School and Society: Historical and Contemporary Perspectives, Fourth Edition

A core text for the Foundations course, School and Society provides an analytic framework that shows how and why certain school-society issues first arose in this country and how they changed over time. In its examination of the evolution of education in the United States, this book tells an engaging historical story.

The text’s analytical framework focuses on the political economy, dominant ideology, and existing educational practices that are prevalent in any one historical era. Chapter 1 explains and illustrates this framework in detail. Readings at the end of each chapter, are designed for the student to critique using the same analytic framework as the authors employ in the text.

This edition adds a new Chapter 15 to wrap things up and look to the future and new material on youth culture, teacher assessment tests (PRAXIS, subject area exams, portfolio assessment), recent legal issues, technology in education, parent-teacher relations, and cultural awareness and respect. In addition to a new, more open design and updated photos, the revision incorporates for the first time specific pedagogical elements designed to help students. These new pedagogical elements include Chapter Overviews, Chapter Objectives, Timelines, Developing Your Professional Vocabulary, Thinking Critically About the Issues, and Web Sites of Interest.