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Moving Forward, Looking Back: Renewing The Struggle For An American Curriculum, Dave Powell

Dave Powell

Rationales for public school reform in the United States are often tied to historical perspectives on the birth and development of schools and are buffeted by the assumption that the history of public schooling says much about how reform efforts should proceed. This interpretive article explores 2 such perspectives on 21st century schools: those of Diane Ravitch, distinguished educational historian and commentator; and those of Herbert Kliebard, considered one of the preeminent authorities on the development of the American curriculum. This investigation reveals that Ravitch’s longstanding condemnation of progressivism and curricular differentiation as the source of what ails public schools …