This chapter describes the relationship between the philosophies and theories of education and the purposes that have prevailed at different times in the history of American education. We then examine the important changes in educational goals of recent years that have been promoted by infl uential policy reports. First, however, the chapter shows how we defi ne educational purposes in terms of goals and objectives.

1. Course:
Foundations of Education
401
Chapter 13:
The Changing
Purposes of
American Education
Mr. VATH Vary (MA in TESOL, IFL)
Email: varyvath@gmail.com
Tel: 017 471117

2. MR. VATH VARY
Contemporary society is
constantly changing and
evolving.
We have to react to
change and social
pressures:
by revising our
educational
purposes
schools respond by
changing their
programs

3. INTRODUCTION
MR. VATH VARY
Nation
• What goals do we have for our education
system?
Teachers and
Educators
• What are our real purposes, how are these
influenced by established educational
philosophies and theories, and how
should they be guiding our work?

4. Forces That Influence Educational Goals
Society
 Shifts in economy, family trends, media, peer groups,
and changing social mores
Knowledge
 Discoveries, new developments in science &
technology;
 new methods of processing and storing information;
 New methods of defining or organizing fields of
study.
Learners
 Changing beliefs about nature of learners
 New theories about learning processes
MR. VATH VARY

5. Establishing Goals and Objectives
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Levels of
purposes of
education vary
• Nation, state, school district, school,
subject/ grade, unit plan, or lesson plan
Goal and
Objective
• Terms “Goal and Objective” describe a direction—
what we are seeking to accomplish –“ends” or
“endpoints” of education.
• Most educators use the terms goals and objectives to
distinguish among levels of purpose, with goals being
broader statements of intent and objectives being more
specific guides to classroom instruction.

6. Establishing Goals and Objectives
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Goals (Aims)
Set broad,
general direction
or aims
Cannot be directly
observed
Set at national, state,
and district levels,
becoming more specific
as they become more
local
Objectives
Describe specific
endpoint or
outcome
Often measurable
in students’
behavior
Set at (1) subject or grade
level, (2) unit plan level,
and (3) lesson plan level,
becoming more specific
for smaller units of
instruction

7. Establishing Goals and Objectives
MR. VATH VARY
• are usually written in non-behavioral terms, not tied to
particular content or subject matter
• are intended to be long-lasting guides
• describe what schooling (activities) is intended to
accomplish, but too vague and long-term for teachers and
students to apply them directly in the classroom
• Classroom instruction typically combines general and specific
objectives:
 General (classroom) objectives
 help develop a sequenced curriculum for a grade level or unit.
 are characterized by “end” terms: to know, learn, understand,
comprehend, and appreciate.
 Lesson plan objectives (Robert Mager):
 Specific objectives, also known as behavioral or performance
objectives–these statements are content or skill specific, require
particular student behavior or performance and are observable and
measurable
 Use precise wording (action verbs) describe in writing, state orally,
compare, list, identify, and solve
Goals
Objectives

8. Goals
MR. VATH VARY
• School-level goal statements often appear in documents
known as school improvement plans, which are usually
developed by school-based management teams.
• These goal statements flow from an overall school mission
statement, which articulates the school’s role in educating
the community’s youth.
 An example of a school-level goal related to the
national goal of school readiness might be
“kindergarten will be expanded from a half-day
program to a full-day program.”

9. Four Fundamental Questions
for Creating School Goals (Ralph Tyler, 1940s)
1. What educational purposes should the school
seek to attain?
2. What educational experiences can we provide to
help attain these purposes?
3. How can these educational experiences be
effectively organized?
4. How can we determine whether (and to what
extent) the purposes have been attained?
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10. Goals
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11. Examples of objectives
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 As a prospective teacher, you are familiar with
state curriculum standards, which require local
school districts and teachers to align their curricula
with these state indicators.
 A general unit objective is to understand why
American colonists wanted to separate from
Great Britain in the 1770s.
 A specific lesson objective is to describe in
writing three reasons American colonists gave in
favor of separation from Great Britain, requiring
specific knowledge and a specific criteria.

12. Historical Perspectives on American
Educational Goals
Before (20th C)
1900s
Mental Discipline Approach
1910s
to 1950s
Whole Child Concept
1950s
Sputnik era emphasis on
math, science, languages,
gifted and talented
1960s
to 1980s
Special education/Focus on
disadvantaged children
1990s
to 2000s
Emphasis on accountability
 Policy makers and the
public frequently question
the purposes of American
education, with varied
answers and heated
debates.
 Understanding this debate
requires understanding
how educational aims
have evolved over time, as
shown in various sections.

13. Historical Perspectives on American Educational Goals
MR. VATH VARY
Perennialist
theory
• Before the 20th century, the perennialist theory generally dominated
American education.
• Proponents of the mental discipline approach believed that the mind is
strengthened through mental activities, just as the body is strengthened by
exercising.
• Traditional subjects, such as languages (Latin, Greek, French, and German),
mathematics, history, English, physics, chemistry, government, and biology,
were valued for their cultivation of the intellect; the more difficult the subject
and the more the student had to exercise the mind, the greater the value of the
subject.
Progressivism
• The shift from a classical curriculum to a progressive pedagogy in the early
20th century was driven by immigration and industrial development, leading
educators to question the classical curriculum and focus on everyday life
subjects.
• This period was dominated by progressivism and child psychology, emphasizing
the whole-child concept and life adjustment.
• Whole-child concept: the view held that schools must concern themselves
with all aspects of students’ growth and development, not merely with
cognitive skills or academic learning.
• Schools were aimed at addressing the needs of all students, including middle-
aged students, and integrating cognitive and mental growth goals with social,
psychological, vocational, moral, and civic development.

14. Historical Perspectives on American Educational Goals
MR. VATH VARY
Return to
academic
essentials
• During the Cold War and the Soviet Sputnik Fight, international
events prompted a reevaluation of academic disciplines and life-
adjustment curriculum.
• Critics called for a return to academic essentials and mental
discipline, leading to national legislation supporting training,
equipment, and programs in fields vital to defense.
• The National Defense Education Act of 1958 targeted science,
mathematics, modern languages, and guidance, with government and
foundation funding.
Concern for
non–
college-bound
students
• In the 1960s, the focus shifted to poverty, racial
discrimination, and equal educational opportunity,
leading to new educational priorities based on progressive
and social reconstructionist theories.
• Educators recognized that many students failed to graduate or
were functionally illiterate, posing serious problems if
educational goals were narrowly focused.

15. Historical Perspectives on American Educational Goals
MR. VATH VARY
Student diversity
(1980s Multicultural
and Bilingual
Education)
• In the 1980s, the focus on "disadvantaged" students expanded to
include limited English proficient (LEP) and disabled students.
• The nation's multicultural efforts included increased federal funding for
Hispanic, Asian American, and Native American students, and legal
support for limited English skills.
Special
Education in the
1970s and
1990s
• Special education faced significant concerns, particularly for students
with learning disabilities.
• The Education for All Handicapped Children Act and the Individuals
with Disabilities Education Act established policies for including
students with disabilities in regular classrooms.
• However, conservative reactions increased in the 1990s, with
multicultural and bilingual programs criticized for contributing to
fragmentation.
• Educators divided into factions over the most effective way to conduct
special education, with some advocating for full inclusion, others for
partial inclusion, and others for maintaining separate classes.

16. Controversy
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Full
inclusion:
• eliminate self-contained classrooms for
special-education students and
assignment of special-education teachers
to co-teach regular classrooms
Partial
inclusion:
• Whereby students with learning
disabilities are placed in general-
education classrooms as much as
possible

17. Historical Perspectives on American Educational Goals
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End of 20th
Century
Educational
Accountability
• Saw increased demands for educational accountability, with many advocating for a
focus on outcomes rather than inputs, leading to the development of outcomes-
based education (OBE).
• Education guided by the principle that success should be judged by student
“outcomes” (generally seen in terms of abilities to function in real-life contexts)
rather than by “inputs” such as programs, courses, or funding. Many proponents
would revise traditional curricula that fail to produce desired outcomes.
• Critics argued that OBE emphasized affective outcomes, promoted vague
academic standards, and involved higher costs without corresponding results.
State Standards
Movement in
Education
• In the early 21st century, educators and policymakers advocated for clear state
standards (performance indicators showing students have achieved academic
mastery at levels set by state boards of education) for all students, aiming to
develop authentic methods of assessing performance.
• The federal 2001 No Child Left Behind Act emphasizes standards and
yearly assessment of student progress (known as “adequate yearly
progress”).
• State standards heavily influence instructional planning and accountability
systems, but concerns have been raised about the high-stakes outcomes of
assessments, which can lead to sanctions, pay raises, and bonuses.

18. High-stakes testing
• high-stakes testing
– Using tests in a way that will have important
consequences for the student, affecting such
decisions about promotion, graduation, and
college scholarships;
– they are related to a range of consequences for
the school districts and professionals preparing
students for those exams, including school
accreditation, pay raises, and bonuses.
MR. VATH VARY

19. Swings of the Pendulum
• Educational goals have evolved significantly from the early twentieth century
to the present day, with new ideas emerging in updated versions.
• The emphasis on intellectual training and educating the disadvantaged has
resurfaced due to economic competition and social concerns.
• However, schools are often expected to do more than is feasible, and they
must adapt to changing conditions and social forces.
• In today's highly technical, automated, and bureaucratic society, facing
pressing social and economic problems such as aging cities, deteriorating
schools, discrimination, an aging population, economic dislocations,
terrorism, and environmental pollution, the skills taught to present-day
students and the development of appropriate priorities for education are
crucial.
MR. VATH VARY