The University School: the University of Kentucky’S Role in the Laboratory School Movement of the 20Th Century
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THE UNIVERSITY SCHOOL: THE UNIVERSITY OF KENTUCKY’S ROLE IN THE LABORATORY SCHOOL MOVEMENT OF THE 20TH CENTURY _____________________________________________ DISSERTATION _____________________________________________ A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the College of Education at the University of Kentucky By Shanna M. Patton Georgetown, Kentucky Director: John R. Thelin, Ph.D., Professor of Educational Policy Studies and Evaluation Lexington, Kentucky 2020 Copyright © Shanna M. Patton 2020 ABSTRACT OF DISSERTATION THE UNIVERSITY SCHOOL: THE UNIVERSITY OF KENTUCKY’S ROLE IN THE LABORATORY SCHOOL MOVEMENT OF THE 20TH CENTURY This study expands the scope of institution-level research on college and university-run laboratory schools to include the University of Kentucky’s on-campus laboratory school that operated from 1918 to 1965. Specifically, it preserves the institutional history of UK’s laboratory school, which has largely disappeared from local memory; provides a specific case study of a laboratory school in a largely unstudied state and region, namely Kentucky and the South; and contextualizes the role and trajectory UK’s laboratory school played in the larger Laboratory School Movement of the 20th century. Because of UK’s status as a southern land grant university, this research examines claims that education in the South lagged behind the rest of the nation and considers what implications the University School’s history may have on modern educational policy. Historical context limits this research in three important ways: (1) references to the word “progressive” are specific to the pedagogical philosophies and methods affecting schools during the Progressive Education Movement from 1893 to 1957, not the larger political activism and reforms affecting all Americans during the Progressive Era from the 1890s to the 1920s; (2) statistical data pulled from multiple government sources is limited by variations in yearly reporting methods; and (3) insights about the public-school education of African American students are limited by UK’s conformity to the legal and cultural framework of racial segregation during the years the University School operated. KEYWORDS: University of Kentucky, Laboratory Schools, Laboratory School Movement, Model High School, University School Shanna M. Patton November 10, 2020 THE UNIVERSITY SCHOOL: THE UNIVERSITY OF KENTUCKY’S ROLE IN THE LABORATORY SCHOOL MOVEMENT OF THE 20TH CENTURY By Shanna M. Patton Dr. John R. Thelin Director of Dissertation Dr. Jane Jensen Director of Graduate Studies November 10, 2020 Date ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Many thanks to the faculty and staff of UK College of Education’s Department of Educational Policy Studies and Evaluation for helping me through this process. I am especially grateful for my professors, namely Dr. Jane M. Jensen, Dr. Neal H. Hutchens, Dr. Clinton Collins, Dr. Beth L. Goldstein, Dr. Richard Angelo, Dr. John R. Thelin, Dr. Michael D. Covert, Dr. Anthony C. Ogden, Dr. Willis A. Jones, and Dr. Joseph J. Ferrare, as well as former EPE Administrative Assistant Amberley Warnke and former Director of Graduate Studies Dr. Jeffery Bieber for their assistance in times of need. I owe my program mentors, Dr. Angelo and Dr. Thelin, a special debt of gratitude for the knowledge, guidance, and encouragement they have given me over the span of many years. Before he retired, Dr. Angelo taught many of my classes and helped me become a Teaching Assistant, which ultimately enabled me to finish my coursework after years of taking night classes while teaching full time. Dr. Thelin has been the one constant during my time at UK and has selflessly guided me through my course work, qualifying exams, and dissertation. I could not have made it to this point without him, and I am so grateful he did not retire before I could finish my degree. (Dr. Thelin, you are now welcome to retire at any time—you deserve it!) Thank you to Dr. Bieber, Dr. Justin Bathon, and Dr. Eric T. Weber for volunteering to serve on my Doctoral Advisory Committee, as well as Dr. Thelin for serving as my Major Advisor and Dr. Derrick White, Professor of History and African American and Africana Studies in the College of Arts and Sciences, for serving as my Outside Examiner. Finally, words cannot express how grateful I am to my husband, John Patton, for supporting me throughout this journey. He believed in me even when I did not, and I am here because of him. (John, thank you for supporting me all these years by taking on extra responsibilities, feeding me, and loving and encouraging me at all times. You are my better half, and I thank God for you every day!) Memores acti prudentes futuri. Gratias maximas. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgments…………………………………………………………………....................................... iii List of Tables………………………………………………………………………........................................... vii List of Figures………………………………………………………………….…………………….……………….….. viii Chapter 1: Introduction………………………………………………………………………………………………. 1 Statement of the Problem………………………………………………………………………………..… 1 Purpose and Significance of the Study……………………………………………………………….. 3 Scope and Limitations of this Research…………………………………………………………….... 4 Research Question(s) and Hypothesis………………………………………………………………… 5 Research Methodology………………………………………………………………………………………. 6 Organization………………………………………………………………………………………………….…… 6 Explanation of Research Terms, Abbreviations, and References…………………….….. 8 Chapter 2: What is a Laboratory School?......................................................................... 13 Definition………………………………………………………………………………………………….……….. 13 Basic Forms and Specific Types……………………………………………………………….…………. 14 Basic Forms…………………………………………………………………………………….………… 14 Specific Types………………………………………………………………………………….………… 15 Functions……………………………………………………………………………………………….………….. 18 Educating Children………………………………………………………………………….………… 19 Training Educators………………………………….…………………………………………….…… 21 Conducting Research and Experimentation…………………………………….………… 22 Praise of Laboratory Schools………………………………………………………………………….….. 24 Administrative Control……………………………………………………………………….…….. 24 Institutional Resources………………………………………………………………….………….. 25 Criticism of Laboratory Schools……………………………………………………………………….…. 26 Atypical Populations…………………………………………………………………………….…… 27 Excessive Goals…………………………………………………………………………………….…… 29 Overwhelmed Faculty…………………………………………………………………….…………. 29 Financial Difficulties…………………………………………………………………….……………. 30 Chapter 3: Laboratory Schools in Historical Context……………………………………….………….. 33 International Origins of Laboratory Schools………………………………………………..……… 33 Laboratory Schools in the History of American Education………………………………….. 36 Early Normal Schools and the Common School Movement (1820-1860)……. 36 National Progress and Educating the Masses (1860-1893)…………………………. 42 The Oswego Movement and the Pestalozzian Approach: Head, Heart, and Hand……………………………………………………………………………..… 44 Education in the Antebellum South and the Impact of Reconstruction…………………………………………………………………………………. 46 Modernization and School Structure……………………………………………….. 51 Industrial and Manual Training………………………………………………….…….. 54 Educational Science and Laying the Foundation for Progressivism….. 57 iv Experimental Laboratory Schools……………………………………….……. 59 The Herbartian Approach: Systemized Pedagogy Through Demonstration………………………………………………………………….……. 62 The Need for Order in a Rapidly Changing Society…………………….……… 63 A Call to Action: Joseph Mayer Rice and The Forum……………….………… 64 The Laboratory School Movement of the 20th Century (c. 1893-1965)…….….……… 65 Population Growth and Increased School Enrollments………………….………….. 66 Clarification and Spread of Progressive Education (1893-1957)………………… 69 Early Progressive Education (1893-1918): “A Stream with Many Currents”………………………………………………………………………………..………… 69 Education in the South at the Turn of the Century……….…………… 76 The Height of Progressive Education (1918-1941)……………..……………… 79 Shifting Priorities: The Dissolution of Progressive Education (1941- 1957)………………………………………………………………………………………………… 84 1940s: The Influences of World War II……………….………………….….. 84 The Phasing Out of Laboratory Schools (1957-present)…………………………….. 87 Reasons for Closures………………………………………………………………………... 90 Overtaxed Facilities………………………………………………………………….. 90 Increased Innovation Outside of Laboratory Schools…………….…. 90 Inadequate Financial Support……………………………………………….….. 91 Failure to Change and Adapt……………………………………………….……. 92 Chapter 4: The Birth and Early Life of UK’s Laboratory Schools……………………………….…… 94 Education in Kentucky at the Turn of the Century………………………………….…………… 94 The Evolution of Teacher Training at UK (1880-1923)………………………….……………… 98 UK’s Kentucky State Model High School (1918-1930)……………………………….………… 102 How Model High School Compared to Lexington and Fayette County High Schools……………………………………………………………………………………………………… 107 Collaborative Partnerships and the Birth of UK’s Teacher Training School (1923-1930)………………………………………………………………………………………………. 108 The University School—The Early Years (1930-1940)…………………………………………. 114 Modeling Proper Modern School Design…………………………………………………… 119 The Significance of School Architecture……………………………………………. 119 National and State Trends in School Architecture…………………………….. 121 The Architecture of UK’s Teacher Training School………………………….…. 124 The Significance of the Design………………………………………………………….. 131 Architectural Influence on Lexington and Fayette County School 134 Training