History of Higher Education

Rating:
Summary: A top notch one-stop source of higher education history
Review: Goodchild and Wechsler's ASHE Reader is a comprehensive a compendium of articles, book chapters, and primary sources of the historiography and history of American higher education. I've used this book as a required text in graduate classes and I believe it is also very readable for the avocational student of higher education. The content is generally chronological with some topics covered thematically across eras. Each topic area is viewed through the lens of several articles with differing perspectives, written by top educational historians. There are excellent summary overviews of early European history, and articles and book chapters on Colonial Education through the rise of universities, Land-Grants, African-American education, professional education and standards, through the student political unrest and federal policy issues post WWII. Additionally, the editors have included key primary sources,i.e., W.E.B. Dubois' "Talented Tenth," the G.I. Bill, AAUP Statement, Liberty in Education, The Yale Report, etc. The editors have sought to address several questions in the history: How has American Higher Education evolved? The impact of societal issues on institutions, and vice versa? How has the story changed over time? Assimilation of ethnic, gender, and socio-economic groups? The limitations? Well, no one text can possibly cover all the nuances or issues in the discipline. The Reader is not an exception to that, even as comprehensive as it is. This book tends toward a focus on traditional colleges and universities with one good, but brief look at community colleges - so some readers may be disappointed to have such a vital part of our educational system all but left out. Another limitation is that there is nothing written on the Mechanics Institutes ("the poor people's college") of the Antebellum Era, or of the Lyceums that accounted for much of the post public school education of the early 19th century. This happens to be a personal favorite of mine in the historiography. I look forward to a newer addition that includes some of these topics. All in all, however, the ASHE Reader is a great source - and one where it is possible to learn a great deal about a fascinating and important area of study.

Rating:
Summary: A top notch one-stop source of higher education history
Review: Goodchild and Wechsler's ASHE Reader is a comprehensive a compendium of articles, book chapters, and primary sources of the historiography and history of American higher education. I've used this book as a required text in graduate classes and I believe it is also very readable for the avocational student of higher education. The content is generally chronological with some topics covered thematically across eras. Each topic area is viewed through the lens of several articles with differing perspectives, written by top educational historians. There are excellent summary overviews of early European history, and articles and book chapters on Colonial Education through the rise of universities, Land-Grants, African-American education, professional education and standards, through the student political unrest and federal policy issues post WWII. Additionally, the editors have included key primary sources,i.e., W.E.B. Dubois' "Talented Tenth," the G.I. Bill, AAUP Statement, Liberty in Education, The Yale Report, etc. The editors have sought to address several questions in the history: How has American Higher Education evolved? The impact of societal issues on institutions, and vice versa? How has the story changed over time? Assimilation of ethnic, gender, and socio-economic groups? The limitations? Well, no one text can possibly cover all the nuances or issues in the discipline. The Reader is not an exception to that, even as comprehensive as it is. This book tends toward a focus on traditional colleges and universities with one good, but brief look at community colleges - so some readers may be disappointed to have such a vital part of our educational system all but left out. Another limitation is that there is nothing written on the Mechanics Institutes ("the poor people's college") of the Antebellum Era, or of the Lyceums that accounted for much of the post public school education of the early 19th century. This happens to be a personal favorite of mine in the historiography. I look forward to a newer addition that includes some of these topics. All in all, however, the ASHE Reader is a great source - and one where it is possible to learn a great deal about a fascinating and important area of study.