Scientists in the Classroom: The Cold War Reconstruction of American Science Education [Hardcover]

John L. Rudolph (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 3, 2002 | ISBN-10: 0312295014 | ISBN-13: 978-0312295011

In response to Soviet advances in science and engineering education, the country’s top scientists with the support of the federal government in 1956 launched an unprecedented program to reform pre-college science education in the United States. Drawing on a wide range of archival material, John Rudolph traces the origins of two of the leading projects in this movement in high school physics and biology. Rudolph describes how the scientists directing these projects drew on their wartime experiences in weapons development and defense consultation to guide their foray into the field of education and he reveals how the broader social and political conditions of the 1950s Cold War America fundamentally shaped the nature of the course materials they eventually produced.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

In this masterly study of federally sponsored efforts to reform K-12 science education in the early postwar era, Rudolph (education, Univ. of Wisconsin) sheds light not only on familiar political debates over the role of the federal government in sponsoring educational reform but on the history of science, the place of science in American culture and society in the 20th century, and the relationship between philosophical debates over the aims of education and curriculum development and reform. "All representations of science in schools embody social and political ends," writes Rudolph, and his study of the impact of these forces on science education reform during the 1950s and 1960s will provide valuable insights for science educators, who continue to face these issues today. Although Rudolph builds on earlier studies of federally funded curriculum programs namely, Barbara Barksdale Clowse's Brainpower for the Cold War and Peter B. Dow's Schoolhouse Politics he provides a much richer context for understanding the role of science (and science education) in 20th-century American culture. Highly recommended. Scott Walter, Washington State Univ. Lib., Pullman
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Review

"His skillfully woven narrative is easy to read, and draws on an impressive array of unpublished, archival sources."--David Kaiser, Science Education
"Rudolph has set a high standard in the scholarship of curriculum history..."--Alan W. Garrett, History of Education Quarterly

Honorable Mention for the AERA New Scholars Book Award for History of Education

"John L. Rudolph's compact, well-researched volume brings to light the intriguing history. . ."--Jessica Wang, American Historical Review

"An engaging and refreshingly balanced account of the science-curriculum wars of the 1950s and early 1960s, when Russian rivalry, governmental largess, and scientific hubris led to the unprecedented politicization of science teaching in American schools." --Ronald L. Numbers, Hilldale and William Coleman Professor of the History of Science and Medicine, University of Wisconsin-Madison, and author of The Creationists

". . . a masterful achievement." --William J. Reese, University of Wisconsin-Madison

". . . absorbing . . . I wish everyone engaged in science curriculum development and those who study the history of curriculum and the history of science would read this book. It provides fresh insights into a complex phenomenon." --Angelo Collins, Executive Director, Knowles Science Teaching Foundation

"In this masterly study he provides a much richer context for understanding the role of science in 20th century American culture. Highly recommended." -- Library Journal

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 272 pages
• Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan (May 3, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312295014
• ISBN-13: 978-0312295011
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.7 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.9 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,624,738 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Impressive First Book, July 3, 2009

By 

R. Ladouceur - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Scientists in the Classroom: The Cold War Reconstruction of American Science Education (Paperback)

John L. Rudolph's "Scientists in the Classroom" is highly readable and surprisingly entertaining considering its subject matter - high school physics and biology textbooks. I was particularly impressed by Rudolph's history of the Biological Sciences Curriculum Study (BSCS), one of several large, well-funded Sputnik-inspired curriculum development programs. Though Rudolph's inquiry stops short of an analysis of the interesting divisions within the BSCS, his book does an excellent job of historicizing the group's work. This will greatly assist future historians seeking to examine how Progressive Era ideologies connect through the Cold War to current political, cultural and scientific policy debates.

I too look forward to his next book.

6 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Future Carl Sagan in the making., May 13, 2002

By 

Dale O'Neil (Appleton, WI) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Scientists in the Classroom: The Cold War Reconstruction of American Science Education (Hardcover)

Wow. I began reading this book with a skeptical mind. Soon into the content, I realized that Mr. Rudolph is capable of teaching anyone, anything. Clearly, the time that went into collecting the information shared in this wonderful document must have been extensive. I've done some research on this author, and was surprised to learn of his relative young age. I can't wait to read what he publishes next.