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The Evolution of Educational Theory in the United States

The Evolution of Educational Theory in the United States
Dickson A. Mungazi
Greenwood Publishing Group
January 30, 1999

Mungazi's examination of American education results in far more than simply a linear, historical account.  Rather, he uses education as the benchmark of society as a whole, claiming that it aptly reflects the evolution and progression of an entire culture.  Mungazi specifically investigates the colonial period in his opening chapter, claiming that its unique perspective and method would influence the American education system for years to come.

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Library Topic: Education in Colonial America

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Here is a bit of investigation of the first compulsory education laws in America.  Interestingly, the colonial sense of "compulsory" was far different, as were their motivations in creating such education.

"One of the main objections people have to getting government out of the education business and turning it over to the free market is that 'it simply would not get the job done.' This type of thinking is due, in large measure, to what one historian called 'a parochialism in time,' i.e., a limited view of an issue for lack of historical perspective. Having served the twelve-year sentence in...

This site presents a concise and valuable history of the significant difference in education between the southern and northern colonies, including the factors that shaped each side.  The article foreshadows the ever-growing tension between the North and South that would occur throughout colonial times and into the founding of America.

Video/Podcast/Media

The above video links the reforms of Horace Mann to the Prussian education system.

"This ultra short documentary explains the history of compulsory schooling and advocates choice in education. It starts 200 years back with Prussian absolutism. There, under the regime of a dictatorship, compulsory schooling was invented and implemented on a massive scale. It continues to show how...

Primary Document

"In 1743, sixteen years after he had formed the Junto in Philadelphia for weekly meetings of learned conversation, and twelve years after instituting the first lending library in the colonies, Benjamin Franklin envisioned a colonies-wide society for the discussion and promotion of...

Mather was an influential figure in colonial America. Delivered at the funeral of one his own teachers, Mather makes a clear case that for a religiously oriented society such as the Puritans, education is of the utmost importance if the values of the parents are to be transferred to future generations. A key part of education for Mather would be the teaching of Bible stories to children,...

Watts' Divine and Moral Songs for Children is an example of the Christian-based education which many children in colonial America received. The preface is below, followed by the text of the collection.

"Preface

To All That Are Concerned In The Education Of...

Franklin lays out his proposal for a school that will instruct youth in "History, Rhetoric, Logic, Moral and Natural Philosophy" and other topics, such as Mathematics and Geography, in order to be fully prepared to learn, "Business, Calling or Profession, except such wherein Languages are required." Once...

These two series of laws at Harvard exhibit the change in the pursuits of higher education. Harvard, being the first institution of higher education in America, commenced with a relatively rudimentary goal but soon began to evolve into the Harvard we know today.

"A general Dissolution of Principles & Manners will more surely overthrow the Liberties of America than the whole Force of the common Enemy. While the People are virtuous they cannot be subdued; but when once they lose their Virtue, they will be ready to surrender their Liberties to the first external or internal Invader. How necessary then is it for those who...

Following the Law of 1642, this act, also known as the Massachusetts School Law of 1647, established the tradition of more formal schooling within each town. Although often times neglected, it required towns to publicly form and fund elementary schools.

"At, and nearly at the commencement of these lectures, a sense of duty obliged me to enter into a controversial discussion concerning the rights of society: the same sense of duty now obliges me to enter into a similar discussion concerning the rights of the constituent parts of society—concerning the rights of men. To enter upon a discussion of this nature,...

"Another defect in our schools, which, since the revolution, is become inexcuseable, is the want of proper books. The collections which are now used consist of essays that respect foreign and ancient nations. The minds of youth are perpetually led to the history of Greece and Rome or to Great Britain; boys are constantly repeating the declamations of Demosthenes...

This document provides several thoughts from Benjamin Franklin on the type of education needed in the early colonial days. Among Franklin's lengthy list of educational ideas is the notion that America's children should be properly...

"Dock's philosophy of education provides an interesting comparison to Cotton Mather's thought. Although both set forth and operate within a Christian vision of education's purposes, they employ different methods to reach those goals. Dock emphasizes the need to inspire and direct a child's desires through love rather than rigid discipline. He also realized that different children required...

Franklin, who perhaps epitomizes the colonial American learned man, recounts a dream he had about Harvard.  And, being that it is Benjamin Franklin, his dream of course was a "lively representation of Harvard."

"John Cotton's Milk for Babes (also known as Spiritual Milk for Babes), a beginning catechism for children and young Christians, was first published in the 1640s and remained in print continuously for over 200 years. In a series of 64 questions and answers, it rehearses sin and the law, the Ten Commandments, the role of the Church, the nature of grace, the covenant, salvation...

Although a rather long and wordy charter, this provides a good example of the foundations of the first American colleges. Dartmouth, along with Harvard, The College of New Jersey (later known as Yale), and several other of the Ivy League schools as they came to be called, set the tone for the structure of higher education in America.

Williams, master of the highly esteemed colonial school, lays out the format and structure of the Boston Latin Grammar School. One of the first true preparatory schools, Williams' school did much to prepare its students for the collegiate level.

Mather, a harsh and strict teacher, took the traditional colonial outlook on education as a means of saving children from the temptations of evil and guide them toward the Christian life. He strongly encourages the formation of town schools to save men from a "degenerate and contemptible condition."

This was the first of a series of "schooling" laws established in Massachusetts. The law of 1642 did not require attendance of school, but did require certain obligations from parents regarding their children's education. This law set a strong precedent with regards to education in the colonies, particularly in New England....

The Primer was the first true textbook regularly used in schools across New England. It served as both an elementary text on writing, spelling, pronunciation, etc., as well as a Biblical supplement for the young Puritan children, containing many simplified moral themes to aid in shaping their upbringing.

Regarded as perhaps the greatest piece of colonial American literature, Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress is an allegory intended to lead young men on the righteous path to heaven. It was one of the most read works, both by children and adults, in the colonial period.

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