While narrative history has been the prevailing mode in historical scholarship, its preeminence has not gone unquestioned. In the 1980s, the role of narrative in historical writing was "the subject of extraordinarily intense debate." The historical backdrop of this debate can be traced to the preceding two decades, when four groups of thinkers…

In this article, the author talks about the proper place of theory in educational history and shares his comments on the essays by Eileen Tamura, Carolyn Eick, and Roland Coloma. Eileen Tamura's positing of most educational historians as practitioners of narrative history is surely on the mark. She invites historians of education to investigate…

During World War II, female students at the University of California, Berkeley--then the most populous undergraduate campus in American higher education--made significant advances in collegiate life. In growing numbers, women enrolled in male-dominated academic programs, including mathematics, chemistry, and engineering, as they prepared for…

Explores the educational efforts of the Lutherans in Australia, who were mostly of German decent and emigrated to the southern states during the time period of 1838-1850. Addresses the public reactions to the Lutherans and their schools from 1914-1918. (CMK)

Argues that during the late-nineteenth century, when teachers became de-skilled and women's access to top administration became limited, female spaces and social organizations emerged that were conducive to long service and career advancement at the low echelons of the bureaucracy. Focuses on a social history of teachers in Providence, Rhode…

Discusses the educational destruction and construction in Democratic Kampuchea (Cambodia) under the Khmer Rouge regime. Explains that in constructing the Democratic Kampuchea education system the Khmer Rouge sought to harness the power of education to their agenda of egalitarian, self-reliant, and agrarian socialism. (CMK)

Discusses the educational and social efforts of the Benevolent Mechanics Association in Petersburg, Virginia, between the years 1825 and 1857. Although economically prosperous, the southern mechanics (all skilled trades) established a night school for their apprentices in a bid for social acceptance. Examines the reasons for the school's failure.…

Summarizes the various interpretations and representations of Canadian educational history in textbooks and other scholarly publications from the last 20 years. Charts the appearance in educational history of intellectual and social history, as well as minority and feminist considerations. (MJP)

Observes the romanticized, contradictory, and occasionally reviled character of the American South and considers the role education played in its development. Discusses shifting movements in American historical writing about education (from triumphant public access to oppressive social control) and how these related to the southern experience.…

Discusses influences of the Troy Female Seminary, the first permanent institution offering American women a curriculum similar to that of contemporary men's colleges. Also discusses the role of founder Emma Willard in the social history of the nineteenth century and in the diffusion of feminist values. (KC)

Discusses attitudes and characteristics of northern female teachers from the American Missionary Society who volunteered to instruct newly-freed slaves after the Civil War. In the South, these women supplemented moral self-righteousness with a strong sense of professionalism to produce challenges to their male superiors in the areas of educational…

Explores the relationship between institutional structures and social values in nineteenth century England by examining features of traditional private girls' schools. Concludes that the reformed institutions served the interests of the feminist movement by answering to the social needs and cultural values of various social groups associated with…

Examines dominant 20th century liberal philosophy of social and educational reform, discusses research on the topic, criticism engendered, and areas which need more careful and extended inquiry. (Author/KC)

Explored are the trends which mark the social history of the school superintendency from the Victorian ideal of heroic leadership to the 20th century tradition of broader sources of ideology. Stressed are occupational socialization, the modern quest for new sources of professional authority, and the administrative conflict between acting as…

Discussed is the unprecedented expansion of educational facilities in 16th and 17th century England. Reasons for the newly endowed schools, freelance teachers and increasing numbers of students proceeding to higher education are investigated. The author concludes that, in spite of some extraordinary successes, the chances of escaping drudgery…