Document Type
Article
Publication Date
1984
Abstract
This paper advances a series of propositions outlining a model of educational change in American state school systems. It is argued that the enactment of compulsory school attendance laws marks the formal beginning of a state school system and determines a system's institutional and practical development and change. Once the previously unassociated parts of a state's educational system are linked, an institution is formed that, in part, undergoes self-generating change. Numerous aspects of this system are measurable, and the statistics that result reflect its development and progress. State school systems must mature sufficiently before they are able to review their own practices and affect change. Also, a state's geographical location, whether in the core of a group of states or at the periphery, influences the development of its educational system.
Publication Title
American Journal of Education
Volume
92
Issue
4
First Page
473
Last Page
502
Required Publisher's Statement
Published by: The University of Chicago Press
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1085206
Recommended Citation
Richardson, John G., "The American-States and the Age of School Systems" (1984). Sociology. 7.
https://cedar.wwu.edu/sociology_facpubs/7
Subjects - Topical (LCSH)
Educational change--United States; Education and state--United States; School attendance--United States
Geographic Coverage
United States
Genre/Form
articles
Type
Text
Language
English
Format
application/pdf
