In this brief, interpretive history of American schooling, John Rury focuses on the evolving relationship between education and social change. This revised edition considers the impact of social forces such as industrialization, urbanization, immigration and cultural conflict on the development of schools and other educational institutions. It also examines the various ways that schools have contributed to social change, particularly in enhancing the status and accomplishments of certain social groups and not others. Detailed accounts of the experiences of women and minority groups in American history consider how their lives have been affected by education.

Contents -- Preface -- Introduction: History, Social Change, and Education -- Colonial America: Religion, Inequality and Revolution -- Emergence of a Modern School System: The Nineteenth Century -- Ethnicity, Gender, and Race: Contours of Social Change in the 19th Century -- Growth, Reform and Differentiation: The Progressive Era -- The Human Capital Revolution: Postwar America to the End of the Twentieth Century -- Epilogue: Looking to the Future -- References -- Subject Index.