Higher Education's Curricular Responses to Political, Social, & Economic Events in the U.S.
By jeannecarey
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Classical Curricula during the Colonial Era
Curricula at the nine institutions of higher education during the Colonial Era were based on "the classics": Latin and Greek; students were expected to know how to read and translate these languages before they got to college (Cothran, 2007). Literacy was emphasized and the educational philosophy during this era seemed more concerned with instilling and maintaining knowledge, rather than promoting the acquisition of new information (Cohen & Kisker, 2010). -
Benjamin Franklin forms the American Philosophical Society
The American Philosophical Society (APS) was established to help bring the ideas of the European Enlightenment to colonial America. Franklin emphasized "useful knowledge" such as science, human reason, and secularism. Franklin believed the time was right for increased scientific pursuits and innovations but realized there needed to be a way to document and sustain these discoveries. Still in existence today, the APS is the oldest learned society in the U.S. (National Humanities, 2009). -
Jefferson's Bill for the More General Diffusion of Knowledge
Jefferson believed an educated people was the best defense against possible tyranny in the new republic. He believed every citizen should be educated but not by the same means or necessarily equally. He proposed a two-track system; one for "the laboring and one of the learned". The bill was first introduced in 1778 but was not signed into law until 1796; at which time, it had undergone some rather significant revisions from Jefferson's original text (Berkes, 2009; Carpenter, 2004). -
The Morrill Acts of 1862 and 1890
These two laws established public colleges in every state in the Union which was not "in a condition of rebellion or insurrection against the government of the United States.". The laws defined the curriculum at these institutions to include agriculture and mechanics, "without excluding other scientific and classical studies and including military tactic" (1890 Universities, 2015). -
Founding of the Association of American Universities
The Association of American Universities was founded in 1900 to advance research among the top institutions. In 2010, the AAU changed the criteria used to determine which research institutions are regarded as "highly selective", thereby excluding some previously on the list. Today there are 62 members and these institutions award almost half of all doctoral degrees in the U.S. and 55% of those are in science and engineering (About AAU, 2016; Lederman & Nelson, 2011). -
Vocational Educational Act of 1917
Also known as the Smith-Hughes Act. This marked the first time the federal government had a say in a portion of the high school curriculum. Job training programs grew in response to the high unemployment rate during the Great Depression, from 1929-1939. Vocational training programs emphasized teaching job-related skills, almost to the exclusion of any theory content (Kosar, 2011). -
The President's Commission on Higher Education
Also known as the Truman Commission Report, the president's intent was to increase access to college and "examine the functions of higher education in our democracy" (Hutcheson, 2007, p. 107). Truman set forth two goals for the commission: first, to educate college students in a broad program of general education and secondly, to improve college teaching. The commission recognized the importance of the first two years of college, emphasizing the role of community colleges (Hutcheson, 2007). -
The Commodification of Education
Following the recession of the 1970s and the release of "A Nation at Risk" report, and perhaps as a result of these two forces, we began looking at education in terms of cost-benefit, rather than seeing any intrinsic value to the process itself. Curricula were judged by their usefulness & students viewed a degree as their ticket to success. This led to an increased demand for higher education, proliferation of for-profit institutions, and a willingness to pay the rising costs (Kirmer, 2013). -
Integrity in the College Curriculum Report
Written by members of The Project of Redefining the Meaning and Purpose of Baccalaureate Degrees, in response to decreasing public confidence in the value of a college degree. The study found we no longer agreed what a baccalaureate degree should be. It noted that professors had increasingly become focused on their area but "no one was minding the shop" or looking over the curriculum as a whole; noting the proliferation of courses and majors (Werking, Wilson, & Hassenger, 1986). -
The Great Recession of 2007-2009
The economic downturn that resulted from the housing and mortgage crisis, led to higher unemployment rates, especially for young adults just entering the workforce. Many college grads, with significant debt, found themselves unable to secure employment - the very "success" that had been promised if they got an education. Discouraged and disgruntled graduates felt they had been victims of a cruel "bait-and-switch" scheme (Kirmer, 2013, p. 90). -
