Curriculum throughout History: The Move toward Accountability, Job Preparation, and Equity
By minsingerj
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17th Century: Teaching Morality/ Learning as Apprenticeship
Schools were focused on teaching morals to the populace. The only academics included were the learning of literacy so that students could read the Bible and prayers. Beyond traditional schooling, students studied under apprentices to learn how to do a job, which is a theme that shows up in every century. Throughout the history of curriculum in the United States, education has always been used to prepare students for their future jobs. -
18th century: Equity through Mass Production of Textbooks
Textbooks were mass-produced in this century, which led to a more uniform curriculum across the country. While education was still controlled locally, textbooks that were used in one state could now be used by other states. The mass production of textbooks stemmed from a belief that education needed to become more democratized. This was a first step toward providing equal educational access to all students. -
18th Century: A Variety of Coursework
The learning of academics (i.e. Latin, Greek, etc.) was reserved for the rich, leading education to be an indicator of social status. Over time, the privilege of education would be distributed to more and more people, although the question of equity in education in terms of social status remains to this day. One theme throughout the history of curriculum is that there is always a higher and a lower track of education that separates students into a privileged and non-privileged group. -
19th Century: Issues of Equity
Students from minority backgrounds continued to receive second rate educations. African American students were forced to go to school with only African Americans, and Native Americans went to schools that forced them to sacrifice their heritage and traditions in favor of the traditions of the school. This inequality resulted in court cases in the twentieth century that led to a more equitable schooling experience for all students. -
19th Century: Standards-Based Education
Horace Mann introduced the idea of setting teaching standards and formally training teachers. This created a shift toward teaching as a profession. This also ushered in the current era of teacher preparation schools that focused on educating teachers about content and pedagogical strategies. The era of standards-based teacher education programs was another step in the direction of stronger accountability for quality teaching, which has continued to expand into the twenty-first century. -
19th Century: The Emergence of Public Education
The country moved toward a more universal education system by establishing public education and compulsory education laws, which created more accountability for all students and families. While the country started to move toward regulating education for all, it did not provide a federalized structure of curriculum. This continued the belief that education should be left to the states to control, which is a belief that continues into the twenty-first century. -
20th Century: Progressivism
Progressivism shifted the focus in public education toward educating the child. This was a departure from the memorization of information traditionally done in school and emphasized creative expression and problem-solving skills. Students were exposed to experiential learning, which was similar to the vocational learning of the past. This movement changed the way that teachers were expected to engage students. It also laid the groundwork for some of the current accountability measures. -
20th Century: Standards for Educational Practice
Standards for educational practice were established. The Cardinal Principles of Secondary Education were developed in 1918, which shifted the focus of secondary education to a more goal-oriented approach. At the secondary level, the focus became making sure that students were successful at life after graduating. This continued the trend of preparing students for post-secondary job opportunities, which dates back to the 17th century. -
21st Century: Accountability
The No Child Left Behind Act led to a greater accountability for schools, including measures for Adequate Yearly Progress, opportunities for school choice, and national standards to compare schools across the country. While there have been efforts to nationalize aspects of curriculum, nothing has worked because the United States has traditionally been against a centrally controlled education system.
