express written permission.
However, users may print, download, or email articles for
individual use.
Copyright of History of Public Education in the U.S. --
Research Starters Education is the
property of Great Neck Publishing and its content may not be
copied or emailed to multiple
sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's
express written permission.
However, users may print, download, or email articles for
individual use.
22. Copyright of History of Public Education in the U.S. --
Research Starters Education is the
property of Great Neck Publishing and its content may not be
copied or emailed to multiple
sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's
express written permission.
However, users may print, download, or email articles for
individual use.
Copyright of History of Public Education in the U.S. --
Research Starters Education is the
property of Great Neck Publishing and its content may not be
copied or emailed to multiple
sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's
express written permission.
However, users may print, download, or email articles for
individual use.