The Social Construction of the Progressive Era: a Critical- Historiographical Case Study in Vocationalism

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The Social Construction of the Progressive Era: a Critical- Historiographical Case Study in Vocationalism DePaul University Via Sapientiae College of Education Theses and Dissertations College of Education Winter 3-2020 The Social Construction of the Progressive Era: A Critical- Historiographical Case Study in Vocationalism Brian D. Carlson DePaul University Follow this and additional works at: https://via.library.depaul.edu/soe_etd Part of the Vocational Education Commons Recommended Citation Carlson, Brian D., "The Social Construction of the Progressive Era: A Critical-Historiographical Case Study in Vocationalism" (2020). College of Education Theses and Dissertations. 170. https://via.library.depaul.edu/soe_etd/170 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the College of Education at Via Sapientiae. It has been accepted for inclusion in College of Education Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Via Sapientiae. For more information, please contact [email protected]. DePaul University College of Education THE SOCIAL CONSTRUCTION OF THE PROGRESSIVE ERA: A CRITICAL-HISTORIOGRAPHICAL CASE STUDY IN VOCATIONALISM A Dissertation in Education with a Concentration in Educational Leadership by Brian D. Carlson © 2020 Brian D. Carlson Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Education June 2020 iv ABSTRACT For centuries, schooling has served as the primary precursor to jobs and careers, and ultimately the window of opportunity toward economic mobility. Vocationalism describes the economic potential of education, represented by the synthesis of educational policy, curricula, and ideology. This study contends that vocationalism has conditioned the public toward the disposition of education as a social commodity for the development of human capital. In turn, this study explores the significance of vocationalism through a critical-historiographical case study of educational reforms within Milwaukee during the Progressive Era. This study asks the question, how has ideology contributed toward the establishment of vocationalism in Milwaukee? This exploration of Milwaukee’s educational history provides an examination of the construction and promotion of vocationalism that has influenced the purpose of schooling within a community that has epitomized proletarianization. The findings of this study focus on inferences made by the review of primary archival materials and secondary sources from a historiographical, critical constructivist paradigm. The findings suggest that vocationalism in Milwaukee was socially constructed in response to four themes (a) emerging tensions between vocational schooling and academic education; (b) an ideology of altruism in response to an economic decline; (c) the discourse of grassroots reforms; and (d) the emergence of a democratic, egalitarian education that aimed to develop youth in preparation for work. Keywords: vocationalism, vocational education, ideology, socialism, progressivism, manual training, industrial education, community college, Progressive Era v Table of Contents List of Tables ............................................................................................................................... viii Acknowledgements ........................................................................................................................ ix Dedication ........................................................................................................................................x Chapter 1: Examining Vocationalism ..........................................................................................1 The Setting: Milwaukee ...............................................................................................................5 Social Construction Defined ........................................................................................................8 Research Purpose and Questions ...............................................................................................10 Overview of Methodology .........................................................................................................13 Rationale and Significance ........................................................................................................16 Theoretical Framework ..............................................................................................................19 Summary and Chapter Outline ...................................................................................................22 Chapter 2: Contextualizing Capital, Economics, and the Purpose of Schooling ...................26 The Constructs of Human Capital ..............................................................................................27 Social Mobility: A Model of Social Control ......................................................................30 Social Reproduction: The Promise of Economic Mobility ................................................35 The Pedagogy of Education and Vocational Schooling ............................................................38 Summary ....................................................................................................................................41 Chapter 3: Methodology ..............................................................................................................42 Research Design: Critical Constructivism .................................................................................43 Paradigm Selection ............................................................................................................45 Critical Historiography ......................................................................................................46 Data Collection and Analysis .....................................................................................................49 Critical Interpretation .........................................................................................................50 Meta-Analysis ....................................................................................................................52 Asking Unique Questions ..................................................................................................52 Research Setting and Sample .....................................................................................................53 Issues of Trustworthiness ...........................................................................................................57 Credibility ..........................................................................................................................58 Dependability .....................................................................................................................59 Transferability ....................................................................................................................59 vi Delimitations and Limitations ................................................................ ....................................60 Summary ....................................................................................................................................61 Chapter 4: The Rise of American Vocational Education .........................................................63 Social Control and the Ideologies of Labor ...............................................................................64 Social Efficiency: Management and Accountability .........................................................65 Eugenics: Support for Educational Stratification ..............................................................75 The Vocationalization of the Curriculum ..................................................................................79 Manual Training and Post-Civil War Industrialism ...........................................................83 Social Darwinism and Scientific Management ..................................................................85 Federal Support for Industrial Education ...................................................................................91 Summary ....................................................................................................................................95 Chapter 5: Cream City Economics and Social Order ..............................................................98 The People of Milwaukee ........................................................................................................101 Germans ...........................................................................................................................102 Poles .................................................................................................................................106 African Americans ...........................................................................................................110 The Depression and Social Order of 1893 ...............................................................................117 The Search for a New Ideology .......................................................................................122 Poverty and Economic Capitalism ...........................................................................................129 Summary ..................................................................................................................................132 Chapter 6: Politics During the Progressive Era ......................................................................135 The Milwaukee
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