Historical foundations

Historical Foundations
Historical Foundations of Education
William Allan Kritsonis, PhD
Questions
1. Identify a value issue or conflict in contemporary education and
examine it from a [selected] philosophical perspective.
2. Examine the concept of change from a [selected] perspective. What
are the educational implications of such a view of change?
3. Examine the impact of [selected] philosophy on education as we know
it today.
4. What impact, if any, has the role of religion in education during the
colonial period through the Civil War had on the role of religion in
schools today?
5. What are some significant changes in curriculum, instruction, and
assessment within the last century?
6. How does the criteria for school success used during colonial times
differ from the criteria used today?
7. Describe the historical, cultural, and philosophical events that
influenced public education in Texas.
8. Analyze the reasons for changes in school organization, programs,
and opportunities in the modern era in relation to historical, political
and sociological events.
9. Describe ways in which the curriculum became more standardized
and more diversified.
10.Identify issues related to educational evaluation in the modern era and
describe the arguments related to those issues.
11.Describe how each of [selected] modern philosophies influences
Western education.
12.Interpret how each of those philosophies might relate to one's own
developing educational philosophy.

13.Explain the history, evolution, and current status of three
organizational structures of schooling in the United States.
Key Terms
1. Socrates 16. Francis Bacon
2. Plato 17. John Calvin
3. Idealism 18. Old Deluder Satan Law
4. Realism 19. Dame Schools
5. Thomas Aquinas 20. Town Schools
6. Theistic Realism 21. Latin Grammar Schools
7. Francis Petrach 22. Colonial Colleges
8. Desiderius Erasmus 23. New England Primer
9. Juan Luis Vives 24. Rene Descartes
10.Sir Thomas More 25. John Amos Comenius
11.Edmund Coote 26. Republicanism
12. Northwest Ordinance of 1785 27. Friedrich Froebel
13. Northwest Ordinance of 1787 28. Morrill Act of 1862
14. Nationalism 29. Morrill Act of 1890
15. John Locke 30. John Dewey
31. Benjamin Franklin 45. Pragmatism
32. Thomas Jefferson 46. Maria Montessori
33. Noah Webster 47. Pestalozzi
34. Jean Jacques Rousseau 48. Brown v. Topeka
35. Naturalism 49. Civil Rights Act-1964
36. William McClure 50. Anna Freud
37. Industrial Schools 51. Jean Piaget
38. Monitorial Schools 52. Alfred Adler
39. Robert Owen 53. Erik Erickson
40. The Common School 54. Butler Statute
41. Henry Barnard 55. Engel v. Vitale
42. Horace Mann 56. U.S. National
43. William Torrey Harris Education Goals-1989
44. Kalamazoo Case of 1874 57. Goals 2000

Discussion
In order to fully understand our educational systems, we should be
aware of their evolutionary developments. An historical overview of
education, beginning with early philosphers and moving through the
unfolding of events in America, is provided as a comprehensive review of
Historical Foundations of Education.
B.C.
In ancient Athens, the social critic Socrates had attracted a circle of
students, one of whom was Plato. Socrates philosophy embraced an ethic
that asserted that human beings should seek to live lives that were morally
excellent. Like Socrates, Plato rejected claims that ethical behavior was
situationally determined and that education could be reduced to specialized
vocational or professional training. He asserted that human beings were
good and honorable when their conduct conformed to the ideal and universal
concepts of truth, goodness, and beauty. In his famous “Allegory of the
Cave’, Plato asserted that the information that comes to us through our
senses was not reality but merely a shadow or an imperfect copy of it. Sense
impressions gave us a reflected, but distorted, view of reality. This
philosophy of Idealism proclaimed the spiritual nature of the human being
and the universe and asserted that the good, true, and beautiful are

permanently part of the structure of a related, coherent, orderly, and
unchanging universe.
Unlike Idealists, Realists assert that objects exist regardless of our
perception of them. Realism can be defined as a philosophical position that
asserts the existence of an objective order of reality and the possibility of
human beings gaining knowledge about that reality. It further prescribes
that we should order our behavior in conformity with this knowledge.
Drawing from its Aristotelian origins, it argues that the primary goal of
education is to contribute to the discovery, transmission, and use of
knowledge. Aristotle, a student of Plato, is known as the founder of
Realism.
1000-1099
The 11th
century was a dark era for education. Few people in Western
Europe were receiving any kind of schooling. The knowledge of the ancient
Romans was preserved in cathedrals and monasteries. Culture, which was
centered around the church, began to flourish again as the 1100’s
approached.
Across the globe, contributions were being made to the future of
education. In China, printing by movable type was invented in 1045, and
proved to be one of the most powerful inventions of this era. With future

educational systems focusing on the written word, the invention of type
printing set the path for future publications. In Salerno Italy, the earliest
Italian medical school opened in 1050.
1100-1199
An enlightened educational policy allows serfs to receive vocational
training. They also receive religious instruction so they can participate in
the church.
Several universities were founded across Europe in the 12th
Century. In
1108, Bologna University was founded in Italy. It is known to be the most
ancient in the world. The university was established mainly for the study of
Roman law. In 1150, Paris University was founded in France, and said to be
the greatest university in the Middle Ages. Undergraduate study followed,
but had no prescribed hours or credit units. In 1167, Oxford University in
England was founded.
1200-1299
In the 13th century, Latin was phased out as the language of the
university. For the first time, students were taught in their common
language.
Thomas Aquinas was born in 1225, and is known as a founder of
Theistic Realism. Thomas Aquinas came up with a "triangle of education."

The base of the triangle consists of the seven liberal arts; the middle section
is "dialectic" (Plato's style of debate by question and answer, and Aristotle's
reasoning with syllogisms). The top of the triangle is divided into the study
of law and philosophy. Thomistic education rests upon premises that are
found in Artistotelian philosophy and Christian Scriptures. It asserts that
education should aid human beings to merit supernatural life, and that it
should also facilitate every person’s active participation in his or her own
culture and history. Theistic Realism has sought to reconcile faith and
reason, or religion and science, in a comprehensive synthesis.
1300-1399
The Renaissance introduced new ideas and leaders that influenced
education. Francis Petrach was born in 1304. He is known as the first
modern scholar because he focused on classical Greek literature instead of
medieval literature in his search for examples of human perfection. This
interest in classical antiquity is the defining feature of Renaissance artists
and thinkers.
The first paper mill was built in France in 1338. Paper was a Chinese
invention (c. 600 AD), brought to Europe by the Arabs in the 11th century.
There was a gradual shift from use of papyrus to paper, beginning in Spain,
then Italy, then France. The Book of the Knight of La Tour-Landry (1370),

was written for the instruction of the nobleman's daughters. Education for
women was otherwise limited to those in religious orders.
1400-1499
Education in the Renaissance was a very selective affair. Women and
the lower classes were still being excluded from education. At the same
time, the first secondary schools appeared in Italy.
Desiderius Erasmus, in 1450, wrote about the need for play and games
in children's schoolwork. He believed it was a teacher's role to encourage
children to think, instead of to display his own learning and have the child
learn it verbatim.
In 1456, the Gutenberg bible was printed. Approximately 40,000
copies were printed between 1450 and 1500. In 1492, the profession of
book publisher emerged.
1500-1599
During the 16th century, women started focusing less on needlepoint,
and more on liberal arts education. In 1529, Juan Luis Vives published his
Instruction for a Christian Woman. Erasmus, and Sir Thomas More played a
key role in introducing the new humanist learning into the great households.
Some of the women of royal and noble families benefited from the humanist
view that girls should receive an education in the liberal arts, as well as in

the more usual fields of manners, housekeeping and basic religious
knowledge.
Other pieces of literature published during this time period influenced
schools of thought and general instructional philosophies. The first
complete edition of Aristotle's works published by Erasmus in 1531.
The English Schoole-Maister was published in 1596. This book, by Edmund
Coote, was one of the first about teaching the English language.
In 1597, Francis Bacon published his Essays of Counsels, Civil and Moral.
Topics included parenting, marriage and single life, friendship, and the role
of custom in education.
1600-1699
Europeans settled in various regions, and influenced the creation and
lack of educational systems. French settled from Canada down the
Mississippi River Valley to Louisiana. The Jesuit priests journeyed with the
settlers and educated the Indians and children of the settlers. The defeat of
the French by the British in 1763 brought an end to French dreams of an
empire and their educational efforts also diminished. The Spanish influence
was heaviest in California where a number of missions were established and
the Franciscan priests taught the Indians. The Dutch were influential in New
Amsterdam, which became New York when the British took over. It was

the English, however, who had the greatest influence on American
education.
Colonists came to America and set up schools exactly like the ones
they knew in Europe. They were run and supported by the church. The
curriculum was centered on the learning of letters, numbers, and prayers.
The strict learning environment did not allow for crafts nor recess breaks,
and only one out of ten children attended school. There were common
characteristics shared by the 13 colonies: 1) Education was religious; its
major aim was personal salvation; 2) Education was centered on social
class: dual system, 2-tract, or class system. The children of workers should
have minimal primary education in vernacular schools where they learned
the 4 Rs (reading, writing, arithmetic, and religion); 3) The well-educated
person would know the classical languages--Latin and Greek; 4) With the
exception of Dame Schools (Kindergarten), education was only for boys;
and 5) Most children in colonial times received their education through
informal means such as the family, the farm, and the shop (where many boys
were apprenticed). The family was the most important social and economic
unit, and frequently the most important source of education as well.
The New England Colonies (Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode
Island, Vermont, and New Hampshire) were settled by the intensely-

religious Puritans who followed the theology of John Calvin. They believed
that the righteous would be saved and sinners would be damned. Puritans
were supposed to be especially favored by God because they were
hardworking, frugal, law-abiding, obedient to religious and civil authority,
and literate (referred to as the Puritan or Protestant ethic). There was no
separation between Church and State. In fact, church, state, and schools
were closely related and were frequently governed by the same men.
Children were born in sin, and were seen as little savages that needed strong
measures to keep them in line. They were expected to act like adults, and
corporal punishment was frequently used both at home and at school to
control children's behavior.
Schooling was very important as a means of educating children in
religion and obedience to the laws of the colony. As early as 1642, the
Massachusetts General Court required parents and masters of apprentices to
see that their children could read and understand religious principles and
laws of the colony. In 1647, the General Court enacted the Old Deluder
Satan Law which required every township of 50 households to appoint and
pay for an elementary teacher, and every township of 100 households to hire
a Latin (secondary) teacher. These laws of 1642 and 1647 were significant
in that they demonstrated that the colonial government was concerned about

the education of its citizens, gave civil authorities some control of the
schools, and indicated that taxation was to be used to support the schools.
There were four types of colonial schools in New England: 1) Dame
Schools were the equivalent of kindergarten. Classes were taught in a lady's
kitchen while she did the chores. Both boys and girls learned the alphabet
and numbers. Girls also learned cooking and sewing and household
domestic duties; 2) Town Schools were the equivalent of elementary school.
They were taught in the vernacular (mother tongue) and offered a basic
curriculum of the 4 R's. Memorization and recitation were common
teaching strategies found in town schools. Materials most commonly used
were the Hornbook and the New England Primer. The teachers were all men
and the students were all boys; 3) Latin grammar schools were secondary
schools whose curriculum was mainly Latin and Greek grammar. A few
boys who would go to Harvard attended them. The first Latin grammar
school was established in Boston in 1635. Boston helped support the school
with the income from a land sale, marking the beginning of public education
in America; and 4) Colonial colleges prepared young men for the ministry
and government service. In 1636, Massachusetts founded Harvard College,
the first institution of higher learning in the colonies. The college had an
average enrollment of about 20 male students.

The Southern Colonies (Maryland, Virginia, Georgia and the
Carolinas) were made up of settlers who considered themselves descendants
of the Cavaliers, the English aristocrats who had supported the Stuart Kings
against Cromwell. These landed gentry, unlike the Puritans, did not come to
the colonies because they were persecuted. They came for economic
reasons--to improve their family fortunes.
Southern Colonists established the plantation system and a
hierarchical social system. Plantation owners hired tutors to teach their sons
and daughters. However, the children of poor rarely had any opportunity for
formal education. Some were able to attend schools run by the SPG
(Society for the Propagation of the Gospel) for paupers. Many were
apprenticed. Generally, however, Southern colonies left the responsibility of
education to parents and churches.
The Middle Atlantic Colonies (New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania,
and Delaware) had a great diversity of settlers with no common language,
religion, or cultural heritage. Many parochial (denominational) schools were
established, while private venture schools prepared students for commercial
trades.
In 1637, French philosopher René Descartes proposed mathematics as
the perfect model for reasoning and invented analytic geometry. In 1658,

John Amos Comenius published the first-ever children's picture book, Orbis
Pictus (The World Illustrated). The book became a best seller in every major
European language. Comenius was a kind teacher, who thought that children
were born with a natural goodness and craving for knowledge. He is now
known by many as the father of modern education.
1700-1799
Schools in the colonies began to teach more practical subjects, like
bookkeeping, navigation, and algebra. After the Revolutionary war and
toward the end of the century, church control over schools declined in the
U.S. and in most other western countries.
Between 1776 and 1830, a number of new trends and patterns
emerged in American education. Education became a state responsibility:
the U.S. Constitution, ratified in 1788, did not mention education;
consequently, the states became responsible. However, the federal
government showed an interest in the development of state educational
systems by passing the Northwest Ordinances of 1785 and 1787. The
Ordinance of 1785 required each territory to set aside the income from the
16th section of each township for the support of education (a township was 6
square miles, subdivided into 36 sections). The Ordinance of 1787 included
a statement of the federal governments philosophy of education, saying that

it was "necessary to good government and the happiness of mankind."
Education for citizenship became more important than education for
personal salvation. Men like Franklin, Webster, and Jefferson, realized that
for the new Republic to survive, the citizens had to have an education in
order to become intelligent voters. The concepts of republicanism, science,
and nationalism became key elements in American education:
1) Republicanism: John Locke’s assertion that government arises from the
consent of the governed. Education for republican citizenship implied
imparting those skill, knowledge, and attitudes that would help the new
republic endure and flourish.
2) Science: An Enlightenment concept based on the belief that individuals
could discover the laws of the universe. The scientific outlook called for
experimentation and reexamination of accepted beliefs.
3) Nationalism: This concept stressed a sense of American identity and
loyalty.
There were many important contributors to educational thought during
the 18th
century. Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790), was the founder of the
American Philosophical Society. His Poor Richard's Almanac emphasized
values such as frugality, hard work, and inventiveness. In 1731, he founded
the first public library in America, and chartered it as the Philadelphia

Library in 1742. Franklin advocated a utilitarian and scientific education,
and founded the Philadelphia Academy in 1749. This was significant
because it presented an alternative to the Latin Grammar School and
anticipated the rise of academies and high schools. The school offered a
religion-based curriculum, like its Latin School counterpart, but it also
taught courses that applied to everyday life, such as history, merchant
accounts, algebra, surveying, modern languages, and navigation. In 1779,
the academy became the University of Pennsylvania.
Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826), was president of the American
Philosophical Association. He was also author of the "Bill for the More
General Diffusion of Knowledge," 1779 which was based on the following
assumptions: a) Schools should produce a literate citizenry; b) State was
responsible for providing schools; c) Schools should be secular rather than
religious; and d) Schools should identify the academically talented
Noah Webster (1758-1843) was an important influence on the
development of American English and American culture. He wrote the
American Spelling Book, also known as the blue-back speller, which
simplified and standardized the language, and imparted "American" values.
He also wrote the American Dictionary, which we know as Webster's.
Interest in state control of education was on the rise. An ordinance

passed in 1785, declaring that the income gained from the sale of the land at
the center of each township was to be used for public elementary schools.
In 1787, another ordinance confirmed this land policy, insuring the
establishment of elementary schools in the Northwest Territory. It set a new
standard of federal aid to education.
In France, Jean Jacques Rousseau was publishing literary works
reflecting his school of thought, Naturalism. Central to his political and
educational philosophy was his belief that human character should be
formed according to nature. In Emile, Rousseau’s didactic novel, a boy, in
experiencing a natural education, has his character develop naturally, in a
country estate, away from corrupting social institutions and conventions. In
the novel, he identified stages of human growth and development, and
organized education according to Emile’s stages of development. According
to Rousseau, the child is a noble savage, a primitive unspoiled by the nices
of a corrupting society. The child’s needs, instincts and impulses are to be
trusted and relied upon as the raw ingredients of further education. When
these impulses are acted upon, they lead to sensory experience that provide a
direct relationship with the environment—thus, leading to clear ideas and
reflection.

1800-1899
The industrial revolution took hold, changing both the U.S. economy
and its educational system. Public schools, kindergarten, and teacher training
were all introduced in this century.
American society changed from a rural-agricultural society to an
urban-industrial society, which required workers with at least basic literacy
skills. Educational responses to this need included: 1) Industrial schools
based on the ideas of William Maclure (1763-1840) which taught basic
science and its industrial and agricultural applications. He supported
Pestalozzian methods, and believed that schools should be used to bring
about social change (philosophy of Social Reconstructionism);
2) Monitorial schools based on the ideas of Joseph Lancaster (Lancasterian
Schools) who claimed it was possible to educate large numbers of children
effectively and cheaply. Essentially, a master teacher would train aids or
monitors who, in turn, would teach the other students; 3) Sunday schools:
Children who worked 6-day weeks in the factories were taught the basics of
reading, writing, and religion on Sundays; 4) Infant schools were a prototype
of the modern day-care center, devised by Scottish industrialist, Robert
Owen, for the young mothers who worked in his factories.

These efforts were not sufficient to meet the needs of American
society. Consequently, the Common School, the forerunner of the American
public school came into existence between 1830 and 1850. The Common
School idea grew out of New England's locally controlled schools.
Supporters of the common school included political and educational
reformers like Horace Mann, James Carter, Thaddeus Stevens, Henry
Barnard, and Wm. T. Harris. These men were believers in the Jeffersonian
ideal in education (the concept that the republic could not survive and thrive
without an educated citizenry); advocates of public education as a means of
social and economic advancement for their children; and nationalists who
wanted the schools to cultivate common values, loyalties, and a sense of
Americanness in children from different ethnic backgrounds.
Opponents of the common school included owners of factories, mines,
and plantations who did not want to lose cheap child labor; pluralistic groups
who wanted their children taught in their own language, religion, and
traditions; and those who did not want to raise taxes (legislators), as well as
those who did not want to pay taxes for the support of education.
The common school included grades 1-8, eventually each in its own
classroom with its own teacher. It was free, because it was supported by
taxes. Eventually, the common school was compulsory, universal, non-

sectarian, and staffed by trained teachers. The movement was first
successful in the New England states, with Massachusetts leading the way.
The Middle Atlantic states were slower, with Lancasterianism holding on.
The Southern states did not have public school systems until after the Civil
War.
After 1850, the common school was found in 2 major versions: the
urban public school found in large cities like Boston and New York, and the
country school, commonly referred to as the "one-room school house." The
locally-elected school boards established and ran virtually every aspect of
the school. One simply-furnished room held all the children in the school
district, each working at his or her own level (ungraded) with one teacher in
charge. Both males and females, with varying degrees of professional
education were teachers. The standard curriculum included the 3 Rs,
Spelling and perhaps history, geography, or elocution (public speaking). The
standard methods were memorization and recitation.
Henry Barnard (1811-1900) was one of the founders of the common
school movement, along with Horace Mann. He worked both in Connecticut
and Rhode Island to establish a public school system, and then went on to
head the University of Wisconsin and to serve as the first U.S.
Commissioner of Education (1867-1870). He edited 2 of the first journals

related to education-The Connecticut Common School Journal and the
American Journal of Education. He proposed that the common school teach
the basic skill, civic values, the principles of health and diet, and careful
observation and reflection (thinking skills). He supported the establishment
of normal schools for teacher education and higher pay for teachers.
William Torrey Harris (1835-1909) was a major educational leader
after the Civil War as superintendent of schools in St. Louis, and then as
U.S. Commissioner of Education (1889-1906). He advocated that schools
transmit the cultural heritage to the young through a carefully designed
curriculum, stressing such values as self-discipline, obedience, respect for
property, and good citizenship. Under Harris, St. Louis established the first
successful public kindergarten program in 1873.
In the early 19th century, the colonial Latin grammar school declined
and was largely replaced by the academy, a private secondary institution that
taught more varied and practical courses. After the Kalamazoo case of 1874,
in which the Supreme Court of Michigan ruled that school districts could
support high schools with taxes, high schools became more and more
popular (because they were free and because they trained students for jobs in
an increasingly industrial society). High schools evolved from one-track
academic institutions to comprehensive schools in the early 20th century.

In 1821, Boston opens the nation's first public high school, and in
1827, Massachusetts passes a law that requires towns of 500 families or
more to establish high schools. Other states soon followed. By mid-century,
public high schools absorbed their Latin grammar school predecessors.
Towns begin to establish separate secondary schools for girls.
The first state board of education is established in Massachusetts in
1837, and Horace Mann is its first secretary. In 1839, Horace Mann begins
the nation's first teacher-training school in Massachusetts. Friedrich
Froebel founds the first kindergarten in Blakenburg, Germany. It uses
stories, play, crafts, and songs to stimulate children's imaginations and help
develop motor skills (Our nation's first public kindergarten opens in St.
Louis later in 1873).
By 1850, the Industrial Revolution is in full swing. One-room schools
in urban areas are on the decline as new schools begin to follow the
assembly-line model, where students move from class to class, teacher to
teacher.
Massachusetts passes the first compulsory school-attendance law in
the U.S. in 1852. By 1918, every state has a similar law. In 1862, Congress
passes the Morrill Act, or "Land Grant" Act, which gives vast areas of
federal land to states. It requires them to sell the land and use the money to

establish agricultural and technical colleges. In 1874, A Michigan Supreme
Court decision rules that local governments can use tax money to support
elementary and secondary schools. Congress passes the second Morrill Act
in 1890, which withholds grants from states that deny admission to land
grant schools based on race. A state can still receive money if it establishes a
separate school for blacks, as many Southern states do.
1900-1999
The civil rights movement and technology change the face of the 20th
century classroom. In the 1950s, the U.S. Supreme Court bans segregation in
public schools. In the 1990s, schools "log on" and computers invade the
classroom.
Changes in educational philosophy and curriculum came about in this
era as well. In 1901, John Dewey wrote The Child and the Curriculum, and
later Democracy and Education, in which he shows concern for the
relationship between society and education. Dewey was a philosopher,
psychologist, and educator. His philosophy of education focused on learning
by doing rather than rote memorization. He criticized education that
emphasizes amusing and keeping students busy. From Dewey’s educational
philosophy came the emphasis on experience, activity, and problem-solving
that helped to reshape our thinking about education and schooling.

Progressive education, which was part of a larger Progressive Movement in
U.S. history from about 1900-1920, was an antidote to traditional,
conservative education. It was based on John Dewey’s philosophy of
pragmatism and his work at the Laboratory School at the University of
Chicago. (Earlier progressive educators include Europeans such as
Rousseau, Pestalozzi, Froebel, and Montessori). Rather than stressing the
old strategies of memorization and recitation, progressive educators
advocated: problem-solving skills, learning through sense perception
(learning by doing or hands-on learning), using a child's interests as the basis
for developing a curriculum, self-discipline, and flexible methods (small
group learning, independent research, field trips, etc.).
Racial integration and school desegregation was another major event
in American education in the 20th century. It all began with Brown v. Board
of Education of Topeka in 1954 in which the Supreme Court unanimously
struck down the "separate but equal" doctrine in American education. This
was followed by the Civil Rights Act of 1964 which protected voting rights,
and guaranteed civil rights in employment and education. In education, the
law empowered the federal government to file desegregation suits and to
withhold federal funds from districts that practiced discrimination in federal
programs.

Maria Montessori opened her first school in 1907. Maria Montessori
was credited with developing a classroom without walls, manipulative
learning materials, teaching toys, and programmed instruction. Many
considered her to be the 20th century's leading advocate for early childhood
education. Anna Freud, Jean Piaget, Alfred Adler, and Erik Erikson studied
under Montessori and made their own contributions to education and child
psychology.
Educational policies and mandates make their presence in public
schools. School attendance becomes compulsory in every U.S. state in
1918, and in 1921, foreign language becomes part of the U.S. curriculum.
"Superior" children in Cleveland's elementary schools study French.
The debate between evolution and creation peaks with the Scopes Monkey
Trial in 1925. John Scopes, a high-school science teacher in Dayton,
Tennessee, is tried for teaching the theory of evolution. This is illegal under
the Butler Statute, which states that any theory that denies creationism can't
be taught in publicly funded schools. Scopes is convicted and fined $100.
His conviction is later overturned on a technicality.
The Soviet Union launches Sputnik, the world's first artificial satellite
in 1957. Fearing that the Soviets will surpass the U.S. in science and

technology, many schools adopt a more rigorous curriculum-based
education.
In court rulings of Engel v. Vitale in 1962, the U.S. Supreme Court
finds that the state does not have the right to enforce prayer in public
schools. Proposition 13 is passed in California (Proposition 2-1/2 in
Massachusetts) in the 1970’s. This freezes property taxes, a major source of
funding for public schools. California drops from first in the nation in per-
student spending in 1978 to number 43 in 1998.
In 1989, U.S. governors create the National Education Goals, which
focus on increased standards, teaching salaries, graduation requirements, and
state assessment. The Clinton administration later recasts these as Goals
2000, calling for a restructuring to focus on results over process and
regulation. Proposition 187 passes in California in 1994, making it illegal
for the children of undocumented immigrants to attend public school.
Federal courts later hold Proposition 187 to be unconstitutional. In 1996, the
same state, California, passes Proposition 209, outlawing affirmative action
in public education. In 1998, bilingual education is outlawed in California.
By the end of the millennium, nearly eight of every ten public schools
in the nation have access to the Internet, more than double the proportion in
1994. There is debate on best-suited software, and hardware organization in

educational settings. However, state and federal funds are allocated for the
support and integration of technology into the curriculum.
Websites
History of Public Education in Texas
http://www.tea.state.tx.us/tea/history.html
History of Education Timeline
http://fcis.oise.utoronto.ca/~daniel_schugurensky/assignment1/index.h
tml
Colonial Web
http://www.msu.edu/user/patter90/colonial.htm
Links to the World of John Dewey
http://www.cisnet.com/teacher-ed/dewey.html
Center for Dewey Studies
http://www.siu.edu/~deweyctr/
John Dewey
http://www.epistemelinks.com/Main/MainPers.asp
Maria Montessori
http://webdev.loyola.edu/dmarco/education/Montessori/maria.html
Philosophers and Education
http://www.ais.msstate.edu/AEE/8593/phil_ed/outline.html
Essentialism
http://www.soe.purdue.edu/fac/georgeoff/400/ESSENTIALISM.html
Test your knowledge with online practice quizzes:
Foundations of Education, Chapters 2-5
http://cwabacon.pearsoned.com/bookbind/pubbooks/mcnergney_ab/ch
apter2/deluxe.html

Bibliography
Gutek, Gerald. (1988). Philosphical and Ideological Perspectives in
Education. Needham Heights, MA: Allyn & Bacon.
Gutek, Gerald. (1992). Education and schooling in America (3rd ed.).
Needham Heights, MA: Allyn & Bacon.
McNergney, Robert F. and Herbert, Joanne M. (2001). Foundations
of Education: The Challenge of Professional Practice (3rd ed.). Boston:
Allyn & Bacon.

Historical foundations

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