C.
Done
A content.uagc.edu AA
2.3 The Rise of Teacher Education
2.3 The Rise of Teacher Education
Before the spread of the common school, teachers received no formal training. Mostly males,
with little more education than their students, held the position of teacher. Being a teacher
was a temporary job. With the common school movement in public education in the 19th
century came a need for more teachers who were better trained. Thus, the first institution for
the preparation of teachers emerged. This institution was called a normal school, so named
for instructing prospective teachers in the “norms” (or accepted ways) of teaching. The first
state-supported normal school was established in 1839 in Lexington, Massachusetts.
For the most part, the founding of normal schools in the southern states did not occur until
much later. Functioning as a “post-elementary, quasi-secondary school” (Urban, 1990, p. 61),
a normal school consisted of a two-year program for the training of elementary teachers.
Primarily unmarried females were attracted to these normal schools, which offered an avenue
for viable employment until marriage. Generally, the curriculum of a normal school focused
on pedagogy—the systematic study of teaching and the application of teaching methods and
instruction—with some attention devoted to the content of the subjects to be taught.
During the late 1800s and early 1900s, as high schools developed more widely, the need for
training teachers in secondary education arose. Greater knowledge of subject areas was
necessary. Thus, most normal schools expanded into state teachers’ colleges, which consisted
of four-year programs.
At the same time, the certification of teachers shifted from the local level to the control of
state boards or departments of education. Previously, teachers with or without normal school
completion could be hired at a local school board’s discretion. When the states assumed more
control of this process, they initially issued general teaching certificates, but by the 1920s,
specialized certificates for different areas and levels were commonplace.
Eventually, state teachers’ colleges evolved into state colleges and later universities. These
institutions of higher education offered expanded programs in more than just teacher
preparation. Within universities, however, colleges or schools of education were usually
given lesser prestige and existed on the fringe. This devalued position negatively affected
many efforts to professionalize teaching.
With these changes in the education of teachers have come changes in the professional nature
of teaching. Normal schools engaged in the very specific purpose of teacher training. Today
we speak of teacher education, which has a broader, more encompassing connotation. Course
work in teacher education comprises not only the practical study of teaching training, but
also philosophical and psychological studies. Teacher education extends from the preservice
(before practice) to the inservice (engaged in practice) levels of teaching. Teacher education,
unlike teacher training, recognizes the lifelong nature of learning to teach.
Û
C.
Done
A content.uagc.edu AA
2.4 20th-Century Schools: Efforts Toward…
a
2.4 20th-Century Schools: Efforts Toward Reform and
Competing Philosophies
At the turn of the 20th century, questions were being raised about the quality of the teaching
force, and there was an emerging interest in how to improve the training of American
teachers. Researchers commenced to systematically examine the best teaching practices so
that colleges of education could improve teacher education, which resulted in courses in
pedagogy. Training in pedagogy led to further scientific inquiry by scholars to determine the
best teaching practices. The resulting changes to school curriculum—the specific content
that students are taught—reflected different philosophical orientations and educators’ efforts
to answer various questions: What is the purpose of education? Is the aim scholarship, or is it
to ensure that children grow into secure and independent adults who are happy? Is there a
constant body of knowledge to be learned, or does information change over time?
To help you consider answers to questions such as these, this textbook contains a series of
hypothetical scenarios titled Case in Point-visit your e-book for a more interactive
experience. These case studies aim to show how theory might be combined with practice,
demonstrating that the two can and should be linked for successful teaching. The first of
these scenarios, Case in Point: Philosophy Made Practical, illustrates how individuals’
educational philosophy can influence important policy and curriculum decisions.
Case in Point: Philosophy Made Practical
This is the first school board meeting since the election. You have been asked to
observe on behalf of your school’s teachers and to report back on Monday. The
district superintendent has come to discuss ways to trim next year’s very tight budget.
It is obvious that some courses and positions must be eliminated. The superintendent
recommends that the high school’s art program be cut, in addition to the elementary
school counselor’s position. Further, she proposes that Latin be eliminated from the
curriculum. Although each of these budget items has value, she argues, it is necessary
to be practical. After a short bit of discussion, the board decides that it might be
possible to eliminate just two of them.
More discussion ensues, and, as it does, you wonder yourself which two items should
be cut from the budget. Nationally, there are concerns about art programs
disappearing from the schools, but you wonder if they are so necessary at the
secondary level. Counselors are important, but you think that elementary teachers
with their smaller classes and day-long interaction with students might be almost as
effective in dealing with children’s problems. And Latin, you think, is a dead
language, but having taken it yourself, you understand its value as the basis of several
languages that are commonly learned either in school or while traveling and living in
other countries.
Questions to Consider
1. Which two of the proposed budget cuts do you think should be made? Why?
2. Do you think your opinion would be different if you were speaking as a local
citizen rather than as a teacher? Explain.
3. What life experiences have you had that affect your opinion?
Û
C
A content.uagc.edu
2.4 20th-Century Schools: Efforts Toward…
+
Secondary Education: A Broader Curriculum
By 1920, mandatory school attendance laws were in effect in every state. Indeed, Horace
Mann’s dream of offering an elementary education to all children had become a reality. But
what about high school education? What was the status of secondary education by the turn of
the century? Let’s backtrack a moment to the latter half of the 19th century to address this
question. During the 1800s, a high school education at public expense was not a reality.
However, this would change in 1874 with Stuart v. School District No.1 of the Village of
Kalamazoo. In the famous Kalamazoo case, a Michigan court upheld a school district’s
decision to use tax money to support a high school. This case would establish a precedent for
public funding of secondary schools.
L
.
1 ]
Henryk Sadura/iStock/Thinkstock
After states implemented legislation to establish elementary education, they turned their
attention to secondary schools.
Up to this point, secondary education catered to capable students who were preparing for
college. This is known as the tracking system: The college-bound follow one track, taking
one set of courses, while those seeking other career options follow another. This system still
persists today, despite criticisms that tracking automatically disadvantages students who
choose, or are funneled into, the non-college track.
In 1892, the Committee of Ten was formed by the National Education Association (NEA) to
study secondary education. This group recommended that secondary schools offer a
traditional and classical course of study with few electives. Each course was to meet one hour
four to five times per week for a year and would earn students one credit unit, known as a
Carnegie unit. A certain number of units would be required for graduation and admission to
college. As you can see, the focus was on entry to higher education.
The scope of the high school curriculum would change dramatically in the 1900s from its
original emphasis. To illustrate, in 1918 the NEA assembled a group of educators to study the
current state of high school education in the United States. A report was published, called the
Cardinal Principles of Secondary Education (National Education Association, 1918). The
following goals were set for inclusion in the curriculum:
• Health
• Command of fundamental academic skills
• Worthy home membership
• Vocational preparation
• Citizenship
• Worthy use of leisure time
• Ethical character
AT&T LTE
@ 71%C
10:22 AM
Acontent.uagc.edu
il:
2.4 20th-Century Schools: Efforts Toward…
a
From this report, we see how the high school curriculum was broadened to include teaching
personal and social skills in addition to academic skills. In the Great Depression of the 1930s
and later in the 1940s, a “life-adjustment” curriculum evolved. The idea of schools as social
organizations—in other words, responsible for helping students adjust to and function in
society—began to surface. Social dance, debate, clubs, drama, art, and music began to be part
of the school routine. Public high schools with a comprehensive curriculum spread during the
20th century as enrollments in secondary education increased. In the early 1980s, however,
President Ronald Reagan became concerned that schools had lowered their academic
standards and had also taken over responsibilities of the home with a curriculum that
included drivers’ education, sex education, social dance, parenting, and so on. He
commissioned a report to study the status of public education—the first time this would be
done in U.S. history. The results, which will be discussed later, would shock the nation and
spur further reform.
a
Progressivism: A Focus on Students
a
The Cardinal Principles of Secondary Education report would lend strength to an emerging
movement called progressivism. Progressivism refers to a holistic approach to education-
the whole student with all of his or her interests and abilities must be taken into account
when planning the curriculum or delivering instruction. Progressivists believe that education
should prepare children for independent thinking in a democratic society.
John Dewey (1859–1952) and William H. Kilpatrick (1871–1965) were progressivist
educators who contended that students learn best when actively participating in their own
learning. Dewey, in particular, would become one of the most influential educators of the
first half of the 20th century. Born in Burlington, Vermont, Dewey taught at the University of
Chicago and later at Columbia University. In 1896, Dewey established a laboratory school at
the University of Chicago to test his experimental ideas that classrooms were learning
laboratories. A prolific writer and educator, Dewey had a tremendous impact on education in
the 20th century. Dewey supported a child-centered curriculum that takes children’s needs
into consideration. His belief that students learn by doing (i.e., experiential learning) was a
central tenet of his progressive and pragmatic philosophy.
Dewey described several progressive schools in his book Schools of Tomorrow (1915).
Although there were differences among progressive schools in how to “connect” a child with
his or her environment, Dewey contended that in general these schools and teachers were
“working away from a curriculum adapted to a small and specialized class” toward one that
was more “representative of the needs and conditions of a democratic society” (Dewey, 1915,
p. 288). All children, he argued, should be prepared for democratic living, not just those who
are college bound.
During the 1920s and 1930s, the laboratory school became the prototype of progressive
education for many suburban and city schools. Dewey proposed a child-centered curriculum
with instruction geared to children’s interests; instruction was less teacher directed and more
student directed. Class participation and experiential learning were paramount to learning
how to function in a democracy. As you might guess, students became active (rather than
passive) participants in their own learning. Dewey’s followers founded the Progressive
Education Association, which heavily influenced education in the United States and
internationally as well. In sum, Dewey’s brand of progressivism favored the scientific
approach to learning and the child’s role in the context of society.
By the beginning of World War II, progressivism came under attack by conservative groups
who claimed that schools had abdicated their role by allowing students too much freedom
AT&T LTE
@71%C
10:22
Acontent.uagc.edu
2.4 20th-Century Schools: Efforts Toward…
During the 1920s and 1930s, the laboratory school became the prototype of progressive
education for many suburban and city schools. Dewey proposed a child-centered curriculum
with instruction geared to children’s interests; instruction was less teacher directed and more
student directed. Class participation and experiential learning were paramount to learning
how to function in a democracy. As you might guess, students became active (rather than
passive) participants in their own learning. Dewey’s followers founded the Progressive
Education Association, which heavily influenced education in the United States and
internationally as well. In sum, Dewey’s brand of progressivism favored the scientific
approach to learning and the child’s role in the context of society.
By the beginning of World War II, progressivism came under attack by conservative groups
who claimed that schools had abdicated their role by allowing students too much freedom
and autonomy over their own learning. By the 1950s, critics blamed progressive educators
for too much emphasis on social adjustment and not enough on academic rigor, which many
claimed was the cause of declining student achievement. Progressives were accused of
watering down academic standards by offering a lax curriculum that resulted in poor test
scores nationally. Some right-wing groups branded progressives as anti-American or
communists.
In 1957, the Soviet Union launched Sputnik into space. As history’s first-ever spacecraft, the
tiny satellite convinced Americans that the country’s education was in need of reform. In
many people’s eyes, Sputnik demonstrated that the United States’ ability in the sciences might
not be the world’s best, contrary to what many Americans believed at the time. This wake-up
call led to a nationally supported increase of educational funding through the National
Defense Education Act (NDEA) of 1958. With $1 billion dedicated to education reform,
much of the funding focused on students who showed promise in science, mathematics, and
foreign languages. Money earmarked for specific educational programs for “gifted and
talented” students was made available. Institutions of higher education received grant money
to improve teacher and counselor education.
All this spelled a temporary end to progressivism, at least in regard to federal funding.
Although the influence of Dewey may not be as strong today as it was in its heyday, many
progressive ideas have survived. Group work, student projects, self-discovery activities, and
field trips are a few progressive ideas that are still used in today’s classroom.
Perennialism: One Curriculum for All
PHILOSOPHER AT LARGE
MORTIMERJ ADLER
C.
Done
A content.uagc.edu AA
2.3 The Rise of Teacher Education
2.3 The Rise of Teacher Education
Before the spread of the common school, teachers received no formal training. Mostly males,
with little more education than their students, held the position of teacher. Being a teacher
was a temporary job. With the common school movement in public education in the 19th
century came a need for more teachers who were better trained. Thus, the first institution for
the preparation of teachers emerged. This institution was called a normal school, so named
for instructing prospective teachers in the “norms” (or accepted ways) of teaching. The first
state-supported normal school was established in 1839 in Lexington, Massachusetts.
For the most part, the founding of normal schools in the southern states did not occur until
much later. Functioning as a “post-elementary, quasi-secondary school” (Urban, 1990, p. 61),
a normal school consisted of a two-year program for the training of elementary teachers.
Primarily unmarried females were attracted to these normal schools, which offered an avenue
for viable employment until marriage. Generally, the curriculum of a normal school focused
on pedagogy—the systematic study of teaching and the application of teaching methods and
instruction—with some attention devoted to the content of the subjects to be taught.
During the late 1800s and early 1900s, as high schools developed more widely, the need for
training teachers in secondary education arose. Greater knowledge of subject areas was
necessary. Thus, most normal schools expanded into state teachers’ colleges, which consisted
of four-year programs.
At the same time, the certification of teachers shifted from the local level to the control of
state boards or departments of education. Previously, teachers with or without normal school
completion could be hired at a local school board’s discretion. When the states assumed more
control of this process, they initially issued general teaching certificates, but by the 1920s,
specialized certificates for different areas and levels were commonplace.
Eventually, state teachers’ colleges evolved into state colleges and later universities. These
institutions of higher education offered expanded programs in more than just teacher
preparation. Within universities, however, colleges or schools of education were usually
given lesser prestige and existed on the fringe. This devalued position negatively affected
many efforts to professionalize teaching.
With these changes in the education of teachers have come changes in the professional nature
of teaching. Normal schools engaged in the very specific purpose of teacher training. Today
we speak of teacher education, which has a broader, more encompassing connotation. Course
work in teacher education comprises not only the practical study of teaching training, but
also philosophical and psychological studies. Teacher education extends from the preservice
(before practice) to the inservice (engaged in practice) levels of teaching. Teacher education,
unlike teacher training, recognizes the lifelong nature of learning to teach.
Û
C.
Done
A content.uagc.edu AA
2.4 20th-Century Schools: Efforts Toward…
a
2.4 20th-Century Schools: Efforts Toward Reform and
Competing Philosophies
At the turn of the 20th century, questions were being raised about the quality of the teaching
force, and there was an emerging interest in how to improve the training of American
teachers. Researchers commenced to systematically examine the best teaching practices so
that colleges of education could improve teacher education, which resulted in courses in
pedagogy. Training in pedagogy led to further scientific inquiry by scholars to determine the
best teaching practices. The resulting changes to school curriculum—the specific content
that students are taught—reflected different philosophical orientations and educators’ efforts
to answer various questions: What is the purpose of education? Is the aim scholarship, or is it
to ensure that children grow into secure and independent adults who are happy? Is there a
constant body of knowledge to be learned, or does information change over time?
To help you consider answers to questions such as these, this textbook contains a series of
hypothetical scenarios titled Case in Point-visit your e-book for a more interactive
experience. These case studies aim to show how theory might be combined with practice,
demonstrating that the two can and should be linked for successful teaching. The first of
these scenarios, Case in Point: Philosophy Made Practical, illustrates how individuals’
educational philosophy can influence important policy and curriculum decisions.
Case in Point: Philosophy Made Practical
This is the first school board meeting since the election. You have been asked to
observe on behalf of your school’s teachers and to report back on Monday. The
district superintendent has come to discuss ways to trim next year’s very tight budget.
It is obvious that some courses and positions must be eliminated. The superintendent
recommends that the high school’s art program be cut, in addition to the elementary
school counselor’s position. Further, she proposes that Latin be eliminated from the
curriculum. Although each of these budget items has value, she argues, it is necessary
to be practical. After a short bit of discussion, the board decides that it might be
possible to eliminate just two of them.
More discussion ensues, and, as it does, you wonder yourself which two items should
be cut from the budget. Nationally, there are concerns about art programs
disappearing from the schools, but you wonder if they are so necessary at the
secondary level. Counselors are important, but you think that elementary teachers
with their smaller classes and day-long interaction with students might be almost as
effective in dealing with children’s problems. And Latin, you think, is a dead
language, but having taken it yourself, you understand its value as the basis of several
languages that are commonly learned either in school or while traveling and living in
other countries.
Questions to Consider
1. Which two of the proposed budget cuts do you think should be made? Why?
2. Do you think your opinion would be different if you were speaking as a local
citizen rather than as a teacher? Explain.
3. What life experiences have you had that affect your opinion?
Û
C
A content.uagc.edu
2.4 20th-Century Schools: Efforts Toward…
+
Secondary Education: A Broader Curriculum
By 1920, mandatory school attendance laws were in effect in every state. Indeed, Horace
Mann’s dream of offering an elementary education to all children had become a reality. But
what about high school education? What was the status of secondary education by the turn of
the century? Let’s backtrack a moment to the latter half of the 19th century to address this
question. During the 1800s, a high school education at public expense was not a reality.
However, this would change in 1874 with Stuart v. School District No.1 of the Village of
Kalamazoo. In the famous Kalamazoo case, a Michigan court upheld a school district’s
decision to use tax money to support a high school. This case would establish a precedent for
public funding of secondary schools.
L
.
1 ]
Henryk Sadura/iStock/Thinkstock
After states implemented legislation to establish elementary education, they turned their
attention to secondary schools.
Up to this point, secondary education catered to capable students who were preparing for
college. This is known as the tracking system: The college-bound follow one track, taking
one set of courses, while those seeking other career options follow another. This system still
persists today, despite criticisms that tracking automatically disadvantages students who
choose, or are funneled into, the non-college track.
In 1892, the Committee of Ten was formed by the National Education Association (NEA) to
study secondary education. This group recommended that secondary schools offer a
traditional and classical course of study with few electives. Each course was to meet one hour
four to five times per week for a year and would earn students one credit unit, known as a
Carnegie unit. A certain number of units would be required for graduation and admission to
college. As you can see, the focus was on entry to higher education.
The scope of the high school curriculum would change dramatically in the 1900s from its
original emphasis. To illustrate, in 1918 the NEA assembled a group of educators to study the
current state of high school education in the United States. A report was published, called the
Cardinal Principles of Secondary Education (National Education Association, 1918). The
following goals were set for inclusion in the curriculum:
• Health
• Command of fundamental academic skills
• Worthy home membership
• Vocational preparation
• Citizenship
• Worthy use of leisure time
• Ethical character
AT&T LTE
@ 71%C
10:22 AM
Acontent.uagc.edu
il:
2.4 20th-Century Schools: Efforts Toward…
a
From this report, we see how the high school curriculum was broadened to include teaching
personal and social skills in addition to academic skills. In the Great Depression of the 1930s
and later in the 1940s, a “life-adjustment” curriculum evolved. The idea of schools as social
organizations—in other words, responsible for helping students adjust to and function in
society—began to surface. Social dance, debate, clubs, drama, art, and music began to be part
of the school routine. Public high schools with a comprehensive curriculum spread during the
20th century as enrollments in secondary education increased. In the early 1980s, however,
President Ronald Reagan became concerned that schools had lowered their academic
standards and had also taken over responsibilities of the home with a curriculum that
included drivers’ education, sex education, social dance, parenting, and so on. He
commissioned a report to study the status of public education—the first time this would be
done in U.S. history. The results, which will be discussed later, would shock the nation and
spur further reform.
a
Progressivism: A Focus on Students
a
The Cardinal Principles of Secondary Education report would lend strength to an emerging
movement called progressivism. Progressivism refers to a holistic approach to education-
the whole student with all of his or her interests and abilities must be taken into account
when planning the curriculum or delivering instruction. Progressivists believe that education
should prepare children for independent thinking in a democratic society.
John Dewey (1859–1952) and William H. Kilpatrick (1871–1965) were progressivist
educators who contended that students learn best when actively participating in their own
learning. Dewey, in particular, would become one of the most influential educators of the
first half of the 20th century. Born in Burlington, Vermont, Dewey taught at the University of
Chicago and later at Columbia University. In 1896, Dewey established a laboratory school at
the University of Chicago to test his experimental ideas that classrooms were learning
laboratories. A prolific writer and educator, Dewey had a tremendous impact on education in
the 20th century. Dewey supported a child-centered curriculum that takes children’s needs
into consideration. His belief that students learn by doing (i.e., experiential learning) was a
central tenet of his progressive and pragmatic philosophy.
Dewey described several progressive schools in his book Schools of Tomorrow (1915).
Although there were differences among progressive schools in how to “connect” a child with
his or her environment, Dewey contended that in general these schools and teachers were
“working away from a curriculum adapted to a small and specialized class” toward one that
was more “representative of the needs and conditions of a democratic society” (Dewey, 1915,
p. 288). All children, he argued, should be prepared for democratic living, not just those who
are college bound.
During the 1920s and 1930s, the laboratory school became the prototype of progressive
education for many suburban and city schools. Dewey proposed a child-centered curriculum
with instruction geared to children’s interests; instruction was less teacher directed and more
student directed. Class participation and experiential learning were paramount to learning
how to function in a democracy. As you might guess, students became active (rather than
passive) participants in their own learning. Dewey’s followers founded the Progressive
Education Association, which heavily influenced education in the United States and
internationally as well. In sum, Dewey’s brand of progressivism favored the scientific
approach to learning and the child’s role in the context of society.
By the beginning of World War II, progressivism came under attack by conservative groups
who claimed that schools had abdicated their role by allowing students too much freedom
AT&T LTE
@71%C
10:22
Acontent.uagc.edu
2.4 20th-Century Schools: Efforts Toward…
During the 1920s and 1930s, the laboratory school became the prototype of progressive
education for many suburban and city schools. Dewey proposed a child-centered curriculum
with instruction geared to children’s interests; instruction was less teacher directed and more
student directed. Class participation and experiential learning were paramount to learning
how to function in a democracy. As you might guess, students became active (rather than
passive) participants in their own learning. Dewey’s followers founded the Progressive
Education Association, which heavily influenced education in the United States and
internationally as well. In sum, Dewey’s brand of progressivism favored the scientific
approach to learning and the child’s role in the context of society.
By the beginning of World War II, progressivism came under attack by conservative groups
who claimed that schools had abdicated their role by allowing students too much freedom
and autonomy over their own learning. By the 1950s, critics blamed progressive educators
for too much emphasis on social adjustment and not enough on academic rigor, which many
claimed was the cause of declining student achievement. Progressives were accused of
watering down academic standards by offering a lax curriculum that resulted in poor test
scores nationally. Some right-wing groups branded progressives as anti-American or
communists.
In 1957, the Soviet Union launched Sputnik into space. As history’s first-ever spacecraft, the
tiny satellite convinced Americans that the country’s education was in need of reform. In
many people’s eyes, Sputnik demonstrated that the United States’ ability in the sciences might
not be the world’s best, contrary to what many Americans believed at the time. This wake-up
call led to a nationally supported increase of educational funding through the National
Defense Education Act (NDEA) of 1958. With $1 billion dedicated to education reform,
much of the funding focused on students who showed promise in science, mathematics, and
foreign languages. Money earmarked for specific educational programs for “gifted and
talented” students was made available. Institutions of higher education received grant money
to improve teacher and counselor education.
All this spelled a temporary end to progressivism, at least in regard to federal funding.
Although the influence of Dewey may not be as strong today as it was in its heyday, many
progressive ideas have survived. Group work, student projects, self-discovery activities, and
field trips are a few progressive ideas that are still used in today’s classroom.
Perennialism: One Curriculum for All
PHILOSOPHER AT LARGE
MORTIMERJ ADLER

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