The open-classroom movement originated in British public elementary schools after World War II. American educators who adopted the trend viewed informal education--or, as they came to call it, open classrooms or open education--as an answer to both the American education system's critics and the problems of U.S. society. Open classrooms' focus on…

Certain educational reform proposals tend to crop up repeatedly for three reasons: (1) they fail to remove the problems they were intended to solve; (2) solutions were designed to correct different problems from those identified; and (3) the problems were persistent dilemmas involving hard choices between conflicting values. (TE)

The idea that schools seldom change is debunked as a myth and discussed in terms of two types of change (incremental and fundamental) that have marked the history of public schools. This myth has also affected the education of children with disabilities, particularly concerning judgment of the success or failure of innovations. Suggestions for…

The changing role of the kindergarten in U.S. educational history illustrates the ways in which educational reforms are altered as they survive. From a reform aimed at altering the relationship between school and community, kindergarten has become essentially a way to get children ready for first grade. (SLD)

This paper analyzes the planned and unplanned and external and internal forces that influence curriculum. Three questions guide the analysis of curriculum change in American schools during the 20th century: what forces changed curriculum? what forces maintained stability? which forces are amenable to planned change and are appropriate candidates…