Showing papers in "Harvard Educational Review in 1968"
TL;DR: The authors traces the evolutionary shifts in interpretation of the concept of equality of educational opportunity, not only putting into perspective the different views which form the basis for disagreement today but also indicating how the current direction of change may influence the interpretation of this concept in the future.
Abstract: Although there is wide agreement in the United States that our society accepts and supports the fundamental value of equal opportunity, when it comes to areas of specific application there is considerable disagreement over its meaning. In this article, the author traces the evolutionary shifts in interpretation of the concept of equality of educational opportunity, not only putting into perspective the different views which form the basis for disagreement today but also indicating how the current direction of change may influence the interpretation of this concept in the future.
432 citations
TL;DR: The relevance for education of much of Maslow's psychological theorizing is examined in detail, as the author explores the reinforcing role of "peakexperiences" and discusses the general educational imperatives to be derived from his views of the process of self-actualization.
Abstract: The theoretical and empirical work of Dr. Maslow, which has helped to form a "Third Force" psychology, has been recognized widely within that discipline, which honors him this year as President of the American Psychological Association. In this essay, the relevance for education of much of his psychological theorizing is examined in detail, as the author explores the reinforcing role of "peakexperiences," and discusses the general educational imperatives to be derived from his views of the process of "self-actualization."
169 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors take issue with a widely accepted developmental model which suggests that almost all of political socialization occurs in the elementary school years, and re-examine some of the research on which the model was based in light of original data gathered by the Survey Research Center of the University of Michigan.
Abstract: The authors take issue with a widely accepted developmental model which suggests that almost all of political socialization occurs in the elementary school years. They re-examine some of the research on which the model was based in light of original data gathered by the Survey Research Center of the University of Michigan.
51 citations
TL;DR: The authors surveys three earlier studies of the effects of schooling on achievement and cognitive development in which the conclusions apparently differ from those of the Coleman Report, and suggests that the Report gives an "unfortunate" impression that schools can do little to improve achievement.
Abstract: The author surveys three earlier studies of the effects of schooling on achievement and cognitive development in which the conclusions apparently differ from those of the Coleman Report. He suggests that the Report gives an "unfortunate" impression that schools can do little to improve achievement, and then examines certain school characteristics which do seem to influence achievement.
49 citations
TL;DR: The authors asserted that the educational questions and issues being raised by many black parents, students, and teachers today are substantially different from the traditional concerns of experts and pointed out that black people are focusing as much on Afro-American culture and awareness as they are on verbal and arithmetic skills.
Abstract: The author asserts that the educational questions and issues being raised by many black parents, students, and teachers today are substantially different from the traditional concerns of experts. The black spokesmen are questioning the legitimacy of the educational institutions; they no longer believe that it is sufficient to try to increase the effectiveness of those institutions. This difference has caused a tension between those who have been victims of indifferent and inefficient policies and practices and those who believe it is still possible to make the existing institutions operable. Black people are calling for community control, not for integration. They are focusing as much on Afro-American culture and awareness as they are on verbal and arithmetic skills. Some black people are thinking of entirely new, comprehensive forms of education, based on substantially different normative values.
45 citations
TL;DR: In this article, a theory of racial differences in the early socialization of academic motivation is presented to account for some of the favorable effect on Negroes of teachers' and classmates' competence, and attendance at predominantly white schools.
Abstract: A striking revelation of the Coleman Report is the close tie between Negro academie achievement and the social environment of the classroom. A theory of racial differences in the early socialization of academic motivation is here advanced to account for some of the favorable effect on Negroes of (a) teachers' and classmates' competence, and (b) attendance at predominantly white schools. Unrealistic self– devaluation and strong anxiety are shown by recent research to be common features of Negro behavior in racially isolated institutions. These facts can be related to the educational values and practices of Negro parents, and to the Coleman data on students' academic attitudes.
39 citations
TL;DR: This paper reviewed several studies that support the Coleman finding on the significance of the social-class climate of the school's student body and considered effects which can be attributed specifically to racial-composition factors.
Abstract: After reviewing several studies that support the Coleman finding on the significance of the social-class climate of the school's student body, the author considers effects which can be attributed specifically to racial-composition factors. He distinguishes between a "desegregated" school and an "integrated" school, and discusses the explanatory power of this "crucial distinction." The author concludes with an examination of questions concerning the dynamics of the interracial classroom suggested by the Equality of Educational Opportunity survey data. Two processes are considered in some detail: "fate control" and "social evaluation."
38 citations
TL;DR: The authors discusses the responses to the Coleman Report of three interest groups from which strong reactions might have been expected: the educational establishment, the reform establishment, and the research establishment and offers three propositions explaining why these groups responded as they did to the findings.
Abstract: The author discusses the responses to the Coleman Report of three interest groups from which strong reactions might have been expected—the educational establishment, the reform establishment, and the research establishment. He offers three propositions explaining why these groups responded as they did to the Coleman findings. The author illustrates one of his propositions in some detail by analyzing the Coleman data relating family structure and school achievement.
31 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors argue that American public education suffers from pervasive and persistent inefficiency, particularly in the schools provided for Negro and other underprivileged children, and propose a strategy for providing excellent education in ghetto schools in conjunction with efforts to bring about effective school desegregation.
Abstract: The author asserts that American public education suffers from "pervasive and persistent" inefficiency, particularly in the schools provided for Negro and other underprivileged children. After discussing the obstacles to "effective, nonracially constrained" education, the author proposes a strategy for providing excellent education in ghetto schools in conjunction with efforts to bring about effective school desegregation. Because the present patterns of public school organization are themselves a principal factor in inhibiting efforts to improve the quality of education, it will be necessary, he contends, to find "realistic, aggressive, and viable competitors" to the present public schools. The paper concludes with a discussion of alternatives to existing urban public school systems, including such possibilities as industrial demonstration schools and schools operated by the Department of Defense.
31 citations
TL;DR: The authors argues that a number of changes are necessary if equality of educational opportunity is to be achieved: the allocation of unequal amounts of resources for educating Negro as compared to white children, the rejection of the notion that the educational system alone can and should bear the responsibility for achieving equal opportunity, and a major redistribution of political power within our society.
Abstract: In this article, the author argues that a number of changes are necessary if equality of educational opportunity is to be achieved: the allocation of unequal amounts of resources for educating Negro as compared to white children and poor as compared to rich children, the rejection of the notion that the educational system alone can and should bear the responsibility for achieving equal opportunity, and a major redistribution of political power within our society.
24 citations
TL;DR: The role of educational attainment on adult occupational status is often exaggerated, but higher education is nonetheless an important route to a good job as mentioned in this paper, and the middle class have always made disproportionate use of this tool for self-advancement, and the gap is not narrowing.
Abstract: The effect of educational attainment on adult occupational status is often exaggerated, but higher education is nonetheless an important route to a good job. The middle class have always made disproportionate use of this tool for self-advancement, and the gap is not narrowing. The role of tuition charges and academic tests in maintaining the middle-class advantage is not as great as many suppose; class differences in motivation probably play the decisive role. Even if access to higher education became more equal, however, this would not necessarily make American life more satisfactory. The central problem seems to be inequality, not immobility, and while the two are closely related, measures intended to achieve one may not promote the other.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors draw on the natural and social sciences to illustrate differences and interactions between applied and basic research in education, and conclude that there is ample justification for further financial and intellectual support of the basic research component in education.
Abstract: The author draws on the natural and social sciences to illustrate differences and interactions between applied and basic research in education. From this discussion he concludes that there is ample justification for further financial and intellectual support of the basic research component in education, and calls for a better balance in the support of basic and applied educational research.
TL;DR: In this article, the first in a projected series on Law and Education, which will deal with both legislation and court decisions relevant to education, is presented, with a focus on education.
Abstract: This article is the first in a projected series on Law and Education, which will deal with both legislation and court decisions relevant to education.
TL;DR: In this article, the implications of research for national policy for urban education are discussed, focusing on those few basic aspects of urban public education which probably could be reached and fundamentally changed by the relatively limited instruments of national policy.
Abstract: This article is concerned with the implications of research for national policy. As a consequence, the discussion centers upon only a few of the many changes which are generally advocated for urban education. The focus is upon those few basic aspects of urban public education which probably could be reached and fundamentally changed by the relatively limited instruments of national policy. Although they have enormous potential for creativity, these instruments—the law, money, and administrative requirements—also have limitations. The limitations are a good deal more acute in matters of educational opportunity than in, say, voting rights. It is in large part for these intrinsic reasons, and owing to certain historic limitations (we do not have a national school system, and thus cannot have a national policy on curriculum) that policy implications assessed here may seem to some rather narrowly circumscribed. It is not my view that unique programs and personalities, engaged creatively in education under what...
TL;DR: The Adams-Morgan Project as discussed by the authors was a major testing ground for the community school approach, but difficulties have beset the project from its inception, together with the racial attitudes of teachers and an ill-defined allocation of responsibility and power among the participating groups, contributed to the difficulties at the Morgan Elementary School.
Abstract: Despite the public acclaim which has been accorded the Adams-Morgan Project as a major testing ground for the community school approach, difficulties have beset the project from its inception. In addition to community control, the project design included experimentation with university participation in school operation, teamteaching and nongraded organization, an experimental open-ended curriculum, and a program of teacher and subprofessional training. Each of these innovations, together with the racial attitudes of teachers and an ill-defined allocation of responsibility and power among the participating groups, has contributed to the difficulties at the Morgan Elementary School. In logging the project's development and assessing its tentative results, the author identifies a number of important considerations for the operation of projects which involve experimentation in any of these areas.
TL;DR: This article argued that political socialization in college depends very substantially on the nature of the student's life struggles at the time, especially his continuing conflict with his absent father, his struggle to achieve some particular mode of accommodation with his fellow students, and his struggle with himself on his own self-image.
Abstract: How does college affect a student's political outlook? It is so tempting to take a faculty-eye view of the process of socialization (the effects of curricula, faculty views, field of specialization), or a grosser view of the effects of intellectual effort, or even a personalistic view of the effects of psychological traits, that one can easily omit the central and changing nature of the student's own purposes and partially-understood struggles. The author argues that political socialization in college depends very substantially on the nature of the student's life struggles at the time, especially his continuing conflict with his absent father, his struggle to achieve some particular mode of accommodation with his fellow students, and his struggle with himself on his own self-image. He examines some of the findings on political change associated with college life and some of the factors associated with these changes, then examines some case material on political development as reported by the students them...
TL;DR: In this article, the authors consider the relationship between the "aggregative characteristics" of schools and the development of individual students attending these schools and discuss several levels at which the Coleman inference with respect to the effect of student body characteristics on academic achievement has been questioned.
Abstract: After reviewing briefly the influence that the ideology of equal educational opportunity has had on the development of public education, the author considers the relationships between the "aggregative characteristics" of schools and the development of individual students attending these schools. In particular, he considers the relevant findings presented in the Coleman Report and in related studies. He discusses several levels at which the Coleman inference with respect to the effect of student body characteristics on academic achievement has been questioned, and uses related studies where possible to eliminate ambiguities. The author concludes by considering the problem of a theoretical rationale adequate to account for the empirical findings of the Coleman study.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors evaluate some of these claims in terms of the potential value of modern technological equipment and techniques for the improvement of education and evaluate their claims in the context of education.
Abstract: Many claims have been made about the potential value of modern technological equipment and techniques for the improvement of education. In this article the authors evaluate some of these claims in ...
TL;DR: The Plowden Report on children and their primary schools as mentioned in this paper was published last year under the auspices of the English Central Advisory Council on Education (ACCE), and its aim was to present a survey of the state of primary school education in England and a blueprint for reform.
Abstract: Children and their Primary Schools was published last year under the auspices of the English Central Advisory Council on Education. It was prepared by a distinguished committee chaired by Lady Plowden, and its aim was to present both a survey of the state of primary school education in England and a blueprint for reform. Although the Plowden Report has aroused little discussion in American journals, we feel it has considerable relevance for both classroom practice and educational research in this country. Therefore, we have invited Joseph Featherstone, Associate Editor of The New Republic and author of a celebrated series of articles on "The Primary School Revolution in England," and David Cohen, principal author of the recent report on racial isolation of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, to deal respectively with the pedagogical and research implications of the Plowden Report for American educators.
TL;DR: The authors found that men's political socialization is determined mainly by men's educational and migration biography, men's occupational experience, and the history and structure of the political system men live under.
Abstract: Political socialization may be thought of as having three aspects: the degree to which people interpret the conditions of their milieu in terms of distant political processes, the ideas of social causation with which they interpret such distant processes, and the interpretation of specific political events and structures of their country. This paper attempts to show that the first is determined mainly by men's educational and migration biography, the second mainly by men's occupational experience, and the third mainly by the history and structure of the political system men live under. The data come from a study of the contrasts between industrial bureaucrats and the traditional middle classes in steel cities in three South American countries, Chile, Argentina, and Venezuela.
TL;DR: The report of the National Advisory Commission on Civil Disorders, initiated by the President after the riots of Summer, 1967, received sustained national attention for its condemnation of white racism as the root cause of civil disorder and for its broad recommendations for government action, including action in the field of education as mentioned in this paper.
Abstract: The Report of the National Advisory Commission on Civil Disorders, initiated by the President after the riots of Summer, 1967, received sustained national attention for its condemnation of white racism as the root cause of civil disorder and for its broad recommendations for government action, including action in the field of education. The Report deserves analysis both as a research document analyzing social processes underlying the present urban crisis, and as a political document recommending programs for change. Richard J. Light, Instructor in Education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, concentrates on the Report's empirical studies, using them as a basis for analyzing the relationship between research and public policy. The initial section of Mr. Light's essay provides a brief summary of the Report. Robert L. Green, Professor of Educational Psychology at Michigan State University, focuses his attention on the Report's policy recommendations, especially those dealing with education.