The purported "Golden Age" of American higher education, typically associated with the two decades following World War II, was marked by increasingly generous federal support of the nation's postsecondary institutions and their students. Unlike analyses that attribute this largesse to factors like geopolitics (i.e., a response to the…

Teacher education remains a largely unexplored area within the history of American education. This paper is an example of the types of state-specific stories that are needed as university administrators and policymakers make critical decisions about the content and purpose of teacher ed curriculum. These decisions, in turn, have a direct impact on…

Purpose: America's College Promise (ACP) is a legislative initiative introduced by President Obama to increase access to higher education, to build the economy, and to support his earlier American Graduation Initiative. This legislation has the potential to settle among the ranks of the most influential federal higher education aid and access…

Federal legislation has driven and been receptive to the vision of a rigorous, relevant career and technical education (CTE) system integrated with academics and aligned across middle school, secondary school, and postsecondary education. This article uses a social policy analysis approach to trace the history of federal CTE policy throughout the…

Critical scholars have argued that mathematics education is in danger of becoming increasingly influenced by and aligned with neoliberal and neoconservative market-focused projects. Although this larger argument is powerful, there are often 2 peculiar responses to issues of race and racism within these analyses. These responses are characterized…

The curse of being the "new, new" thing was initially hung around the neck of the current incarnation of Quebec's "recognition of prior learning" program. However, this has changed as the program has evolved into a working service for Quebec residents. This article will examine the current public offering of the recognition of…

The 1947 President's Commission on Higher Education offers insight into higher education policy in the United States. This article reviews and assesses the adoption of its policy recommendations in two key areas: 1) improving college access and equity and 2) expanding the role of community colleges. (Contains 1 figure and 4 notes.)

The 20th century has been called the American Century, and one of its leitmotifs was the great leap forward for millions of Americans from poverty into the middle class. In the 1960s and 1970s, the implementation of the Higher Education Act and Pell Grants allowed large numbers of students from low-income families to enter college. In addition,…

The 1944 G.I. Bill is often thought to have democratized higher education in the United States. This paper reviews evidence showing that the G.I. Bill's impact on education enrollments was more limited than is generally recognized. It attributes the gap between the law's perceived and documented effects to the symbolism surrounding postwar…

Every six years or so, reauthorization of the Higher Education Act of 1965 provides the opportunity for Congress--and the nation--to examine the current conditions and consider the future needs of higher education. While reauthorization tends to focus on funding and on "fixing" postsecondary education's most visible problems, the…

The three great federal policy initiatives concerning higher education, the land-grant movement of the 1860s, the World War II-era decision to rely on universities for basic and applied research, and the GI Bill of 1944, have affected development of the American system of higher education more than any others. (MSE)