School, Society, & State: A New Education to Govern Modern America, 1890 – 1940
Tracy L. Steffes
Abstract
“Democracy has to be born anew every generation, and education is its midwife,” wrote John Dewey in his classic work The School and Society. This book places that idea at the center of its exploration of the connections between public school reform in the early twentieth century and political development in America from 1890 to 1940. American public schooling was not merely another reform project of the Progressive Era, but a central one. The book addresses why Americans invested in public education and explains how an array of reformers subtly transformed schooling into a tool of social gover ... More
“Democracy has to be born anew every generation, and education is its midwife,” wrote John Dewey in his classic work The School and Society. This book places that idea at the center of its exploration of the connections between public school reform in the early twentieth century and political development in America from 1890 to 1940. American public schooling was not merely another reform project of the Progressive Era, but a central one. The book addresses why Americans invested in public education and explains how an array of reformers subtly transformed schooling into a tool of social governance to address the consequences of industrialization and urbanization. By extending the reach of schools, broadening their mandate, and expanding their authority over the well-being of children, the state assumed a defining role in the education—and in the lives—of American families. The book returns the state to the study of the history of education and brings the schools back into our discussion of state power during a pivotal moment in American politics.
Keywords:
John Dewey,
school reform,
politics,
Progressive Era,
public education,
social governance,
industrialization,
urbanization,
America,
democracy
Bibliographic Information
| Print publication date: 2012 |
Print ISBN-13: 9780226772097 |
| Published to Chicago Scholarship Online: March 2013 |
DOI:10.7208/chicago/9780226772127.001.0001 |
