Tracing the first two decades of state-funded African American schools, Educational Reconstruction addresses the ways in which black Richmonders, black Mobilians, and their white allies created, developed, and sustained a system of African American schools following the Civil War. Hilary Green proposes a new chronology in understanding postwar African American education, examining how urban African Americans demanded quality public schools from their new city and state partners. Revealing the significant gains made after the departure of the Freedmen’s Bureau, this study reevaluates African American higher education in terms of developing a cadre of public school educator-activists and highlights the centrality of urban African American protest in shaping educational decisions and policies in their respective cities and states.

This volume on the history and philosophy of social reconstruction is the result of Kenneth Benne's discussions, essays and experiences, but also includes contributions from other scholars. Each of the essays study the movement as a way of grappling with the critical issue of the relationship between education and social change, and each chapter intends to stimulate, broaden and enrich the legacy of what contributing author James Giarelli calls a public philosophy of education. The volume also connects past to present, thus bringing the reader fresh insight into the dilemmas facing schooling in the 1990s.

ocial Reconstruction as a philosophy, stream of thought or “official program” ois often synonymous with Depression-era Progressivism. But, Social Reconstruction, unlike progressivism, enjoyed political stardom. The spirit of progressivism, at least in terms of education, found a home in those enthusiasts who supported a child-centered perspective of education. Others, such as the essentialists viewed their progressive role as one that advanced the view of essential or basic education as the most sound approach to curriculum and teaching. Still others, more radical in their outlook, believed that progress should be framed with questions about social justice and equity. Proponents of social reconstruction included Harold Rugg and George Counts, although the “movement” was rich with supporters. To date, social reconstruction is only a by word in most texts that deal with the Progressive Era or progressive education, perhaps, because Rugg and Counts, the two most visible proponents, sought and received the political limelight, no matter how glaring. In any event, the depths of social reconstruction have yet to be plumbed. Hence, the first book in this series will offer a comprehensive treatment of Social Reconstruction, which include chapters that examine its proponents, political nature, and social justice programs born of and within the tumultuous context of progressive politics.

The Second Edition of Curriculum Theory: Conflicting Visions and Enduring Concerns by Michael Stephen Schiro presents a clear, unbiased, and rigorous description of the major curriculum philosophies that have influenced educators and schooling over the last century. The author analyzes four educational visions—Scholar Academic, Social Efficiency, Learner Centered, and Social Reconstruction—to enable readers to reflect on their own educational beliefs and more productively interact with educators who might hold different beliefs.

James Anderson critically reinterprets the history of southern black education from Reconstruction to the Great Depression. By placing black schooling within a political, cultural, and economic context, he offers fresh insights into black commitment to education, the peculiar significance of Tuskegee Institute, and the conflicting goals of various philanthropic groups, among other matters. Initially, ex-slaves attempted to create an educational system that would support and extend their emancipation, but their children were pushed into a system of industrial education that presupposed black political and economic subordination. This conception of education and social order--supported by northern industrial philanthropists, some black educators, and most southern school officials--conflicted with the aspirations of ex-slaves and their descendants, resulting at the turn of the century in a bitter national debate over the purposes of black education. Because blacks lacked economic and political power, white elites were able to control the structure and content of black elementary, secondary, normal, and college education during the first third of the twentieth century. Nonetheless, blacks persisted in their struggle to develop an educational system in accordance with their own needs and desires.

During the 1950s, leading American scientists embarked on an unprecedented project to remake high school science education. Dissatisfaction with the 'soft' school curriculum of the time advocated by the professional education establishment, and concern over the growing technological sophistication of the Soviet Union, led government officials to encourage a handful of elite research scientists, fresh from their World War II successes, to revitalize the nations' science curricula. In Scientists in the Classroom , John L. Rudolph argues that the Cold War environment, long neglected in the history of education literature, is crucial to understanding both the reasons for the public acceptance of scientific authority in the field of education and the nature of the curriculum materials that were eventually produced. Drawing on a wealth of previously untapped resources from government and university archives, Rudolph focuses on the National Science Foundation-supported curriculum projects initiated in 1956. What the historical record reveals, according to Rudolph, is that these materials were designed not just to improve American science education, but to advance the professional interest of the American scientific community in the postwar period as well.