Building a "State" Educational System: The Growth of Washington's Territorial Public Schools

• In Event: 49.036 - Policies and Practices in State and Local Contexts in the West

Abstract

Often overlooked in the discussion of the development of state educational systems is the role that territorial educational practices played in shaping the resulting state systems. This is particularly true for states in the western United States gaining statehood post Civil War because of their extended territorial status. Using Washington Territory as a case study, this paper examines the development of territorial public school systems in an attempt to understand how governmental agencies created standardized oversight of territorial schools while allowing for local control of the public schools. It also explores whether gender played a significant role in the shaping of territory’s education system.

Author

• Kathryn Nicholas, University of Washington