In this article, the author discusses the question of theory as it may pertain to the history of education, with particular attention to the United States. Historians, like everyone else, have little choice regarding the use of theory; to one extent or another they must. The question is how much and to what end. The author aims to consider the…

There is a widely held notion, even among educational historians, that the history of education is an unusual academic specialty, embraced fully by neither the professional world of teaching nor the historical profession. But in fact, the history of education may not be so unusual a specialization. It is one of a number of historical fields of…