History of Education In
America
Mrs. Ashley
New Visions Education
Early Colonies
• Education reserved for the
wealthy
• Teachers not formally trained
• Students attended
sporadically
• Religion very important,
much of schooling
concerned learning to read
the Bible
• European thought strongly
influenced the schools
New England Colonies
• Puritans settled in
Massachusetts
– saw children as savage and
primitive
– Play was idleness, used corporeal
punishment
– Students were to memorize, sit still
• 1635 The Boston Latin
School
– Latin schools prepared students for
college
– Classical curriculum, No women
attended
New England Colonies
• 1642-Massachusetts Law
– Parents and Masters of
Apprentices had to teach
children to read and learn
principles of religion
• 1647- Massachusetts Act (Old
Deluder Satan Act)
– Every township with a
population greater than 50 had
to employ a teacher
– Taught reading, writing and
scripture
– Gave support to public
education
Middle Colonies
• More Separation of church and
state than New England due to
diversity of language and
religion
• Churches often took on the role
of education in parochial
schools in native language.
• Quakers—taught moral and
religious education
– Equal education for women,
Benjamin Rush promoted
strong education for women
Southern Colonies
• Large plantations, private
tutors hired to teach the
wealthy
• Boarding schools or
sending children to Europe
were common practices
Some of the major contributions of
Colonial America
• Public education
• Some groups excluded:
poor whites, African
Americans, females and
minorities
• Relationship between
religion and schools
founded at this time.
1700s
• Constitution, 10th amendment gave
states control over education, and
also Federal Government uses it to
gain national goals
• 1751 Establishment of first American
Academy by Benjamin Franklin
• Land Ordinance Act of 1787 required
income from one township to pay for
Education
• Separation of church and state
• 1783-Webster published The American
Spelling Book, or Blue-Back Speller
Late 1700s
• 1779 Jefferson proposes
establishment of common
schools
• 1785 Northwest Ordinances
• 1801 Catholics develop own
schools
• 1805 First elementary school
established in New York
1800s Industrialization, High Rates
of Immigration
• Horace Mann-MA 1839 first state supported
normal school (students went here after
elem.) Increased funding for school,
mandatory education (1852)
• Academies
– Prepared students for careers such as
military, art
• 1820 Common Schools-funded by taxes
– Educate all children using the same
curriculum
– State departments of education
– Dame Schools—Operated by women,
lessons in spelling and reading.
• Used the Hornbook (contained the
alphabet, numbers and Lord’s
Prayer)
• 1836-The McGuffey Reader (Used
in Common Schools)
Normal Schools
• Taught teachers by giving
more reading, writing and
arithmetic and student
teaching as part of a
laboratory school 1839
• 2 year preparatory school
for teaching
• 1821 Boston gets first public
high school
• 1837 Women go to college
Following the Civil War
• Economy was depressed
• Schooling was not a priority
• African Americans went to
school in much larger numbers
than before the war
• Booker T. Washington—principal
at state normal school in
Tuskegee, Alabama (especially
in vocational education)
• W.E.B DuBois disagreed with B.T.
Washington
Following the Civil War
• Native Americans-purpose of
education was to have them
give up their culture
– Mission Schools under contract
with Federal Government (religious
groups educated)
– Day Boarding School on/off
reservations for cultural
transformation
– 1879 Richard Pratt school was to
have children reject their parents
way of life
End of the 1800s
• Public Schools for men and women in cities
• Women were the classroom teachers and had to be
educated to do the teaching.
• Some schools in rural areas and the south sexes were
separated
• 1850 Harvard Medical School admits first woman (she
withdrew after riots
protesting her admittance)
• 1850 Mass Supreme Court “Separate but
equal
• 1862 Morrill Land Grant University
Act- Each State received 30,000 acres
to establish colleges of agriculture known
as Land Grant Colleges, again in 1890
• 1855 First Kindergarten
Late 1800s
 Massive immigration, exploitation
of children in the workplace,
movement from agricultural to
industrial society, differentiation of
jobs
 Vocational guidance
 1875- First College exclusively for
women, Wellesley College
 Committee of 10 of NEA,
recommended High School be
grades 7-12, classical, Latinscientific, modern languages and
English which would lead to
college (committee of professors)
1890-1920
Progressive Era
• Characterized by poverty, poor
housing, unsafe working
conditions, child workers
• Diversity of languages from
massive immigration
• Large increase in public school
enrollment
• Education was looked to for
addressing these social needs
• Women’s Rights led to 19th
Amendment 1920
Progressive Era
• Change in the political control of
education to have specially
trained experts run the schools
(superintendents)
• Change in educational thought
• Innovations in curriculum
• Scientific management by school
administration, Fredrick Taylor
• Schooling in terms of
professionalism
• John Dewey strong influence in this
movement
John Dewey
• Student’s interests emphasized
over subject matter
• Child centered curriculum
• Prepare students for realities of
today (present living not future
living)
• Democratic schools
• Discovery and inquiry based
learning, portfolios, flexible
scheduling, group work
1910s
• Smith Hughes Act of 1917funding for Vocational
education in public schools
• Call for reform in the
schools that trained
children for work (industrial
education) as well as book
learning
• John Dewey and
Progressive Education
Great Depression of the 30s
 Normal schools became 4
year colleges and
became state teacher
colleges
 Focus on jobs and lack of
employment issues
 1933 U. S. Employment
Service
 Dictionary of
Occupational Titles (1939)
WWII and 1940s
• Testing expanded due to
returning veterans and
placing people in service
in correct positions
1950s—Cold War
 Sputnik 1957 launched by USSR
 National Defense Education Act (NDEA) of
1958..Identify capable science students
◦ V-A provided funds for school counseling programs
◦ V-B upgrading or training of secondary school
counselors in year long training
◦ Increased # of counselors and counselor
student ratio
1959 James B. Conant wrote the American
High School (suggested 1 counselor for every 250
students)
States began mandating ratios
Special emphasis on math and science preparation.
1950s
• State Teacher Colleges
began to offer master’s
degrees as part of the
curriculum, some are now
state universities
• 1954 Brown vs Board of Ed.
of Topeka (desegregation)
1960s Civil Rights Movement and
War on Poverty
Education seen as way to break cycle of
poverty
1964- NDEA guidance for all students
including elementary students
Resulted in large numbers of counselors,
assisted in multiple missions of schools.
ESEA of 1965 Elementary and Secondary
Education Act funds for school
counseling, funding based on number of
poor children
Vocational Act Amendments of 1968
called for career guidance programs
especially those with disabilities and
disadvantaged title VII- bilingual ed.
• Head Start
• Title I – originally restricted
to low income students
Issues that remain today
• Schools are not equally
funded, with wealthy
districts spending 23% more
• What guarantees teacher
quality?
• Control of curriculum
• Relationship between
religion and character
education
1970s
• Call for back to basics and teacher
accountability
• Lower enrollments meant less funding
from Federal Government
• 1972 Title IX sex discrimination
• Career Education Incentive Act of
1976 career guidance in the schools
• 1975 Mainstreaming law
• ESEA of 1976 major emphasis on
vocational guidance
• 1979 Department of education
1980s
• 1983 A Nation at Risk
published
• Earnest Boyer suggested
core curriculum
• Middle schools created
small learning communities
1990
• Multicultural awareness
and competence gained
prominence.
• Teachers took on role of
leaders and collaborators
2000s Afghanistan and Iraq
Wars
 2001- NCLB enacted as Federal L0aw
 2003 the ASCA National Model: A
Framework for School Counseling
Programs was published
 2003 Education Trust and MetLife
established the National Center for
Transforming School counseling
 2004- National Center for School
Counseling Outcome Research at U
of Mass.