Technological Society: The Vocational-Liberal Studies Controversy (1900-1917), International

The present study looks at an example of institutional change directly resulting from the industrialization process--the industrial or vocational education movement. The thesis of this study is that an understanding of the debate over how schools should adapt to industrialization will reveal the nature of basic value choices which the American people were forced to face under the pressures of adjusting to technology. Part I examines some of the origins of educational changes related to the industrialization. Next the responses of selected interest groups are considered: business, as represented by the National Association of Manufacturers; the American Federation of Labor; liberal urban reform forces of the progressive era; and, the formation of typical progressive pressure group--the National Society for the Promotion of Industrial Education (NSPIE), which worked to promote school reform programs at state an