The Hope for American School Reform The Cold War Pursuit of Inquiry Learning in Social Studies

The Hope of American School Reform tells the story of the origins of the reform in science and math education, its broadening to social studies, the projects and materials created, the critiques and dilemmas that emerged, resistance reflecting the politics of schooling, and the many difficulties experienced by the reformers as they encountered entrenched patterns of schooling resistant to an inquiry mode of teaching. The book is drawn, in part, on new research from previously untapped archival sources. It offers an in-depth analysis of not only the historical questions involved in understanding this period of reform, but also provides a penetrating analysis of the central dilemma of the social studies field, the "grammar" of social studies, the broad and deeply engrained patterns of school practice which stand as an obstacle to meaningful social learning in schools. The aim of this work is to contribute to our understanding of a major effort to reform school curricula, to better understand its dilemmas and possibilities, and to provide a stimulus to thoughtful consideration of current and future reforms.

Ronald W. Evans is a Professor of Teacher Education at San Diego State University. He is the author of The Social Studies Wars: What Should We Teach the Children? (2004) and This Happened in America: Harold Rugg and the Censure of Social Studies (2007). He also served as first editor of the Handbook on Teaching Social Issues (1996).

Introduction: Persistent Dilemmas of Curriculum Improvement * PART I: THE COLD WAR ORIGINS OF CURRICULUM REFORM * Culture War Over the Schools * The Ultimate Weapon * PART II: FROM WOODS HOLE TO PROJECT SOCIAL STUDIES: EMERGENCE OF A REFORM * Great Minds at Woods Hole * Showdown at Endicott House * PART III: INTO THE SCHOOLS * The Projects * PART IV: CONSIDERING ALTERNATIVES * Critiques and Dilemmas * Reform in Perspective * Conclusion: Time of Hope, a Time of Fear