The History and Social Foundations of American Education

Pulliam (U. of Montana) and Van Patten (U. of Arkansas-Fayetteville) instruct education students on the cultural, historical, philosophical, social, and psychological factors that define educational institutions in the US. They present the basic concepts and theories that underlie practice and chronicle the development of American education, focusing on key events, movements, and theories, and including current issues and globalization trends. This edition includes information on Eastern philosophies; more on alternative certification, gangs, school violence, and bullying; evaluation of student achievement and charter schools in the context of lack of funding; past, current, and prospective laws; a focus on diverse populations and equity and access for special education, women, and minorities; discussion of the effect of political conflict on education and the pros and cons of the reauthorization of the No Child Left Behind Act; and graphs, photos, and expanded timelines. Annotation c2012 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

John D. Pulliam received his Ph.D. from the University of Illinois and later served as a public school teacher and principal. In higher education, he was assistant professor at the University of Texas in Austin, Professor and Department Chair at the University of Oklahoma, Dean of the College of Education at the University of Arkansas, and finally Dean of the School of Education at the University of Montana. Pulliam was co-author of four books in the field of educational theory and had over 100 articles in scholarly journals.

James Van Patten received his Ph.D from the University of Texas at Austin. His service in higher education includes professor of education at Central Missouri State University, Warrensburg; Professor of Education at University of Arkansas; visiting scholar at UCLA, the University of Michigan, and the University of Texas at Austin. He has authored numerous professional journal articles and books, and most recently published articles in the Encyclopedia of Education Law 2010, the Encyclopedia of Social and Cultural Foundations of Education 2008, and the Encyclopedia of Law and Higher Education 2010.