This article, which accompanies Jane Martin's piece in this issue of "FORUM" (Volume 55 Number 2 2013, pp. 327-333), is a revised version of a lecture given at the History of education conference held in Winchester, December 1, 2012. [See the accompanying article "Caroline Decamp Benn and the Comprehensive Education Movement: The…

Biography is often construed as life story, life history or memoir. The author who narrates the life of another the biographer may skim the surface to relate the events that occurred during the subject's life or dig deeply to explore the social and political issues that shaped her/his development. The subject of this biography is a man who grasped…

Stories consume lives and lives become stories. A unit of study examines the creation of self in autobiographies and biographies looking closely at how we construct a life from the fragments of human experience and memory. This paper looks briefly at the different theoretical perspectives about biography and autobiography, following closely the…

Social studies classroom teachers can enliven high school history courses and motivate students to learn about history by using dramatic or heroic biographies in teaching history. The biographical approach centers on study of the lives, beliefs, and surroundings of historical actors. This approach differs from the "great man" theory of history in…

Classroom teachers of adolescents need to analyze the material they use for instructional purposes, as well as the materials they suggest for independent reading, to be certain that both incorporate text which is informational or technical, since experience suggests that this type of material is generally preferred by readers of this age group.…

Throughout her lifetime Frances Evelyn Maynard Greville, the Countess of Warwick, contributed considerable energy and financial support to improving the education of poor and rural children, women, and laborers. Among her accomplishments were the establishment of a school for handicapped girls and a secondary agricultural and technical school for…

Emphasizing the dedication with which Rutherford B. Hayes (1822-92) labored to achieve advancement in American public education, the biography discusses the historical and political events which highlighted his career. Describing Hayes as a man who stood above party politicking in his years in the White House (1877-81), the biography maintains…

The educational memories of 26 Spanish adults between the ages of 50 and 92 years who had attended school between 1921 and 1956 were explored in a narrative analysis. The adults' oral biographies were obtained through semi-structured interviews examining their life experiences and transitions. The participants' grandchildren conducted the…