Featuring current information and challenging perspectives on the latest issues and forces shaping the American educational system—with scholarship that is often cited as a primary source—Joel Spring introduces readers to the historical, political, social, and legal foundations of education and to the profession of teaching in the United States. In his signature straightforward, concise approach to describing complex issues, he illuminates events and topics that are often overlooked or whitewashed, giving students the opportunity to engage in critical thinking about education. Students come away informed on the latest topics, issues and data and with a strong knowledge of the forces shaping the American educational system. Updated throughout, the 21st edition of this clear, authoritative text remains fresh and up-to-date, reflecting the many changes in education that have occurred since the publication of the previous edition. New coverage includes: Discussion of “culture wars� and critical race theory Parental rights versus the goals of common education LGBTQ+ students’ rights Discussion of current administration’s educational policies

Featuring current information and challenging perspectives on the latest issues and forces shaping the American educational system—with scholarship that is often cited as a primary source—Joel Spring introduces readers to the historical, political, social, and legal foundations of education and to the profession of teaching in the United States. In his signature straightforward, concise approach to describing complex issues, he illuminates events and topics that are often overlooked or whitewashed, giving students the opportunity to engage in critical thinking about education. Students come away informed on the latest topics, issues and data and with a strong knowledge of the forces shaping the American educational system. Updated throughout, the 21st edition of this clear, authoritative text remains fresh and up-to-date, reflecting the many changes in education that have occurred since the publication of the previous edition. New coverage includes: Discussion of “culture wars� and critical race theory Parental rights versus the goals of common education LGBTQ+ students’ rights Discussion of current administration’s educational policies

Education Networks is a critical analysis of the emerging intersection among the global power elite, information and communication technology, and schools. Joel Spring documents and examines the economic and political interests and forces -including elite networks, the for-profit education industry, data managers, and professional educators - that are pushing the use of ICT for online instruction, test preparation and tutoring, data management, instructional software packages, and more , and looks closely at the impact this is having on schools, students, and learning. Making a distinction between "mind" (as socially constructed) and "brain" (as a physiological entity), Spring draws on recent findings from comparative psychology on the possible effects of ICT on the social construction of the minds of students and school managers, and from neuroscience regarding its effect on students' brains. Throughout, the influence of elite networks and powerful interest groups is linked to what is happening to children in classrooms. In conclusion Spring offers bold suggestions to change the course of the looming technological triumph of ICT in the "brave new world" of schooling.

Joel Spring's history of school policies imposed on dominated groups in the United States examines the concept of deculturalization-the use of schools to strip away family languages and cultures and replace them with those of the dominant group. The focus is on the education of dominated groups forced to become citizens in territories conquered by the United States, including Native Americans, African Americans, Asian Americans, Latino Americans, and Hawaiians. In seven concise, thought-provoking chapters, this analysis and documentation of how education is used to change or eliminate linguistic and cultural traditions in the United States looks at the educational, legal, and social construction of race and racism in the United States, emphasizing the various meanings of "equality" that have existed from colonial America to the present. Providing a broader perspective for understanding the denial of cultural and linguistic rights in the United States, issues of language, culture, and deculturalization are placed in a global context. Extensively revised throughout to reflect the dramatic national events since the prior edition, the Ninth Edition discusses the rise of the Black Lives Matter movement, increased educational inequality related to the pandemic, concerns about institutional racism and White nationalism, disputes about the interpretation of U.S. history, and debates over cultural and racial identity.

In this ground-breaking book, Joel Spring examines globalization and its worldwide effects on education. A central thesis is that industrial-consumerism is the dominant paradigm in the integration of education and economic planning in modern economic security states. In the twenty-first century, national school systems have similar grades and promotion plans, instructional methods, curriculum organization, and linkages between secondary and higher education. Although there are local variations, the most striking feature is the sameness of educational systems. How did this happen? How was education globalized? Spring explains and analyzes this phenomenon and its consequences for human life and the future improvement of social and economic organizations. Central themes include: *the elements of the educational security state and the industrial-consumer paradigm in relationship to classical forms of education such as Confucianism, Islam, and Christianity, and their concerns with creating a just and ethical society; *the role of the 'other' in the globalization of educational structures as international military and economic rivalries spark competition between educational systems; *the transition from the Confucian village school to Western forms of education as exemplified in the lives of Ho Chi Minh and Mao Zedong; *the effect of the cultural and economic rivalry between the Soviet Union and the United States and its impact on schooling in both countries; *the rise of the educational security state in China, the Soviet Union, and the United States as these countries focus their educational efforts on military and economic development; *the evolution of progressive education as it appeared in revolutionary movements in South America, Cuba, Nicaragua, and El Salvador; *the transition from traditional to Westernized forms of Islamic education against the background of European imperialism, Arab nationalism and wars of liberation, and the uneasy tension between Western educational ideals and Islamic religious values;*socialist education in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea; *current developments in educational security states such as China, Japan, the United States, the new Russia, and the European Union; and *the consequences of English as the global language and the global spread of the industrial-consumer paradigm. Readership for this book includes scholars and students in comparative, international, and multicultural education; educational policy and politics; historical, social, and philosophical foundations of education; and curriculum studies. It is a particularly timely, informative, engaging text for courses in all of these areas.

In this book, Joel Spring offers a powerful and closely reasoned justification and definition for the universal right to education--applicable to all cultures--as provided for in Article 26 of the United Nation's Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
One sixth of the world's population, nearly 855 million people, are functionally illiterate, and 130 million children in developing countries are without access to basic education. Spring argues that in our crowded global economy, educational deprivation has dire consequences for human welfare. Such deprivation diminishes political power. Education is essential for providing citizens with the tools for resisting totalitarian and repressive governments and economic exploitation. What is to be done? The historically grounded, highly original analysis and proposals Spring sets forth in this book go a long way toward answering this urgent question.
Spring first looks at the debates leading up to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948, to see how the various writers dealt with the issue of cultural differences. These discussions provide a framework for examining the problem of reconciling cultural differences with universal concepts. He next expands on the issue of education and cultural differences by proposing a justification for education that is applicable to indigenous peoples and minority cultures and languages. This justification is then applied to all people within the current global economy. Acknowledging that the right to an education is inseparable from children's rights, he uses the concept of a universal right to education to justify children's rights, and, in turn, applies his definition of children's liberty rights to the concept of education. His synthesis of cultural, language, and children's rights provides the basis for a universal justification and definition for the right to education -- which, in the concluding chapters, Spring uses to propose universal guidelines for human rights education, and instruction in literacy, numeracy, cultural centeredness, and moral economy.

In this book Joel Spring traces the long tradition of libertarian opposition to established forms of schooling from Rousseau and William Godwin to A.S. Neill and Paulo Freire. He illuminates the central questions that have concerned radical educators:
-- How can teaching encourage independence and self-reliance?
-- Can rigid ideas and ideologies be avoided by radical educators?
-- What is the contradiction between "schooling" and "education"?
-- How does truly libertarian child rearing challenge the family structure?
-- How can real learning free people so they can begin to change the world around them?

Spring also discusses the ideas of several figures whose relevance to education is just beginning to be appreciated, including Max Stirner, Franciso Ferrer, Wilhelm Reich, and Tolstoy. Spring concludes with suggestions for what directions radical educational change might now take.

Joel Spring's history of school policies imposed on dominated groups in the United States examines the concept of deculturalization-the use of schools to strip away family languages and cultures and replace them with those of the dominant group. The focus is on the education of dominated groups forced to become citizens in territories conquered by the United States, including Native Americans, African Americans, Asian Americans, Latino Americans, and Hawaiians. In seven concise, thought-provoking chapters, this analysis and documentation of how education is used to change or eliminate linguistic and cultural traditions in the United States looks at the educational, legal, and social construction of race and racism in the United States, emphasizing the various meanings of "equality" that have existed from colonial America to the present. Providing a broader perspective for understanding the denial of cultural and linguistic rights in the United States, issues of language, culture, and deculturalization are placed in a global context. Extensively revised throughout to reflect the dramatic national events since the prior edition, the Ninth Edition discusses the rise of the Black Lives Matter movement, increased educational inequality related to the pandemic, concerns about institutional racism and White nationalism, disputes about the interpretation of U.S. history, and debates over cultural and racial identity.

In this timely analysis of the current state of global educational policies, Joel Spring focuses on the spread of the Western school model and its impact on creating an urban-consumer culture, increasing economic inequalities, contributing to environmental destruction and diminishing compassion and empathy essential for energizing social justice movements. In his signature straightforward, concise style, Spring describes and analyzes the school's role in displacing religious with secular values, promoting nationalism, preparing students to work in global corporations, supporting cultural and linguistic homogeneity, and discusses related goals and effects of anti-globalization movements such as the Alt-right, Anti-fascist groups, radical environmentalism and anarchism. An important addition to Spring's body of work on global educational policies, this provocative book challenges readers to re-examine what they know about education, globalization and their interconnections.

Starting with the 1972 publication of his seminal work, Education and the Rise of the Corporate State, Joel Spring has been documenting and analyzing the politics of knowledge and education. Throughout his work he has explored the attempts to use education to advance the economic and political interests of dominant groups. The general term he uses for the relationship between schools and power is "ideological management." His scholarly work first looked at the influence on American schooling of business and economic doctrines embodied in human capital theories and consumerism. The next step in his exploration of the politics of knowledge was to examine these issues in the context of globalization, leading to a proposed educational rights amendment to national constitutions and a new paradigm for education, both of which might ensure that schools are protected from ideological management by economic and political elites. Spring's indigenous background has strongly shaped his interest in the political and economic goals of schooling, particularly the attempts of those in power to use schools to destroy indigenous languages and cultures. In this collection, Spring brings together 10 of his key writings, providing an overview not just of his own career but the larger contexts in which it is situated. In the Introduction he reviews the evolution and scope of his work and his earlier arguments and reflects on its central themes, which are reflected in the writings selected for this volume. In the World Library of Educationalists, international scholars themselves compile career-long collections of what they judge to be their finest pieces - extracts from books, key articles, salient research findings, major theoretical and/practical contributions - so the world can read them in a single manageable volume. Readers will be able to follow the themes and strands of their work and see their contribution to the development of a field, as well as the development of the field itself. Contributors to the series include: Michael Apple, James A. Banks, Stephen J. Ball, Elliot Eisner, Howard Gardner, John Gilbert, Ivor F. Goodson, Peter Jarvis.

The Business of Education-a comprehensive view of how education policy is made in the US and, in some cases, globally-analyzes and critiques the influence of educational policy networks in a wide range of contexts and from a variety of perspectives, including testing, college preparation, juvenile detention centers, special education, the arts, teacher evaluation systems, education of undocumented immigrants, college faculty preparation, and financial aid. A network chart in most chapters illustrates how the major political actors, mainly private philanthropic foundations, for-profit companies, government officials, and politicians involved in the network, are linked. Joel Spring, internationally renowned scholar and analyst of educational policy, situates and frames the network studies in an introduction discussing general theories of education policy networks.

Continuing Joel Spring's reportage and analysis of the intersection of global forces and education, this text offers a comprehensive overview and synthesis of current research, theories, and models related to the topic. Written in his signature clear, narrative style, Spring introduces the processes, institutions, and forces by which schooling has been globalized and examines the impact of these forces on schooling in local contexts. Significant conceptual frameworks are added to this Second Edition, specifically the "economization of education," "corporatization of education" and the "audit state." These concepts are embedded in the global educational plans of major organizations such as the World Bank, the Organization for Economic Development and Cooperation (OECD), World Economic Forum, and multinational corporations. Globalization of Education, Second Edition features new and updated information on * The World Bank * OECD and the United Nations * The World Trade Organization and the Global Culture of Higher Education * Corporatization of Global Education * Religious and Indigenous Education Models * The Global Workforce: Migration and the Talent Auction * Globalization and Complex Thought

Starting with the 1972 publication of his seminal work, Education and the Rise of the Corporate State, Joel Spring has been documenting and analyzing the politics of knowledge and education. Throughout his work he has explored the attempts to use education to advance the economic and political interests of dominant groups. The general term he uses for the relationship between schools and power is "ideological management." His scholarly work first looked at the influence on American schooling of business and economic doctrines embodied in human capital theories and consumerism. The next step in his exploration of the politics of knowledge was to examine these issues in the context of globalization, leading to a proposed educational rights amendment to national constitutions and a new paradigm for education, both of which might ensure that schools are protected from ideological management by economic and political elites. Spring's indigenous background has strongly shaped his interest in the political and economic goals of schooling, particularly the attempts of those in power to use schools to destroy indigenous languages and cultures. In this collection, Spring brings together 10 of his key writings, providing an overview not just of his own career but the larger contexts in which it is situated. In the Introduction he reviews the evolution and scope of his work and his earlier arguments and reflects on its central themes, which are reflected in the writings selected for this volume. In the World Library of Educationalists, international scholars themselves compile career-long collections of what they judge to be their finest pieces - extracts from books, key articles, salient research findings, major theoretical and/practical contributions - so the world can read them in a single manageable volume. Readers will be able to follow the themes and strands of their work and see their contribution to the development of a field, as well as the development of the field itself. Contributors to the series include: Michael Apple, James A. Banks, Stephen J. Ball, Elliot Eisner, Howard Gardner, John Gilbert, Ivor F. Goodson, Peter Jarvis.

The Great American Education-Industrial Complex examines the structure and nature of national networks and enterprises that seek to influence public education policy in accord with their own goals and objectives. In the past twenty years, significant changes have taken place in the way various interest groups seek to influence policies and practices in public education in the United States. No longer left to the experience and knowledge of educators, American education has become as much the domain of private organizations, corporate entities, and political agents who see it as a market for their ideas, technologies, and ultimately profits. Piccciano and Spring posit that educational technology is the vehicle whereby these separate movements, organizations, and individuals have become integrated in a powerful common entity, and detail how the educational-industrial complex has grown and strengthened its position of influence. This timely, carefully documented, well argued book brings together Picciano's perspective and expertise in the field of technology and policy issues and Spring's in the history and politics of education in a unique critical analysis of the education-industrial complex and its implications for the future.

Turning his distinctive analytical lens to the politics of American education, Joel Spring looks at contemporary educational policy issues from theoretical, practical, and historical perspectives. This comprehensive overview documents and explains who influences educational policy and how, bringing to life the realities of schooling in the 21st century and revealing the ongoing ideological struggles at play. Coverage includes the influence of global organizations on American school policies and the impact of emerging open source and other forms of electronic textbooks. Thought-provoking, lucid, original in its conceptual framework and rich with engaging examples from the real world, this text is timely and useful for understanding the big picture and the micro-level intricacies of the multiple forces at work in controlling U.S. public schools . It is the text of choice for any course that covers or addresses the politics of American education. Companion Website: The interactive Companion Website accompanying this text includes relevant data, public domain documents, YouTube links, and links to websites representing political organizations and interest groups involved in education.

In this book Joel Spring explores three major international educational ideologies that are shaping global society: neo-liberal educational ideology, human rights education, and environmentalism. Neo-liberal ideology reflects a rethinking of nationalist forms of education as the nation-state slowly erodes under the power of a growing global civil society. Traditional nationalist education attempts to mold loyal and patriotic citizens who are emotionally attached to symbols of the state, whereas the goal of neo-liberal educational ideology is to change nationalist education to serve the needs of the global economy. These changes are fueling a clash between the ideas of free-market and consumer-based neo-liberals and those of human rights and environmental educators. Human rights education is concerned with creating activist global citizens. It is rooted in the idea that inherent in human rights doctrines is a collective responsibility to ensure the rights of all people. Environmentalism is the most radical of the ideologies because it rejects the industrial and consumerist paradigm that has dominated most economic thought, including capitalism and communism. Spring synthesizes and analyzes the effect of these educational ideologies on shaping the future of the global society. In the concluding section, he compares the effect of these ideologies on global society with the possibility of a world divided between conflicting civilizations. How Educational Ideologies Are Shaping Global Society: Intergovernmental Organizations, NGOs, and the Decline of the Nation-State features: *a critical exploration of the transition of schooling from a function of the nation-state to a globalized economic and political system; *a discussion of the major organizations and trading blocs shaping the future globalization of educational policies; *an analysis of the major competing global ideologies of education--including national and corporate models that emphasize training workers for a competitive global free market; the worldwide network of human rights and peace educators who are teaching a global set of ethics; and the environmental movement's efforts to create a common set of educational standards for sustainable development and sustainable consumption; and *an exploration of the possible future of global educational policy and school organizations. By integrating a wide range of previously scattered information within a bold new framework for understanding educational ideologies and their impact on the global society, Spring raises important questions for researchers, professionals, and students in history and philosophy of education, educational policy, educational studies, comparative education, multicultural education, curriculum studies, critical media studies, global studies, human rights education, and related areas.

In "Educating the Consumer-Citizen: A History of the Marriage of Schools, Advertising, and Media, " Joel Spring charts the rise of consumerism as the dominant American ideology of the 21st century. He documents and analyzes how, from the early 19th century through the present, the combined endeavors of schools, advertising, and media have led to the creation of a consumerist ideology and ensured its central place in American life and global culture.
Spring first defines "consumerist ideology" and "consumer-citizen" and explores their 19th-century origins in schools, children's literature, the commercialization of American cities, advertising, newspapers, and the development of department stores. He then traces the rise of consumerist ideology in the 20th century by looking closely at: the impact of the home economics profession on the education of women as consumers and the development of an American cuisine based on packaged and processed foods; the influence of advertising images of sports heroes, cowboys, and the clean-shaven businessman in shaping male identity; the outcomes of the growth of the high school as a mass institution on the development of teenage consumer markets; the consequences of commercial radio and television joining with the schools to educate a consumer-oriented population so that, by the 1950s, consumerist images were tied to the Cold War and presented as the "American way of life" in both media and schools; the effects of the civil rights movement on integrating previously excluded groups into the consumer society; the changes the women's movement demanded in textbooks, school curricula, media, and advertising that led to a new image of women in the consumer market; and the ascent of fast food education. Spring carries the story into the 21st century by examining the evolving marriage of schools, advertising, and media and its ongoing role in educating the consumer-citizen and creating an integrated consumer market.
This book will be of wide interest to scholars, professionals, and students across foundations of education, history and sociology of education, educational policy, mass communications, American history, and cultural studies. It is highly appropriate as a text for courses in these areas.

In "Educating the Consumer-Citizen: A History of the Marriage of Schools, Advertising, and Media, " Joel Spring charts the rise of consumerism as the dominant American ideology of the 21st century. He documents and analyzes how, from the early 19th century through the present, the combined endeavors of schools, advertising, and media have led to the creation of a consumerist ideology and ensured its central place in American life and global culture.
Spring first defines "consumerist ideology" and "consumer-citizen" and explores their 19th-century origins in schools, children's literature, the commercialization of American cities, advertising, newspapers, and the development of department stores. He then traces the rise of consumerist ideology in the 20th century by looking closely at: the impact of the home economics profession on the education of women as consumers and the development of an American cuisine based on packaged and processed foods; the influence of advertising images of sports heroes, cowboys, and the clean-shaven businessman in shaping male identity; the outcomes of the growth of the high school as a mass institution on the development of teenage consumer markets; the consequences of commercial radio and television joining with the schools to educate a consumer-oriented population so that, by the 1950s, consumerist images were tied to the Cold War and presented as the "American way of life" in both media and schools; the effects of the civil rights movement on integrating previously excluded groups into the consumer society; the changes the women's movement demanded in textbooks, school curricula, media, and advertising that led to a new image of women in the consumer market; and the ascent of fast food education. Spring carries the story into the 21st century by examining the evolving marriage of schools, advertising, and media and its ongoing role in educating the consumer-citizen and creating an integrated consumer market.
This book will be of wide interest to scholars, professionals, and students across foundations of education, history and sociology of education, educational policy, mass communications, American history, and cultural studies. It is highly appropriate as a text for courses in these areas.

In this timely analysis of the current state of global educational policies, Joel Spring focuses on the spread of the Western school model and its impact on creating an urban-consumer culture, increasing economic inequalities, contributing to environmental destruction and diminishing compassion and empathy essential for energizing social justice movements. In his signature straightforward, concise style, Spring describes and analyzes the school's role in displacing religious with secular values, promoting nationalism, preparing students to work in global corporations, supporting cultural and linguistic homogeneity, and discusses related goals and effects of anti-globalization movements such as the Alt-right, Anti-fascist groups, radical environmentalism and anarchism. An important addition to Spring's body of work on global educational policies, this provocative book challenges readers to re-examine what they know about education, globalization and their interconnections.

This is the first book to explore the meaning of equality and freedom of education in a global context and their relationship to the universal right to education. It also proposes evaluating school systems according to their achievement of equality and freedom.
Education in the 21st century is widely viewed as a necessary condition for the promotion of human welfare, and thus identified as a basic human right. Educational rights are included in many national constitutions written since the global spread of human rights ideas after World War II. But as a global idea, the meaning of educational rights varies between civilizations. In this book, which builds on the concept of the universal right to education set forth in Spring's "The Universal Right to Education: Justification, Definition, and Guidelines, " his intercivilizational analysis of educational rights focuses on four of the world's major civilizations: Confucian, Islamic, Western, and Hindu.
Spring begins by considering educational rights as part of the global flow of ideas and the global culture of schooling. He also considers the tension this generates within different civilizational traditions. Next, he proceeds to:
*examine the meaning of educational rights in the Confucian tradition, in the recent history of China, and in the Chinese Constitution;
*look at educational rights in the context of Islamic civilization and as presented in the constitutions of Islamic countries, including an analysis of the sharp contrast between the religious orientation of Islamic educational rights and those of China and the West;
*explore the problems created by the Western natural rights tradition and the eventual acceptance of educational rights as represented in European constitutions, with a focus on the development and prominence given in the West to the relationship between schooling and equality of opportunity; and,
*investigate the effect of global culture on India and the blend of Western and Hindu ideas in the Indian constitution, highlighting the obstacles to fulfillment of educational rights created by centuries of discrimination against women and lower castes.
In his conclusion, Spring presents an educational rights statement based on his intercivilizational analysis and his examination of national constitutions. This statement is intended to serve as a model for the inclusion of educational rights in national constitutions.

Joel Spring investigates the role of educational policy in the evolving global economy, and the consequences of school systems around the world adapting to meet the needs of international corporations. The new global model for education addresses problems of technological change, the quick exchange of capital, and free markets; policies to resolve these problems include "lifelong learning," "learning societies," international and national accreditation of work skills; international and national standards and tests; school choice; multiculturalism; and economic nationalism.
The distinctive contribution Spring makes is to offer an original interpretive framework for examining and understanding the interconnections among education, imperialism and colonialism, and the rise of the global economy. He offers a unique comparison of the educational policies of the World Bank, the United Nations, the European Union, and the Organization for Economic Development and Cooperation.
Additionally, he provides and weaves together important historical and current information on education in the context of the expansion of international capitalism; much of this information, gathered from many diverse sources, is otherwise not easily available to readers of this book. In the concluding chapters of the volume, Spring presents a thoughtful analysis and a powerful argument emphasizing the importance of human rights education in a global economy.
This volume is a sequel to Spring's earlier book, "Education and the Rise of the Corporate State" (1972), continuing the work he has been engaged in since the 1970s to describe and analyze the relationship between political, economic, and historical forces and educational policy.

Joel Spring investigates the role of educational policy in the evolving global economy, and the consequences of school systems around the world adapting to meet the needs of international corporations. The new global model for education addresses problems of technological change, the quick exchange of capital, and free markets; policies to resolve these problems include "lifelong learning," "learning societies," international and national accreditation of work skills; international and national standards and tests; school choice; multiculturalism; and economic nationalism.
The distinctive contribution Spring makes is to offer an original interpretive framework for examining and understanding the interconnections among education, imperialism and colonialism, and the rise of the global economy. He offers a unique comparison of the educational policies of the World Bank, the United Nations, the European Union, and the Organization for Economic Development and Cooperation.
Additionally, he provides and weaves together important historical and current information on education in the context of the expansion of international capitalism; much of this information, gathered from many diverse sources, is otherwise not easily available to readers of this book. In the concluding chapters of the volume, Spring presents a thoughtful analysis and a powerful argument emphasizing the importance of human rights education in a global economy.
This volume is a sequel to Spring's earlier book, "Education and the Rise of the Corporate State" (1972), continuing the work he has been engaged in since the 1970s to describe and analyze the relationship between political, economic, and historical forces and educational policy.

This book describes the impact of U.S. government civilization and education policies on a Native American family and its tribe from 1763 to 1995. While engaged in a personal quest for his family's roots in Choctaw tribal history, the author discovered a direct relationship between educational policies and their impact on his family and tribe. Combining personal narrative with traditional historical methodology, the author details how federal education policies concentrated power in a tribal elite that controlled its own school system in which students were segregated by social class and race.
The book begins with the cultural differences that existed between Native Americans and European colonists. The civilization policies discussed begin in the 1790s when both Presidents George Washington and Thomas Jefferson searched for a means of gaining the lands occupied by the southern tribes, including the Choctaws. The story involves a complicated interaction between government policies, the agenda of white educators, and the desires of Native Americans. In a broader context, it is a study of the evolution of an American family from the extended support of the community and clan of the past, to the present world of single parents adrift without community or family safety nets.

This book describes the impact of U.S. government civilization and education policies on a Native American family and its tribe from 1763 to 1995. While engaged in a personal quest for his family's roots in Choctaw tribal history, the author discovered a direct relationship between educational policies and their impact on his family and tribe. Combining personal narrative with traditional historical methodology, the author details how federal education policies concentrated power in a tribal elite that controlled its own school system in which students were segregated by social class and race.
The book begins with the cultural differences that existed between Native Americans and European colonists. The civilization policies discussed begin in the 1790s when both Presidents George Washington and Thomas Jefferson searched for a means of gaining the lands occupied by the southern tribes, including the Choctaws. The story involves a complicated interaction between government policies, the agenda of white educators, and the desires of Native Americans. In a broader context, it is a study of the evolution of an American family from the extended support of the community and clan of the past, to the present world of single parents adrift without community or family safety nets.

This current, comprehensive history of American education is designed to stimulate critical analysis and critical thinking by offering alternative interpretations of each historical period. In his signature straight-forward, concise style, Joel Spring provides a variety of interpretations of American schooling, from conservative to leftist, in order to spark the reader's own critical thinking about history and schools. This tenth edition follows the history of American education from the seventeenth century to the integration into global capitalism of the twenty-first century to the tumultuous current political landscape. In particular, the updates focus on tracing the direct religious links between the colonial Puritans and the current-day Trump administration. Chapters 1 and 2 have been rewritten to take a closer look at religious traditions in American schools, leading up to the educational ideas of the current U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos. An updated Chapter 15 further links traditional religious fundamentalist ideas and the twentieth century free market arguments of the Chicago school of economists to President Trump's administration and the influence of the Alt-Right.