St Andrews Research Repository

St Andrews University Home
View Item 
  •   St Andrews Research Repository
  • History (School of)
  • Modern History
  • Modern History Theses
  • View Item
  •   St Andrews Research Repository
  • History (School of)
  • Modern History
  • Modern History Theses
  • View Item
  •   St Andrews Research Repository
  • History (School of)
  • Modern History
  • Modern History Theses
  • View Item
  • Login
JavaScript is disabled for your browser. Some features of this site may not work without it.

A cycle of American educational reform : Garfield and Bellingham High Schools in the state of Washington, 1958-1983

Thumbnail
View/Open
KathleenANuzumPhDThesis.pdf (70.25Mb)
Date
2004
Author
Nuzum, Kathleen A.
Metadata
Show full item record
Altmetrics Handle Statistics
Abstract
This thesis examines the educational experience from 1958 to 1983 in two Washington State high schools: Bellingham High School and Garfield High School, Seattle. It focuses on what happened to the structure, curriculum content and environment within these schools, and also discusses the process of centralisation in Washington State educational administration. The period of study was bounded by two reports: James Bryant Conant's The American High School Today (January 1959), and A Nation at Risk (issued in 1983) by the U.S. Secretary of Education, Terrell Bell, and the National Commission on Excellence in Education, reports which were issued in response to the Cold War and to growing international economic competition. Conant and his generation of educators sought a system of secondary education that, by opening educational opportunities to all young Americans, would close the critical Soviet- US gap in missile and space technology, and would give the Cold War victory to the United States. However, national policies, state administration and socio-cultural change in American life all contributed to a shift in classroom emphasis away from traditional academics and measures of students' achievement during the quarter-century after Conant - a condition made clear by the National Commission in 1983. Whatever the other values of these educational reforms, they had a negative effect on student attitudes towards academic achievement, resulting in a disengagement from all aspects of school life. Despite cultural differences, the parallel institutional experiences of Bellingham and Garfield, and the similarities that emerged between the schools' administrative structures, educational goals, teaching strategies and learning styles, imply that class was also an important factor shaping the educational experience in the United States during the 1960s and 1970s.
Type
Thesis, PhD Doctor of Philosophy
Collections
  • Modern History Theses
URI
http://hdl.handle.net/10023/14467

Items in the St Andrews Research Repository are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.

Advanced Search

Browse

All of RepositoryCommunities & CollectionsBy Issue DateNamesTitlesSubjectsClassificationTypeFunderThis CollectionBy Issue DateNamesTitlesSubjectsClassificationTypeFunder

My Account

Login

Open Access

To find out how you can benefit from open access to research, see our library web pages and Open Access blog. For open access help contact: openaccess@st-andrews.ac.uk.

Accessibility

Read our Accessibility statement.

How to submit research papers

The full text of research papers can be submitted to the repository via Pure, the University's research information system. For help see our guide: How to deposit in Pure.

Electronic thesis deposit

Help with deposit.

Repository help

For repository help contact: Digital-Repository@st-andrews.ac.uk.

Give Feedback

Cookie policy

This site may use cookies. Please see Terms and Conditions.

Usage statistics

COUNTER-compliant statistics on downloads from the repository are available from the IRUS-UK Service. Contact us for information.

© University of St Andrews Library

University of St Andrews is a charity registered in Scotland, No SC013532.

  • Facebook
  • Twitter