When you finish studying this chapter, you should be able to:

1. Describe how European educational ideas and institutions were carried to and altered in the American environment.
2. Analyze the relationships between political democracy and public schooling in the American historical context.
3. Describe the characteristics of and influences on the rise of universal education.
4. Identify some of the key historical figures in American education and describe their contributions to the development of public schooling.
5. Trace the origin and development of American secondary schooling.
6. Trace the origin and development of American higher education.
7. Describe the struggle to provide educational opportunities for minorities and identify the contributions of ethnic, cultural, and language minority groups to American education.
8. Identify and analyze the issues related to education in a pluralistic and multicultural society.
9. Analyze educational issues in historical perspective, evaluate recent educational events and influences, and project educational trends into the future.

Focus and Refocus Questions:

When you finish studying this chapter, you should be able to answer the following questions from your textbook:

Focus Questions

• How did the American environment transform European educational ideas and institutions?
• How did American democratic ideas contribute to public schooling in the United States?
• How does the American educational ladder differ from the European dual system?
• How did the United States become a culturally diverse society?
• What are the trends in the history of American education?

Refocus Questions

• Do you think the Puritan attitude toward work and morality has influenced American culture and schools? How? What place does the Puritan ethic hold in your own philosophy of education?
• Why was the establishment of schools an important concern for the early colonists?
• Think back to the question at the beginning of the chapter: How did American democratic ideas contribute to public schooling in the United States? Examine how you believe the ideas of Franklin, Jefferson, and Webster contributed to these ideas.
• Think back to the question at the beginning of the chapter: How does the American educational ladder differ from the European dual-track system? Consider how the common school established a broad-based foundation for the American system as you know it today.
• Think back to the question at the beginning of the chapter: How does the American educational ladder differ from the European dual-track system? Do you foresee any future changes in the organization and structure of the American educational system?
• Think back to the question at the beginning of the chapter: How did the United States become a culturally diverse society? Reflect on the role and contributions of African, Latino, Arab, and Asian Americans to American culture.
• Think back to the question at the beginning of the chapter: What are the recent trends in the history of American education? Identify what you believe are the trends that will have the greatest impact on your own teaching career.
• Is it possible for schools to cultivate both a common and a culturally pluralistic culture?