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School & Society: Chapter 8

National School Reform: The Early Cold War Era

Chapter Eight

National School Reform:

The Early Cold War Era

(c) 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.Tozer/Senese/Violas, School and Society, 5e

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School & Society: Chapter 8

National School Reform: The Early Cold War Era

The Cold War Era• Robust post-WWII economy depended on

continued military buildup• Threat of communism provided justification for

the “Cold War”ContainmentDoctrine of first use

• McCarthyism• Truman endorses the “American way of life”

(c) 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.Tozer/Senese/Violas, School and Society, 5e

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School & Society: Chapter 8

National School Reform: The Early Cold War Era

The Cold War Era• Domestic unrest

The civil rights movementIntegration battles in education and housing

• Progress and technology support link between centralized expertise and public well-being

• “Big government” and the military-industrial complex

(c) 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.Tozer/Senese/Violas, School and Society, 5e

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School & Society: Chapter 8

National School Reform: The Early Cold War Era

Conant’s Legacy• Fostered culture of expertise at Harvard

• Established standardized testing (SAT) as measure of academic potential

• Helped form Educational Testing Services

• Endorsed meritocratic structure of education

(c) 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.Tozer/Senese/Violas, School and Society, 5e

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School & Society: Chapter 8

National School Reform: The Early Cold War Era

School Reform and Social Stratification• Postwar debate questions: who should be

educated, and for what purpose?• Conant’s vision

The importance of expertsSocial mobilityThe value of laborSchools as sorters

• The American comprehensive high school

(c) 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.Tozer/Senese/Violas, School and Society, 5e

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School & Society: Chapter 8

National School Reform: The Early Cold War Era

School Reform and Social Stratification• Mortimer Smith and Arthur Bestor

encourage intellectual training; schools’ purpose to challenge educational handicaps

• Hyman Rickover’s endorsement of accelerated programs for gifted students

• “Life adjustment” curriculum under attack

(c) 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.Tozer/Senese/Violas, School and Society, 5e

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School & Society: Chapter 8

National School Reform: The Early Cold War Era

The American High School Today• Originated as Carnegie Corporation proposal to

study gifted high school youth• Could the comprehensive high school deliver?• Conant looked for evidence of identification and

development of academically talented students and social integration of college-bound and vocational students

• Finding supported the status quo; recommended elimination of small schools and increased concentration on gifted students

(c) 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.Tozer/Senese/Violas, School and Society, 5e

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School & Society: Chapter 8

National School Reform: The Early Cold War Era

Slums and Suburbs• Conant’s study of urban and elite schools • Concluded that vocational education was

appropriate for slum schools; foreshadowed his commitment to junior colleges to ward off social unrest in the 1960s

• Endorsed continuing focus on academics for suburban youth

• Overlooked the role of segregated schools and unequal opportunities in contributing to “social dynamite”

(c) 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.Tozer/Senese/Violas, School and Society, 5e

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School & Society: Chapter 8

National School Reform: The Early Cold War Era

Concluding Remarks• Conant’s allegiance to meritocracy and

higher education• Opposed liberal education for all on the

grounds of maintaining social order• School’s focus became the “national

interest”• School’s contribution was preparation of

students for a Cold War world

(c) 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.Tozer/Senese/Violas, School and Society, 5e

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School & Society: Chapter 8

National School Reform: The Early Cold War Era

Developing Your Professional Vocabulary

• community college• Educational Testing

Service• containment• life adjustment

education• John Birch Society• “provisional freedom”

• Scholastic Aptitude Test

• Senator Joseph McCarthy

• Slums and Suburbs• Sputnik• The American High

School Today• the GI Bill

(c) 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.Tozer/Senese/Violas, School and Society, 5e