American Education: A History

By Wayne J. Urban, Milton Gaither, Jennings L. Wagoner Jr., et al.

Book Overview

American Education: A History, Seventh Edition is a comprehensive, highly regarded history of American education from precolonial times to the present.

Chronologically organized, the new edition provides an objective overview of each major period in the development of American education, setting the discussion against the broader background of national and world events. In addition to its in-depth exploration of Native American traditions (including education) prior to colonization, it also offers strong, ongoing coverage of minorities and women. Features for the seventh edition include:

Every chapter extensively revised to incorporate the most recent historical scholarship, to increase readability, and to make the content relevant for today's educators. Chapter overviews and end-of-chapter reflection questions to aid comprehension and discussion. Updated and expanded coverage of Native American education, the role of women progressives in schools, rural schooling, public education, minority populations, and much more. Brand new topics, such as education policy under Trump and Biden, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on schools, student mental health, critical race theory, culturally responsive education, and textbook censorship.

This much-anticipated seventh edition is essential reading for undergraduate and graduate History of Education courses.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1032991089
• ISBN13: 9781032991085
• Release Date: October 2025
• Publisher: Routledge
• Length: 386 Pages
• Weight: 1.54 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 7.0" x 10.0"

Customer Reviews

Great text!

History can be a tough sell to many people as many have experienced the mundane books which are often very dry. This book isn't like that, it offers a fresh view of American history from a perspective of education and how it has evolved. An eye opening experience and objective point of view. The summaries at the end of the chapters may help some preferring a brief overview to stress the key points in a timely fashion. I'm currently a doctoral student in Educational Administration and found this book to be an excellent resource as well. The fold out timeline that comes with the new book is full color and shows many of the individuals that are cited in the book which aids in memory retention for those visual learners out there.

Helpful social history view of education in the U.S.

As a masters candidate in Educational Psychology, I found this to be a helpful text to review the history of the educational system in the U.S. The author definitely leaned toward the liberal side, but he was fairly even-handed in his presentation of the people, social and economic conditions that have impacted the organization and delivery of education in this country. The book was easy to read and full of good references to primary sources of material for further review.