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National School Reform: The Early Cold War Era

National School Reform: The Early Cold War Era. Chapter Eight. The Cold War Era. Robust post-WWII economy depended on continued military buildup Threat of communism provided justification for the “Cold War” Containment Doctrine of first use McCarthyism

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National School Reform: The Early Cold War Era

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  1. National School Reform: The Early Cold War Era Chapter Eight Ch8

  2. The Cold War Era • Robust post-WWII economy depended on continued military buildup • Threat of communism provided justification for the “Cold War” • Containment • Doctrine of first use • McCarthyism • Truman endorses the “American way of life” Ch8

  3. The Cold War Era • Domestic unrest • The civil rights movement • Integration battles in education and housing • Progress and technology support link between centralized expertise and public well-being • “Big government” and the military-industrial complex Ch8

  4. Conant’s Legacy • Fostered culture of expertise at Harvard • Established standardized testing (SAT) as measure of academic potential • Helped form Educational Testing Services • Endorsed meritocratic structure of education Ch8

  5. School Reform and Social Stratification • Postwar debate questions: who should be educated, and for what purpose? • Conant’s vision • The importance of experts • Social mobility • The value of labor • Schools as sorters • The American comprehensive high school Ch8

  6. School Reform and Social Stratification • Mortimer Smith and Arthur Bestor encourage intellectual training; schools’ purpose to challenge educational handicaps • Hyman Rickover’s endorsement of accelerated programs for gifted students • “Life adjustment” curriculum under attack Ch8

  7. The American High School Today • Originated as Carnegie Corporation proposal to study gifted high school youth • Could the comprehensive high school deliver? • Conant looked for evidence of identification and development of academically talented students and social integration of college-bound and vocational students • Finding supported the status quo; recommended elimination of small schools and increased concentration on gifted students Ch8

  8. Slums and Suburbs • Conant’s study of urban and elite schools • Concluded that vocational education was appropriate for slum schools; foreshadowed his commitment to junior colleges to ward off social unrest in the 1960s • Endorsed continuing focus on academics for suburban youth • Overlooked the role of segregated schools and unequal opportunities in contributing to “social dynamite” Ch8

  9. Concluding Remarks • Conant’s allegiance to meritocracy and higher education • Opposed liberal education for all on the grounds of maintaining social order • School’s focus became the “national interest” • School’s contribution was preparation of students for a Cold War world Ch8

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