This document provides a brief history of education reform in America from the 19th century to present day. It discusses how education has changed from an emphasis on memorization and the 3 R's to preparing students for a digital global economy. Key figures like Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Horace Mann, John Dewey, and Maria Montessori influenced education philosophy and approaches. Federal involvement has increased through acts like Brown v. Board, ESEA, and NCLB to address issues like desegregation, funding, and standards. Current trends integrate technology while older approaches come and go. Challenges remain around teacher and funding issues against a backdrop of constant reform debates.

1. A Brief History of
American Education Reform
© Curriculum Leadership Institute cliweb.org

2. Traditional American Education
of the 19th Century
• Memorization
• Handwriting emphasized
• Drill, practice, 3 “R’s”
curriculum
• Lecture-based
• Teacher as source of
knowledge & final authority
• Corporal punishment
• High drop-out rate
• Agrarian & immigrant Society
• No federal involvement

3. Education at the Dawn
of the 21st Century
Students expected to be ready for a global &
digital economy
Teachers expected to keep up with the latest
trends and rapidly changing technology
Among the latest trends:
• Problem-Based Learning
• Differentiated Learning
• STEM, STEAM, STREAM
• Flipped Classroom
• One-to-one computer initiatives
• Mobile and blended learning
• Professional Learning Communities
• Social Media: good, bad and ugly
• Cell phones & BYOD initiatives
• Teacher as Learning Facilitator
Challenging Political Environment:
Demands for choice (charter schools,
homeschooling, vouchers)
Continued debate regarding national
involvement in education, from
NCLB to CCSS.

4. How did we get from there to here?

5. Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778)
Authored Èmile, considered by some to be
the best treatise on Education since
Plato’s Republic
Ideas:
• Distinct stages of development require
different educational methods
• Children inherently good, blank slates
“Tabula rasa”
• Boys & girls should be educated differently
• Education should not begin until
adolescence
• Religion should be discovered, not
preached or taught

6. Horace Mann (1796-1859)
 Initiated Common School
movement in the U.S.
 Believed in free universal
education for all
 Initiated the grade-level
approach to education
 Initiated teacher-training
and “normal schools”
 Served as Secretary of the
first State Board of
Education in Massachusetts
(1837)

7. Charlotte Mason (1842-1923)
British Education Reformer, authored:
Parents and Children: The Role of the Parent in the
Education of the Child (1896)
School Education: Developing a Curriculum (1904)
A Philosophy of Education (1923)
Ideas:
Education is “an atmosphere, a discipline, a life”
Students should be taught from “living books”
not textbooks “written down to children”
Short, focused lessons with emphasis on mastery
“Liberal” education for all classes, including arts,
history & geography
Children are persons deserving respect
Current Impact: Republished by and influencing
modern homeschool movement.

8. John Dewey (1859-1952)
Philosopher, Psychologist and Educational
Reformer, authored:
My Pedagogic Creed (1897)
The School and Society (1900)
The Child and the Curriculum (1902)
Democracy and Education (1916)
Experience and Education (1938)
Ideas:
Proponent of Experiential Education and
Pragmatism
Education as Social Reform
Progressive and Liberal, “out with the old”
Current Impact: His ideas and extensive writings
are still discussed in today’s educational milieu.
Not to be confused with Melvil
Dewey (1876), whose name is
on the Dewey Decimal System.

9. Dewey as Visionary, Dewey as Misguided
“Dewey’s philosophy is a treasure
house of the wisdom and vitality
the twenty-first century requires”
(2014)
“How the patron saint of schools
has corrupted teaching and
learning” (2006)

10. Maria Montessori (1870-1952)
Italian Physician and Educator, authored:
The Discovery of the Child (1948)
The Absorbent Mind (1949)
The Montessori Method (1912)
Ideas:
Worked to develop “scientific pedagogy” based
on brain science
Expanded practical activities available for
children
Allowed children freedom of movement and
self-direction
Goal of education as Independence, role of
teacher as observer and guide
Current Impact: Many Montessori schools and
preschools are still practicing her methods and
ideas.

11. Post WWII: Crisis-Driven Reform
 “Life Adjustment Education”
aimed to provide vocational skills
 Baby boom = need for more
teachers, expanding programs for
teacher education
 Cold-War concerns fueled
investment in school safety and
bomb shelters

12. School Segregation Crisis (1954)
 Brown vs. Board of
Education: Supreme Court
ruled that segregation was
not legal, new federal
mandate for local schools
 Schools must integrate to
provide fair and equitable
education for all

13. Sputnik Crisis (1957)
 Politicians blamed public
education
 Demands for increased education
funding
 Education becomes politicized
 National Defense Education Act
(1958)

14. Increased Federal Involvement
 Head Start (1965)
 Child Nutrition Act (1966) expanded the post-WWII
National School Lunch Program (1946)
 Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) 1965,
to be reauthorized every 5 years
Follow-up laws: Educational and Consolidation Act
(ECA) 1981, Improving America’s School Act (IASA)
1994, No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) 2001

15. Elementary and Secondary
Education Act (ESEA) 1965
Considered the most extensive federal involvement in American education
 Title I—Financial Assistance To Local Educational Agencies For The
Education Of Children Of Low-Income Families
 Title II—School Library Resources, Textbooks, and other
Instructional Materials
 Title III—Supplementary Educational Centers and Services
 Title IV—Educational Research And Training
 Title V—Grants To Strengthen State Departments Of Education
 Title VI—General Provisions

16. Examples of Discarded Education
Fads Since the 1960s
 New Math (60s)
 Career Education (spawned by OPEC Crisis of the 1970s,
high unemployment, double-digit inflation, Dewian in
nature)
 Open Classrooms (60s/70s)
 Whole-Language (80s/90s)
 Outcome-Based Education (OBE) (90s)

17. Education: A Political
Hot Button
 1983 “Year of the Reports,” including “A Nation at Risk”
 Goals 2000 set by U.S. Congress, first National Standards for Arts Education
 No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) of 2001, standards-based education
reform act, revised version of ESEA (1965)
 Race to the Top, Obama-led funding initiative (2009)
 Common Core State Standards (2009), not federally mandated, adopted on a
per-state basis, widely misunderstood to be a federally-mandated
“curriculum”
 ESEA is overdue for reauthorization & Obama is working on a revision to
NCLB

18. A Few Current
Trends in Education
 Professional Learning Communities (PLCs)
 Problem-Based Learning (PBL)
 Differentiated Instruction
 STEM, STEAM, STREAM
 School Choice & Charter Schools
 Year-round education
 One-to-one technology initiatives
 Flipped Learning
 Student-Centered Learning

19. Confused by all the Trends?
This website could help:
“The Glossary of Education Reform” @
http://www.edglossary.org

20. • Low teacher morale and engagement
• Teacher “burn-out”
• Student bullying and classroom management
• Negative public perceptions of educators and
schools
• Cuts to education funding due to deficits
• Increasing immigrant, migrant populations
• Lack of teacher-perceived classroom autonomy
• Frustrations with high-stakes testing
Current Struggles in Education

21. Does your District Have These Two
Education Basics Mastered?
Empowered & Engaged
Teachers
Sound Curriculum

22. Do You Wish for Some Stability
as you Navigate Through the
Latest Sea of Education Reform?
Helping school districts stay on even keel, since 1991.
Curriculum Leadership Institute’s
Pathways to School Improvement

23. It’s time to consider the
CLI Model for School Improvement
• Our process engages teachers in the development of a
local, standards-aligned curriculum.
• We believe the professional educator benefits from
an active role in curriculum development.
• Teachers who are invested in their district’s
curriculum are invested in teaching it in their
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24. Modern Theorists
 Our Model is built largely on the following three
educational and intellectual theorists:
 Instruction: Benjamin Bloom
 Curriculum: Ralph Tyler
 Organizational Management: William Edward Deming

25. Benjamin Bloom (1913-1999)
 Educational Psychologist,
authored: Taxonomy of Educational
Objectives (1956), All Our Children
Learning (1980), Developing Talent in
Young People (1985)
 Known for: Bloom’s Taxonomy
of Educational Objectives
 Contributed to: Theory of
Mastery Learning

26. Ralph W. Tyler (1902-1994)
 American Educator in the field of
evaluation and assessment, Authored:
Basic Principles of Curriculum and Instruction
(1949)
 Defined “evaluation” as an exam which
aligned with learning outcomes
 His book defined a basic, four-part
structure for instruction:
1. Define learning objectives
2. Introduce objectives
3. Organize experiences to maximize
learning
4. Evaluate and revise processes

27. William Edwards Deming (1900-
1993)
 Engineer, professor, author,
management consultant
 Authored: Quality Productivity and
Competitive Position (1982), Out of the
Crisis (1986) and The New Economics for
Industry, Government, and Education
(1993)
 Considered the Father of TQM (Total
Quality Management), although he did
not coin the term
 Understanding of human psychology
considered essential piece of human
management

28. Our Model
 Research-based
 Time-tested
 Allows teachers professional freedom to choose
their own teaching methods
 Is a systemic model for district-wide vertical and
horizontal curriculum alignment
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