American Curriculum History

Paper Summary:

This paper discusses the curriculum development in the United States and China that began with the reliance on religious beliefs at the core of the educational system. It explains how over time the American idea of higher education has became centered on expanding ideas and personal identities. This paper also points out that, in the Chinese educational system, the adoption of Western philosophies into the curriculum took centuries.

From the Paper:

"The history of education in the United States began with the influence of the English educational system and was formulated around instruction that did not occur in formal institutions, but that was privately administered (Thattai, n.d.). The professors of these early teachings were tasked with teaching students with a focus on the religious beliefs of the region. By the early 1600s education in the United States expanded to formal colleges, with Harvard opening its doors in 1636, teaching clergy ("Colonial", n.d.). This form of curriculum remained stable through 1647, when the idea of witchcraft and satan began to influence the Puritan culture of Massachusetts. However, the curriculum was altered by 1660 when the European philosophy of teachings science and culture began to impact the American idea of education."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Colonial era. (n.d.). Washington State University. Retrieved November 10, 2006, from http://www.educ.wsu.edu/coe/elcp/edad572/colonial.html
• Surowski, D. (n.d.). Kansas State University. Retrieved November 10, 2006, from http://www.math.ksu.edu/~dbski/publication/history.html
• Thattai, D. (n.d.). A history of public education in the
• United States. Association for India's Development. Retrieved November 10, 2006, from http://www.servintfree.net/~aidmn-ejournal/publications/2001-11/PublicEducationInTheUnitedStates.html

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