The General Education Board and Their Contribution toward Vocationalizing Public Schools 1905-1925.

Overview & Synopsis

Between 1905 and 1925, the General Education Board (GEB) continued John D. Rockefeller's pattern of philanthropy for education and established its own philosophies of what programs to endow and what directions were appropriate for education. Programs that the GEB established and funded demonstrate their goals for education. Many of these programs resulted in the growth of vocationalism within public schooling. This study explores five areas regarding vocationalism of public education: (1) secondary education; (2) elementary education; (3) surveys of education; (4) position statements; and (5) mental measurements. Analysis of the five segments showed that the GEB acted as if people's destinies were set and that education should parallel these destinies and prepare people to meet them. In the three educational programs, successful and influential changes were made in the curriculum without persuasion by the GEB. A pattern of control over the programs funded is seen. Examination of enrollment in public high schools by course of study indicates that through all of the vocationalizing, students preferred academics. From the evidence, the nationwide movement toward a "factory model" of schooling did have its root belief in the inferiority of certain classes of people. The study showed that a paternalistic attitude extended to rural and poor people of ethnic derivation also. (Two appendices--Enrollment in Public High Schools by Course of Study and Sample General Education Board Appropriations--and 102 references are included.) (NLA)