1960s School Crises: Accusations for Not Doing What Was Expected

• In Event: Moscone Center North Roundtable Session 14
  In Roundtable Session: Reconsidering the Standard in Education

Abstract

In Western countries throughout the history of public schooling there has always been debate about responsibilities as schools are not doing what was expected. During reforms of the education system parents, teachers, pupils, politicians and others are accused for hindering wished change. This paper analyses influential American and German sources from the 1960s that shaped public discourse on the state of education when it was said to be in “crisis”. These sources identify or are authored by famous spokespersons denouncing accountability. It is not the actual state of schooling that is crucial for crisis diagnosis, but rather the social and political interactions, which create anxiety by insisting that something fundamental must be done about a nation’s school system.

Author

• Bernhard A. Hemetsberger, University of the Federal Armed Forces Munich