Education and Social Change: Contours in the History of American Schooling

by John L. Rury

This brief, interpretive history of American schooling focuses on the evolving relationship between education and social change. Like its predecessors, this new edition adopts a thematic approach, investigating the impact of social forces such as industrialization, urbanization, immigration, globalization, and cultural conflict on the development of schools and other educational institutions. It also examines the various ways that schools have contributed to social change, particularly in enhancing the status and accomplishments of certain social groups and not others. Detailed accounts of the experiences of women and minority groups in American history consider how their lives have been affected by education, while "Focal Point" sections within each chapter allow the reader to hone in on key moments in history and their relevance within the broader scope of American schooling from the colonial era to the present.
This new edition has been comprehensively updated and edited for greater readability and clarity. It offers a revised final chapter, updated to include recent change in education politics and policy, in particular the decline of No Child Left Behind and the impact of the Common Core and movements against it. Further additions include enhanced coverage of colonial and early post-colonial American schooling, added materials on persistent issues such as race in education, an updated discussion of the GED program, and a closer look at the role of technology in schools. With its nuanced treatment of both historical and contemporary factors influencing the modern school system, this book remains an excellent resource for investigating and critiquing the social, economic, and cultural development of American education.

Genres: Education, Nonfiction, History

260 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2008

Reviews

[Cathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

The history of US education is pretty interesting. Does make me sad how much we screwed up as a nation though, particularly after Reconstruction. So many things would be different now, if we had gotten it right back then.

[Meghan Everette · Rating 4 out of 5]

As far as a textbook goes, I can work with this one. There is some redundancy in the writing and it is still a dry academic ready but I learned a lot, it’s straightforward, and the focal points are interesting additions. 4-

[Denise · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a Fascinating and detailed account of the American educational system and how it’s impacted by social change as well as contributing to social change

[SL · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read for grad school. This one was pretty interesting though! And on the shorter side, which I loved.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Actually very interesting book on the history of education in the U.S.

[Samantha · Rating 1 out of 5]

I found this book really difficult to get through because it is quite dry, but more importantly, the way it discusses issues of race are insensitive and quite concerning. The repetitive use of "Blacks," "they" to refer to Black people, "slaves," "slave communities" and more, reinforce the dehumanization that Black people have historically and continue to face. Additionally, Rury makes a lot of comparisons that aren't appropriate or that center White folks, such as, "Like women, African Americans..." This simply implies that African American women don't really exist. There are multiple references to lynching that are oversimplified or glossed over, and ignore the gravity of the horrors that occurred. Also, in the section titled "Schooling American Indians" Rury does not fully acknowledge the trauma that students experienced and the deaths that occurred as a result of these schools. Instead Rury mentions that the Carlisle school "became quite famous for its football teams, which competed successfully against top colleges." This chapter is insensitive for a myriad of reasons, and I found it to be really upsetting that I had to read it for class. One last thing, it refers to a group of White people against reconstruction as "die-hard racists," which I find to be a comically wild way to say that.

[Steve · Rating 4 out of 5]

John Rury shows the purpose of education through historical examples and analyzation. Why do we have schools? Why are all schools so different from one another? What social groups most influence school culture and policy? Rury explains this starting in the antebellum era of the 19th century and working all the way to the 21st century. The information is presented in a very informational way and can get tedious at times. But for any history or education buffs, this book is for you.

[Amanda · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book really did have great information in it. However, when each chapter starts out telling you what it will discuss that's a good sign it's not written well. I fell asleep multiple times trying to read through the chapters. I wish this was written in a more creative and interesting way though because the history it delves into is important and fascinating.

[Elizabeth de Leon · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Introduction got a bit long/boring. Once the chapters started it was pretty good. Rudy takes readers through the history of education and America by looking at not only how events impacted the system if education but also how education impacted society.

[Mills College Library]

370.973 R9489 2013

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Although this was assigned for a class, I LOVED this book. Anyone who is fascinated by history, education, or social policy should read it!