An Historical Introduction to American Education

Book excerpt: Guteks classic volume on the history of American education has been thoroughly revised and updated to provide a twenty-first-century perspective on the development of American educational institutions. Like earlier editions, the well-researched Third Edition employs a topical approach to examine the evolution of key institutions like the common school and the high school, as well as significant movements like progressive education, racial desegregation, and multiculturalism. Primary source readings enhance and reinforce chapter content and feature new writings from Benjamin Rush, Horace Mann, Maria Montessori, W. E. B. Du Bois, John Dewey, and Jane Addams. Two new chapters add depth to this comprehensive, richly illustrated work. Immigration, Multiculturalism, and Education examines the response of public schools to the education of immigrant children in the context of Americas industrialization and urbanization. This compelling addition also looks at the changing demographics of immigration and discusses the experiences and contributions of Hispanic Americans and Asian Americans. Progressive Education and John Dewey explores the origins of progressive education, the philosophies of John Dewey and other leading progressive educators, and this movements ongoing influence in American classrooms. The Third Editions topical organization lends itself to multiple uses in the classroom. Each chapter provides the historical foundation for the study of a contemporary topic in education, including the organization and structure of schools, the philosophy of education, early childhood education, curriculum and instruction, multicultural and bilingual education, and educational policy.