A brief history of public education in the United States

Beginning with colonial America and continuing through the twenty-first century, the public education system in the United States has functioned as one of the principal entities through which knowledge and cultural values have been disseminated across generations. As a result, important social and political changes that have occurred in America, as well as globally, have shaped schools. This symbiotic relationship between schools and society underscores the vital role of public education in a democracy, particularly in the United States. A brief history and review of the country's educational system is provided in this chapter, with a focus on five periods: Colonial America and the Revolution, the Age of the Common School, the Progressive Era, the Postwar Period, and the Emerging Twenty-First Century.