The historical development of social ecology and ways in which an ecological approach can illuminate the study of urban education are discussed. An interdisciplinary, microecological framework is applied to the study of links between schooling and community in a nineteenth-century dockland slum. (SR)

Discusses the necessity of setting boundaries for a research topic while bridging gaps with information from other disciplines and history of education in other nations. Illustrates the point with the history of women's education in the United States. Includes discussion of the influence of British boys' schools, French boarding schools, and the…