Georgia Southern University Digital Commons@Georgia Southern Electronic Theses and Dissertations Graduate Studies, Jack N. Averitt College of Spring 2006 Principles for Education of The Social Reconstructionists and Critical Theorists: A Yardstick of Democracy Laurie Gertrude Hill Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/etd Recommended Citation Hill, Laurie Gertrude, "Principles for Education of The Social Reconstructionists and Critical Theorists: A Yardstick of Democracy" (2006). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 461. https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/etd/461 This dissertation (open access) is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate Studies, Jack N. Averitt College of at Digital Commons@Georgia Southern. It has been accepted for inclusion in Electronic Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons@Georgia Southern. For more information, please contact [email protected]. THE PRINCIPLES FOR EDUCATION OF THE SOCIAL RECONSTRUCTIONISTS AND CRITICAL THEORISTS: A YARDSTICK OF DEMOCRACY by LAURIE GERTRUDE COUNTS HILL (Under the Direction of William M. Reynolds) ABSTRACT This work is a theoretical and historical study of democracy as it relates to democratic educational practices and explores the implications that democratic reform in education has the potential to diminish inequity and social injustice in society. The study presents an intense review of the development of democracy from Plato to the present day. The progressive principles for democracy of the Social Reconstructionists and Critical Theorists form the theoretical framework for the dissertation and a ‘Yardstick of Democracy’ is developed that draws upon the tenets of John Dewey, George S. Counts, Jane Addams, Paulo Freire, and Michael Apple. Included in the study is a concentrated review of standards-based education, testing, and the charter school movement in America. A comparison to the ‘Yardstick’ provides evidence that many of the programs of contemporary American education are in conflict with basic progressive democratic principles. INDEX WORDS: Democracy, Yardstick, Social Reconstructionists, Critical Theorists, John Dewey, Jane Addams, George S. Counts, Paulo Freire, Michael Apple, Standards, Testing, Charter Schools THE PRINCIPLES FOR EDUCATION OF THE SOCIAL RECONSTRUCTIONISTS AND CRITICAL THEORISTS: A YARDSTICK OF DEMOCRACY by LAURIE GERTRUDE COUNTS HILL Bachelor of Science, Georgia Southern College, 1971 Master of Education, Georgia Southern College, 1983 Education Specialist, Georgia Southern University, 1991 A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of Georgia Southern University in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree DOCTOR OF EDUCATION STATESBORO, GEORGIA 2006 2 © 2006 Laurie Gertrude Counts Hill All Rights Reserved 3 THE PRINCIPLES FOR EDUCATION OF THE SOCIAL RECONSTRUCTIONISTS AND CRITICAL THEORISTS: A YARDSTICK OF DEMOCRACY by LAURIE GERTRUDE COUNTS HILL Major Professor: Dr. William M. Reynolds Committee: Dr. John A. Weaver Dr. Marla Morris Dr. Kemp Mabry Electronic Version Approved: May, 2006 4 DEDICATION My dissertation is dedicated to the memory of my mother and father, Mary Katharine Sneed Counts and George Douglas Counts, Jr., who lovingly provided me with strong wings to fly and a safe and solid rock upon which to land. 5 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I am grateful for the skilled supervision and genuine support of Dr. William Reynolds, my committee chair and the director of my dissertation, who has offered me the freedom that I wished for on one hand and the scaffolding that I needed on the other. Dr. Reynolds’ genuine concern and efforts on behalf of social justice inspired my interests in democratic education and helped to motivate my vision for this work. Studying under Dr. Reynolds opened my eyes wider than they have ever been opened before, whetted both my despairs and my hopes for democratic education, and ignited in me a critical consciousness that was not part of my persona before. The thoughtful assistance, the wisdom shared, and the scholarly direction that have been provided by Dr. John Weaver has been immeasurably valuable. I am extremely appreciative for Dr. Weaver’s generous and specific guidance and counsel during the doctoral process. I am also grateful to Dr. Marla Morris both as a doctoral professor in my coursework and for the recommendations and assistance that she offered as a dissertation committee member. In addition, Dr. Kemp Mabry’s encouragement kept me focused and working on the dissertation; our discussions of democracy and education became valuable guides for me during the dissertation process. His wit and intellectual prowess at age eighty are remarkable and for all of his backing and guidance, I am very appreciative. I would be remiss if I did not mention the support that I have received from many family and close friends. It seemed that when I was discouraged, an unexpected word of encouragement always came my way. The love of my two sons, Michael and Patrick, has been the spark of my energies for this endeavor and for most of the other endeavors 6 of my life; they are the twinkle in my eye and I know that they are happy that this particular ‘wild hair’ of their mother’s is accomplished. For my husband, Gerald, my appreciation is without measure, for his support has been the most steady and genuine of all: he has unselfishly sacrificed and picked up the slack, he has endured three years of my reclusive behavior, and he has been the sounding board for my frustrations. Gerald has been my staunchest encourager for the completion of my doctoral degree and I am very grateful to him. 7 TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS.................................................................................................6 CHAPTER 1 BACKGROUND .............................................................................................11 The Reconceptualization of Curriculum Studies.........................................13 Methodology and Limitations .....................................................................20 A Place in the Field of Curriculum Studies.................................................22 Theoretical Framework ...............................................................................29 Purpose and Social Justification..................................................................31 2 LITERATURE REVIEW ................................................................................36 A Menagerie of Concerns on the Status of Democracy in American Education...............................................................................................36 Summary………………………………………………………………….57 3 THE DEVELOPMENT AND MEANING OF DEMOCRACY.....................58 Plato and Early Democracy.........................................................................58 John Locke ..................................................................................................63 John Stuart Mill...........................................................................................65 Thomas Jefferson ........................................................................................68 Alexander Hamilton ....................................................................................70 From Jefferson and Hamilton to the Twentieth Century.............................73 Helen Hefferman .........................................................................................74 Leo Strauss ..................................................................................................77 8 Wendy Brown..............................................................................................83 Jacques Derrida ...........................................................................................86 Maxine Greene ............................................................................................89 Summary………………………………………………………………….92 4 THE DEMOCRATIC PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL RECONSTRUCTIONISM AND CRITICAL THEORY........................................................................93 Pragmatism: The Foundation for the Progressives and Social Reconstructionists .................................................................................93 Social Reconstructionism............................................................................96 John Dewey .................................................................................................97 Jane Addams..............................................................................................106 George S. Counts.......................................................................................116 Summary of Dewey, Addams, and Counts ...............................................126 Critical Theory ..........................................................................................127 Paulo Freire ...............................................................................................130 Michael Apple ...........................................................................................136 Relating Social Reconstructionism and Critical Theory to the Reconceptualization of Curriculum Studies........................................142 The YARDSTICK of Democracy .............................................................146 5 TESTING AND STANDARDS ....................................................................153 Standards-Based Education.......................................................................154