Author: David Labaree

David F. Labaree is Lee L. Jacks Professor at the Stanford University Graduate School of Education and a professor (by courtesy) in history. His research focuses on the historical sociology of American schooling, including topics such as the evolution of high schools, the growth of consumerism, the origins and nature of education schools, and the role of schools in promoting access and advantage more than subject-matter learning. He was president of the History of Education Society and member of the executive board of the American Educational Research Association. His books include: The Making of an American High School (Yale, 1988); How to Succeed in School Without Really Learning: The Credentials Race in American Education (Yale, 1997); The Trouble with Ed Schools (Yale University Press, 2004); Someone Has to Fail: The Zero-Sum Game of Public Schooling (Harvard, 2010); and A Perfect Mess: The Unlikely Ascendancy of American Higher Education (Chicago, 2017).

On Writing: It’s All About Actors and Actions and Cutting the Flab

by David Labaree, posted in Academic writing, Writing

This post is about two key elements in good writing, one of which is to focus on actors and actions.  Who's doing what to whom?   In academic writing, the actors are often not people but social entities -- bureaucracy, racism, curriculum, schools, universities -- but the principle is the same.  Some force or factor or … Continue reading On Writing: It’s All About Actors and Actions and Cutting the Flab

Beverly Gage: The American University Is in Crisis. Not for the First Time.

by David Labaree, posted in Culture, Faculty, Higher Education, History, Meritocracy, Politics

This post is an essay by Beverly Gage published recently in the New York Times.  Here's a link to the original. In it, she draws on Richard Hofstadter's 1963 book, Anti-Intellectualism in American Life, to show how this is not the first time that American universities found themselves the target of political attacks.  Let's not forget the … Continue reading Beverly Gage: The American University Is in Crisis. Not for the First Time.

Larry Cuban: School Reform Since “A Nation at Risk” Has Done Little to Promote Economic Growth

by David Labaree, posted in Economic growth, History, School reform, Schooling

This post is a recent blog entry by Larry Cuban.  Here's a link to the original.  He is making a strong case against the human capital rationale that has grounded the school reform movement in the last 50 years.  The theory is that the primary social contribution of public education is its ability to stimulate … Continue reading Larry Cuban: School Reform Since “A Nation at Risk” Has Done Little to Promote Economic Growth

Public Goods, Private Goods — The American Struggle over Educational Goals

by David Labaree, posted in Educational goals, Educational policy, History of education, Systems of Schooling

This post is a paper I published in 1997 in American Journal of Educational Research.  Here's a link to a PDF of the original.  It became the framing chapter in my 1997 book, How to Succeed In School Without Really Learning.   Here's the abstract: This article explores three alternative goals for American education that have … Continue reading Public Goods, Private Goods — The American Struggle over Educational Goals

Gordon Wood — America Is a Creedal Nation

by David Labaree, posted in Democracy, History, Nationalism, State

This post is an essay by one of my favorite historians, Gordon Wood, who published it few days ago in the Wall Street Journal.  Here's a link to the original. In anticipation of the upcoming 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, he argues that the US is a distinctive in being a nation build on … Continue reading Gordon Wood — America Is a Creedal Nation

John Warner — Teach Writing, Not Document Production

by David Labaree, posted in Academic writing, Higher Education, Teaching, Writing

This post is an essay by John Warner that was published in Inside Higher Ed.  Here's a link to the original. He takes a smart approach to the problem of how to teach writing to college students in the era of AI, where an algorithm can produce an adequate essay in response to the instructor's prompt … Continue reading John Warner — Teach Writing, Not Document Production

Mutual Subversion: A Short History of the Liberal and the Professional in American Higher Education

by David Labaree, posted in Featured, Higher Education, History of education

This post is a piece I published in History of Education Quarterly in 2006.  Here's a link to the original, complete with footnotes.  It's an elaboration on the presidential address I presented at the annual meeting of the History of Education Society in October, 2005.  It then became a chapter in my 2017 book, A … Continue reading Mutual Subversion: A Short History of the Liberal and the Professional in American Higher Education

Max Roser — The Limits of Personal Experience and the Value of Statistics

by David Labaree, posted in Educational Research, Measurement, Research, Statistics

This post is an essay by Max Roser from the website Our World in Data.  Here's a link to the original. Roser is the founder of that website, which I have found an invaluable source for valid data on all manner of subjects relevant in today's world.  I check it out every day to check out … Continue reading Max Roser — The Limits of Personal Experience and the Value of Statistics