Winner of the 2008 AERA Division B Outstanding Book Award Presenting the first complete history of the Progressive Education Association's Eight-Year Study, which took place during the 1930s and the 1940s, this book corrects common misinterpretations of one of the most important educational experiments of the twentieth century and explores the study's value for reexamining secondary education in America today.

The Encyclopedia of Curriculum Studies provides a comprehensive introduction to the academic field of curriculum studies for the scholar, student, teacher, and administrator. The study of curriculum, beginning in the early 20th century, served primarily the areas of school administration and teaching and was seen as a method to design and develop programs of study. The field subsequently expanded to draw upon disciplines from the arts, humanities, and social sciences and to examine larger educational forces and their effects upon the individual, society, and conceptions of knowledge. Curriculum studies has now emerged to embrace an expansive and contested conception of academic scholarship while focusing upon a diverse and complex dynamic among educational experiences, practices, settings, actions, and theories in relation to personal and institutional needs and interests. The Encyclopedia of Curriculum Studies serves to inform and to introduce terms, events, documents, biographies, and concepts to assist the reader in understanding aspects of this rapidly changing field of study. Representative topics include: Origins, definitions, dimensions, and variations on Curriculum Studies Curriculum development and design for schools Curricular purpose, implementation, and evaluation Contemporary issues, e.g., standards, tests, and accountability Curricular dimensions of teaching and teacher education Interdisciplinary perspectives on institutionalized curriculum Informal curricula of homes, mass media, workplaces, organizations, and relationships Impact of race, class, gender, health, belief, appearance, place, ethnicity, language Relationships of curriculum and poverty, wealth, and related factors Modes of curriculum inquiry and research Curriculum as cultural studies, exploring the formation of identities and possibilities Corporate, state, church, and military influence as curriculum Global and international perspectives on curriculum Curriculum organizations, journals, and resources Summaries of books and articles on curriculum studies Biographic vignettes of key persons in curriculum studies Relevant photographs

This book examines the Eight-Year Study, or "Adventure in American Education," which was a landmark experiment in curriculum reform in 30 American high schools from 1933 to 1939. The study not only investigated the college success of the graduates of the 30 schools that were engaged in revising their curricula, but also attempted to stimulate secondary schools to develop better college preparatory programs. After establishing the context for the study in an introductory chapter, the volume presents a detailed analysis, describing the lessons learned regarding the implementation of change in education. The research methodology and the pioneering work in developing instruments that were used in the study, though frequently overlooked in retrospective works, are examined at length, particularly as they relate to noncognitive components of education. Likewise, the book looks at the graduates of the 30 experimental schools and assesses how they compared in college with their paired control partners. An analysis of the state of secondary education during the 1930s is also provided. The concluding chapter reviews the major findings of the study and puts them into a middle-school perspective. It identifies 12 areas that the Eight-Year Study speaks to and how these relate to the middle-level education-reform effort. (RJM)

Paul Diederich worked in five new organizations dedicated to transforming American schools: the Ohio State University lab school, the Eight Year Study, a Harvard institute to revamp English language instruction, the University of Chicago's Board of Examiners, and the Educational Testing Service. Throughout his career he wrote critiques of American high schools and set forth many proposals to make them more flexible without sacrificing academic excellence. This anthology resurrects 14 Diederich essays, eight of them never before published. The scope ranges from visions of social justice to the details of the daily schedule. Like his heroes Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson, he combined a passion for utopian speculation with a fascination for practical problems, a combination that is rare in the world of school reform today.

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What makes a great teacher great? Who are the professors students remember long after graduation? This book, the conclusion of a fifteen-year study of nearly one hundred college teachers in a wide variety of fields and universities, offers valuable answers for all educators. The short answer is—it’s not what teachers do, it’s what they understand. Lesson plans and lecture notes matter less than the special way teachers comprehend the subject and value human learning. Whether historians or physicists, in El Paso or St. Paul, the best teachers know their subjects inside and out—but they also know how to engage and challenge students and to provoke impassioned responses. Most of all, they believe two things fervently: that teaching matters and that students can learn. In stories both humorous and touching, Ken Bain describes examples of ingenuity and compassion, of students’ discoveries of new ideas and the depth of their own potential. What the Best College Teachers Do is a treasure trove of insight and inspiration for first-year teachers and seasoned educators.

Recent proposals for school reform have involved a significant shift in how curriculum decisions are made, particularly at the state level. In response to these proposals, actions taken by educators have underscored the critical nature of the issue regarding who makes curriculum decisions. This book examines the issues involved in how this pivotal concern has been addressed in the past and how it is being handled now. Each chapter contributes to a more complete understanding of the complexities involved in the recent trend toward the centralization of curriculum decision-making. The book will assist both researchers and practitioners in better understanding the issues involved as well as the impact of the movement.