Historians need social theories to conduct their research whether they are acknowledged or not. Positivist social theories underpinned the professionalization of the writing of history as well as the establishment of the social sciences as "disciplines," in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. August Comte's "science of society" and…

This article focuses on how public schools have functioned in the ideological production of race in America and their critical role in shaping the way Americans understand specific definitions of race as well as the muted rules of racial etiquette. The author analyzes American schools as racializing institutions, that is institutions with the…

This article contributes to one's historical understanding of student experience in general, and more particularly, to one's understanding of developing cross-group relationships within desegregated schools over the second half of the twentieth century. The article draws from a broader study that examines students' evolving relationships within a…

Argues that female literacy in 18th-century America was more prevalent than suggested by previous studies. Relying on manuscript censuses and recent studies of deeds suggests that female literacy was almost universal by the 1790s. Explores the institutional opportunities for girls' education in colonial New England. (MJP)

Describes the efforts of authorities to respond to the burgeoning youth culture of the 1950s. Details the censorship efforts aimed at those aspects of youth culture (comic books, rock and roll) that were viewed as dangerous and subversive. Identifies these effort within the corresponding social, political, and cultural climate. (MJP)

Explains that in the United States, child-centered progressivism was part of a larger humanitarian movement led by the northern middle classes in the antebellum and postbellum periods. States that games, stories, play time and informal learning experiences became part of a broader educational discourse due to the writings of Johann Pestalozzi and…

States that the mobilization of Bavarian schoolteachers in 1848 indicates a high degree of politicization prior to the outbreak of revolution in the German state. Explains that teachers demanded professional recognition, better teacher education, freedom from subordination to clerics, improved pay, higher social status, and a greater national…

Examines the relationship between state and inspectorate in Wales by tracing the history of Harry Longueville Jones, the first Her Majesty's Inspectorate (HMI) of Church schools. Considers how he tried to shape an educational system suitable for the needs of Welsh communities. Includes a historical description of Wales. (CMK)

Examines the religious, political, and socio-economic traditions in the United States that help foster a culture of violence against children. Finds that Judeo-Christian religious beliefs are used to justify corporal punishment; political practice favors family privacy; limited government; and a separation between the public and private spheres.…

Offers an historical analysis of schooling patterns in the Tullylish (Ireland) parish between 1860-1900 to provide understanding of the social forces that promoted denominationalism. Concludes that terms of religious tolerance were constructed by Protestant elites perpetuating Protestant privilege and excluding Catholics from full participation in…

Focuses on the parochial education of Polish-Americans from 1870-1940, addressing staffing and curriculum issues. Includes information on topics such as the issue of ethnicity, textbooks used in the curriculum, development of sisterhoods, postwar religions, ethnicity, and nuns in the 1930s. (CMK)

Describes how an eighteenth century classification system that linked poor, socially disadvantaged students with those suffering from significant biological abnormalities has been expanded to create current categories of mental defect. Examines the social and scientific contexts that spawned these categories. Suggests how the past is relevant to…

Discusses the history of Russian literacy from Kievan Rus, through the Muscovite period, the Imperial period, and the postrevolutionary Soviet Union. Presents tables of literacy levels for various periods. Discusses evidence, theories, and problems with historians' assumptions. Concludes that, until recently, little impetus existed for the bulk of…

Summarizes the crises and calls for change from 1981-1988 within the Detroit (Michigan) school system that led to the creation of the HOPE (Hayden, Olmstead, and Patrick for Education) coalition. Discusses the years the HOPE coalition headed the school board and the reasons for its failure. Addresses the implications for other cities. (CMK)

Examines the implications of the Moravians' emphasis on children in their Indian missions and suggests that the Moravians' interests converged with the concerns of Indians about the fate of their own children. Focuses on the history of the missions in the Susquehanna and Ohio valleys between 1765 and 1782. (CMK)