This thesis compares the educational systems of the United States and of Mexico from their beginnings, and especially notes the progress that Mexico has made since 1920.

Many Deaf people today consider themselves a linguistic minority with a culture distinct from the mainstream hearing society. This is in large part because they communicate through an independent language——American Sign Language (ASL). However, two hundreds years ago, sign language was a “common language” for communication between hearing and deaf people within the institutional framework of “manualism.” Manualism is a pedagogical system of sign language introduced mainly from France in order to buttress the campaign for deaf education in the early-19th-century America. In 1817, a hearing man Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet (1787-1851) and a deaf Frenchman Laurent Clerc (1785-1869) co-founded the first residential school for the deaf in Hartford, Connecticut. These early manualists shaped sign language within the evangelical framework of “moral government.” They believed that the divine origin of signs would lead the spiritual redemption of people who could not hear. Inside manual institutions, the religiously defined practice of signing, which claimed to transform the “heathen deaf” into being the “signing Christian,” enabled the process of assimilation into a shared “signing community.” The rapid expansion of manual institutions hence fostered a strong and separate deaf culture that continues to influence today’s deaf communities in the United States. However, social reformers in the mid-nineteenth century who advocated “oralism” perceived manualism as a threat to social integration. “Oralists” pursued a different model of deaf education in the 1860s, campaigning against sign language and hoping to replace it entirely with the skills in lip-reading and speech. The exploration of this tension leads to important questions: Were people who could not hear “(dis)abled” in the religious context of the early United States? In what ways did the manual institutions train students to become “able-bodied” citizens? How did this religiously framed pedagogy come to terms with the “hearing line” in the mid 19th century? In answering these questions, this dissertation analyzes the early history of manual education in relation to the formation and diffusion of religious governmentality, a topic that continues to influence deaf culture to this day. / published_or_final_version / Modern Languages and Cultures / Master / Master of Philosophy

This thesis examines the influence the educational theories of John Dewey have had on the development of modern movement education in American schools. / It does this in three parts. Firstly through an examination of the educational writings of John Dewey within the general context of his philosophical writings and as they are directly related to pedagogical principles. Secondly through an examination of the development of movement education with particular reference to the theories of Rudolf Laban. Thirdly by tracing modern American Movement education historically and developmentally. / The third aspect examines the strong theoretical relationship between Laban and Dewey. It also illustrates the link between them as developed by the current theorists and practitioners of movement education.

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The study examined the following questions in relation to federal policy and social practice in education which contributed to the disadvantagement of African-Americans: 1. Did federal policy and social practice in education contribute to the conditions and struggles of the disadvantaged African-Americans? 2. Why did vocational education become a part of public education? 3. Did federal policy and practice play a role in maintaining the conditions of the disadvantaged in vocational education? 4. How was the focus of vocational special needs education achieved leading to the 1963 Vocational Education Act? Societal conditions and federal policies of the late 1800s and early twentieth century, produced adverse conditions which prevented Negroes from obtaining adequate education. During this period, the education system of the early 1900s could not adequately lend itself to the structure and practice of the economic system. This was realized by the leaders and policymakers and they called for the federal government to enter into partnership with the states in making vocational education a part of the public school system. Its manifest objective was to relieve those conditions conducive to poverty, economic stagnation and disadvantagement by training the youth. Because of the interpretation of the federal mandate, the Smith-Hughes Act (P. L. 64-347), by the policymakers, certain segments of the population did not prosper, the majority of whom were these African-Americans. By late 1958, conditions brought about a change in philosophy relative to the concerns of the poor and the disadvantaged and a different emphasis in education began to emerge. The leaders and policymakers realized that it was necessary to focus their attention on the disadvantaged through vocational special needs education. This focus brought about the legislative process which produced the Vocational Education Act of 1963 (P. L. 88-210). / Ed. D.

Primarily, the purpose of the study was to show the immediate effects of the depression on the educational program in the United States. Secondarily, the writer hoped to encourage teachers not only to ward off another similar catastrophe but also to make the present educational program take care of the devastating effects of the past depression as far as possible.

In what is historically a brief number of years, the life and times of John F. Kennedy have taken on legendary proportions. His presidency began with something less than a mandate from the American people, but he brought to the White House an inspiration and a style that offered great promises of things to come.

Rapid industrialization, breakthroughs in science and technological development have ushered in an era regarded as a technocratic age. The advent of a technocratic age has necessitated the acquisition of technologically appropriate knowledge, skills and attitudes, and consequently it has become necessary to establish education systems that fulfil the demands set by technocratic age principles. Present-day education is typified by technocratic age imperatives which include meritocracy, specialization, vocationalism, professionalism and scientism. Technocratic age education is further characterized by mass education, free and compulsory education and greater bureaucratic control of education. In technocratic age education systems, entrance examinations are used to select learners for advanced education and training. It would appear that this takes place with little regard for the learner's personal worth or meeting the learner's distinctive needs. / Educational Studies / M. Ed. (History of Education)

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Rapid industrialization, breakthroughs in science and technological development have ushered in an era regarded as a technocratic age. The advent of a technocratic age has necessitated the acquisition of technologically appropriate knowledge, skills and attitudes, and consequently it has become necessary to establish education systems that fulfil the demands set by technocratic age principles. Present-day education is typified by technocratic age imperatives which include meritocracy, specialization, vocationalism, professionalism and scientism. Technocratic age education is further characterized by mass education, free and compulsory education and greater bureaucratic control of education. In technocratic age education systems, entrance examinations are used to select learners for advanced education and training. It would appear that this takes place with little regard for the learner's personal worth or meeting the learner's distinctive needs. / Educational Studies / M. Ed. (History of Education)