Rethinking the History of American Education

This collection of original essays examines the history of American education as it has developed as a field since the 1970s and moves into a post-revisionist era and looks forward to possible new directions for the future .Contributors take a comprehensive approach, beginning with colonial education and spanning to modern day, while also looking at various aspects of education, from higher education, to curriculum, to the manifestation of social inequality in education. The essays speak to historians, educational researchers, policy makers and others seeking fresh perspectives on questions related to the historical development of schooling in the United States.

William J. Reese is the Carl F. Kaestle WARF Professor of Educational Policy Studies and History at University of Wisconsin-Madison. John L. Rury is a professor of Education in the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies, University of Kansas.

"William Reese and John Rury have collected the best set of essays ever published about the history of American education. If our schools and colleges are 'contested terrain,' their history is even more so: over the past half-century, historians have differed sharply over the scope, purpose, and meaning of education. These essays provide close analyses of the scholarly debates as well as wise suggestions for future research. We can only hope that the next generation of historians follows their cue." - Jonathan Zimmerman, Professor of Education and History, New York University
 
"This book provides a comprehensive review of scholarship in the history of American education during the period since the revisionists turned the field upside down in the 1960s and 70s. Its able authors display the rich diversity of issues and approaches that have characterized the field in the last 30 years." - David F. Labaree, Professor of Education, Stanford University
 
"This is a timely and important collection of essays on the broader state of the field of educational history, the first such collection in over twenty years. The introduction and other essays are critical resources for courses in the historiography of the field and its place within American history. The individual essays will be significant tools for teaching history of education courses and courses in American history, particularly addressing such subfields as the history of literacy, gender, childhood, politics, philanthropy, demography, urban change and growth, and cultural institutions." - Mary Ann Dzuback, Associate Professor and Director, Women and Gender Studies, Washington University
 
"This is an excellent collection of essays by a group of outstanding historians of education in honor of Carl Kaestle, one of the towering figures in the field. The beauty of these essays is that they succinctly clarify the state of the art in various areas of educational history. This book will have great appeal to practicing historians of education and will be of immeasurable help to new scholars just entering the field." - Jeffrey Mirel, David L. Angus Collegiate Chair of Education and Professor of History, University of Michigan