A Historical and Contemporary Analysis of the Ethical Dimensions of Educational Standardization

• In Event: Philosophical Inquiry as Consequential Research: Interrogating the Means and Ends of Ethics and Education

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to interrogate the ethical underpinnings of educational standardization from both historical and contemporary perspectives. I will argue that the deeper ethical commitments of educational standardization run counter to a social democratic vision for education. I will begin my discussion through Ellen Lagemann’s (2000) framing of the history of American education in the twentieth century, which she construes as a history in which Edward Thorndike “won” and John Dewey “lost” (p. xi). The history of American education is more complex than this simple construction, but it does allow a framework through which to understand how and why many of the dominant narratives and policies surrounding American education have developed over the past century. Going further, as Tomlinson (1997) has argued, the archetypal figures of Thorndike and Dewey, and the contrasting educational visions they represented, were rested not merely on different technical understandings of learning, pedagogy, or educational science, but on vastly different ethical foundations. This history is critical to understand on its own in terms, but also for how it arguably remains at the core of contemporary efforts of educational standardization through “innovative,” market-driven reforms increasingly emphasized by educational outsiders in the technology and business sector.
I will then explore a number of historical and contemporary narratives of educational standardization found within both its proponents and detractors to critically analyze the ethical dimensions of this discourse. I will begin by examining early writings by Thorndike and Dewey, especially concerning their differential versions of educational science, as well as documents from early proponents of the intelligence testing movement. I will then shift my attention to the mid-century rise of behavioral learning sciences and the development of instructional machinery meant to individually standardize, or “personalize,” learning. Watters’ (2021) recent history of teaching machines will be central to my discussion here. Finally, I will turn my attention to contemporary narratives of standardization via evidence-based practice, data-driven decision-making, and “personalized learning”. I will investigate the first two through an analysis of early 21st century policy documents, while the latter will be connected to current discourses amongst technology and business entrepreneurs who are championing various technological applications as a panacea for educational ills.
This analysis will yield two overarching conclusions: 1) that educational standardization is not merely a technical consideration, but is inherently connected to the ethical dimensions of education, 2) historical and contemporary visions of educational standardization have consistently emerged in times of perceived educational crisis and have sought to instill ethics of power, control, and profit which block possibilities for a social democratic educational ethic. This discussion is significant as it draws attention to the ethical dimensions of educational standardization, a topic that is often dominated by technical considerations, especially among its proponents. It is also significant as it attempts to illustrate how contemporary versions of standardization, especially those valorized by market reformers in educational technology as new and “innovative,” recapitulate the ethically shortsighted movements of the past.

Author

• Austin J. Pickup, Aurora University
  Presenting Author