The Historical Context of the Federal Role in Education

Abstract

Coauthors Carl Kaestle and Marshall Smith trace the evolution of an increasing federal role in education dating from 1940 to 1980. They present and discuss seven stereotypical views surrounding this history, such as changes in the federal role in education immediately after World War II; the relationship between federal aid and national crises; the effects of federal programs on raising basic skill levels of poor children; the effects of increasing elementary and secondary aid to education on local control; federal pressures to desegregate schools; and the further increase of federal involvement in education during the 1970s. Marvin Lazerson, in his response, views the paper as an expression of the "new liberalism. " Diane Ravitch suggests some alternative interpretations of the history Kaestle and Smith describe, while acknowledging the paper for its synthesis of extensive and diverse material. James Q. Wilson discusses the issue of whether, in the legal sense, federal aid to education is a right or a claim.