Struggle for Public Education

The great pendulum of educational reform recently has begun its inexorable swing toward a new understanding of education. The thirty-year dominance of the authoritarian approach, complete with standardized assessments, distended bureaucracies and school consolidation based on the business model, appears to be over. Capped by the recent departure of the No Child Left behind Act and replaced with a new congressional authorization – the Every Child Achieves Act – we are witnessing a distinct move toward a more democratic model of education. This book places the tension between these two broadly defined archetypes in the context of the central themes of American education. These include the structure and organization of American schools, the struggle for diversity, curriculum and instruction, classroom discipline, moral education, testing and assessment, and the rights and responsibilities of teachers and students. By organizing these themes into a more understandable and relevant thematic context, readers will be able to appreciate the changes in the field of education over the years as well as the cacophonous bickering over education policy - today and yesterday.

“By moving away from chronological and fragmented historical accounts to a thematic approach the authors provide a better understanding of the history of American education. This book describes men and women's best intentions, failed policies, and social influences that profoundly affected education in the past. A must-read to understand social, economic, and cultural forces that influenced monumental transitions in schools to understand future trends in education.”

By moving away from chronological and fragmented historical accounts to a thematic approach the authors provide a better understanding of the history of American education. This book describes men and women’s best intentions, failed policies, and social influences that profoundly affected education in the past. A must-read to understand social, economic, and cultural forces that influenced monumental transitions in schools to understand future trends in education. -- Marjorie Ringler, EdD, associate professor and doctoral program director, Department of Educational Leadership, College of Education, East Carolina University
Nobel Laureate, Bob Dylan, may have understated things in his 1964 song The Times They Are A Changin’, especially if applied to the state of public education in 2017! For those of us who are strong believers in the ‘common good’ of public education and its centrality to nation-building in the United States, these are troubled times. Such times call for an informed perspective and wisdom born of experience – and that it what we find in Drs. Donald and Jo Ann Parkersons’ book, The Struggle for American Public Education. Public education is, indeed, an important democratic struggle and for those fully engaged in the struggle, the Parkersons’ focus on “Ten Themes in Educational History” is an important contribution and an essential read!

Donald Parkerson is the Distinguished Professor of Teaching in the History Department at East Carolina University. He has published six books on the history of education with his coauthor, Jo Ann Parkerson. Their previous book with Rowman & Littlefield focused on the background of issues facing schools today – Assessment, Bureaucracy and Consolidation.Jo Ann Parkerson is Professor Emeritus of Education at Methodist University. Previously she taught in the public schools and she draws on her educational experiences and research in her writing.

The great pendulum of educational reform recently has begun its inexorable swing toward a new understanding of education. The thirty-year dominance of the authoritarian approach, complete with standardized assessments, distended bureaucracies and school consolidation based on the business model, appears to be over. Capped by the recent departure of the No Child Left behind Act and replaced with a new congressional authorization - the Every Child Achieves Act - we are witnessing a distinct move toward a more democratic model of education. This book places the tension between these two broadly defined archetypes in the context of the central themes of American education. These include the structure and organization of American schools, the struggle for diversity, curriculum and instruction, classroom discipline, moral education, testing and assessment, and the rights and responsibilities of teachers and students. By organizing these themes into a more understandable and relevant thematic context, readers will be able to appreciate the changes in the field of education over the years as well as the cacophonous bickering over education policy - today and yesterday.

This item is eligible for free returns within 30 days of delivery. See our returns policy for further details.