Continuing "Crisis" Over the Schools: The 1950s Origins of Systemic Reform

• In Event: 14.018 - Educational Policy and Its Implications for School Choice, Access, and Curriculum

Abstract

The aim of this paper presentation is to provide a brief overview of the 1950s era “crisis” over schooling in the United States. The author’s thesis is that the long 1950s, from 1947 to 1960, was a key period in the evolution of educational reform that launched a stream of anti-progressive educational criticism, and established a foundation for subsequent reform efforts. The presentation will discuss the 1950s as the first significant era of national educational “crisis,” one that continues to resonate as we pursue a seemingly perpetual effort at systemic reform.

Author

• Ronald W. Evans, San Diego State University