State Superintendent Reports as Sources for Educational History

• In Event: Marriott Roundtable Session 55
  In Roundtable Session: On Schools and Schooling

Abstract

State superintendent reports are sources of valuable documentary evidence for historians of education. This paper examines these reports as historical sources—discussing their availability, accessibility, range of content, audience, context, authorship, processes related to their production, and influence. The goal of this paper is to provide beginning researchers with an idea of the scope of content available in state superintendent reports, while scaffolding the consideration of issues salient to the process of historical criticism.

Author

• Mindy Spearman, Clemson University