The Heritage of the Cold War in Contemporary Curricula and Educational Reforms
Keywords:
cold war, educational reform, humanistic-oriented curriculum, OECD, PISA
Abstract
Using a theoretical-critical and historical approach, this paper analyses the implications of the Cold War in national curricula and educational reforms of the second half of the 20th century with emphasis on the 21st century. The context of the time after the Second World War and the beginning of the Cold War is shown, as well as the social and political changes that are significant for education and were prompted by the wars. The emergence of the international Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) (whose focus is not educational but economic) and the role of behavioural psychology were also analysed, which explained their significance in later educational reforms. The role of the Cold War in reducing socio-humanistic teaching contents and the implementation of natural sciences and mathematics has also been explained. The synthesis of the analysed aspects suggests that the Cold War military and technological race resulted in the implementation of the STEM area, thus the measurability of learning outcomes, which influenced the psychologisation, standardisation, economisation, and globalisation of education. Most of the current (un)successful national educational and curricular reforms were initiated in that direction without respect for the social, cultural, and historical features of individual countries. These changes have left a mark in pedagogy, in which the humanistic approach appears to counteract other approaches. Some educational systems demonstrate a shift from such trends, from the technical-scientific curriculum towards the didactic tradition of Bildung and the philosophy of education. The reasons can be found in the above-average results on international standardised evaluations of those countries that have national curricula, in contrast to what is recommended by the globalisation and standardisation of education as some of the elements of the Cold War heritage.
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References
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Milat, J. (2005). Pedagoške paradigme izrade kurikuluma [Pedagogical paradigms of curriculum construction]. Pedagogijska istraživanja, 2(2), 199–208.
Miljak, A. (2005). Su-konstrukcija kurikuluma i teorije (ranog odgoja) obrazovanja [Co-construction of curriculum and theories of (early) education]. Pedagogijska istraživanja, 2(2), 235–251.
Möller, C. (1992). Didaktika kao teorija kurikuluma [Didactics as theory of curriculum]. In H. Gudjons, R. Teske, & R. Winkel (Eds.), DidaktiÄke teorije (pp. 73–88). Zagreb: Educa.
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Rudolph, J. (2002). Scientists in the classroom: The Cold War reconstruction of American science education. New York, NY: Palgrave Macmillan.
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Tröhler, D. (2014). Change management in the governance of schooling: The rise of experts, planners, and statistics in the early OECD. Teachers College Record, 116, 1–26.
Tröhler, D. (2016). The medicalization of current educational research and its effects on educational policy and school reforms. Discourse: Studies in the Cultural Politics of Education, 36(5), 749–764.
Tröhler, D., & Barbau, R. (Eds.). (2011). Education systems in historical, cultural, and sociological perspectives. Rotterdam: Sense Publishers.
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Walker, D. F. (2003). Fundamentals of curriculum: Passion and professionalism. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Wiles, J., & Bondi, J. (1998). Curriculum development: A guide to practice. Mishawaka, IN: Prentice Hall.
Winkel, R. (1994). Didaktika kao kritiÄka teorija nastavne komunikacije [Didactics as critical theory of teaching communication]. In H. Gudjons, R. Teske, & R. Winkel (Eds.), DidaktiÄke teorije (pp. 95–116). Zagreb: Educa.
Wojtczak, A. (2002). Glossary of medical education terms. Retrieved from http://www.iime.org/glossary.htm
Zimmerman, W. (1997). Curriculum – Konstruktion. Klinkhardt: Bad Heilbrunn.
Bognar, B. (2012). Pedagogija na putu prema pluralizmu znanstvenih paradigmi i stvaralaštvu [Pedagogy on the way towards pluralism of scientific paradigms and creativity]. In N. Hrvatić & A. Klapan (Eds.), Pedagogija i kultura, Svezak 1 (pp. 101–111). Zagreb: Hrvatsko pedagogijsko društvo.
Bognar, L. (2012). Pedagogija kao odraz postojećeg ili kreiranje mogućeg [Pedagogy like reflection of existing or creating of possible]. In N. Hrvatić & A. Klapan (Eds.), Pedagogija i kultura, Svezak 1 (pp. 112–122). Zagreb: Hrvatsko pedagogijsko društvo.
Bruner, J. (1999). The process of education. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Coleman, J. S. (1966). Equality and educational opportunity. Ann Arbor, MI: Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research.
Doll, W. E. (1993). Postmodern perspective on curriculum. New York, NY: Teachers CollegePress.
Domović, V. (2009). Kurikulum – osnovni pojmovi [Curriculum - key concepts]. In V. Vizek Vidović (Ed.), Planiranje kurikuluma usmjerenog na kompetencije u obrazovanju uÄitelja i nastavnika: priruÄnik za visokoÅ¡kolske nastavnike (pp. 19–32). Zagreb: Filozofski fakultet SveuÄiliÅ¡ta u Zagrebu.
Dubovicki, S. (2017). FuturoloÅ¡ke metode istraživanja [Futuristic research methods (or research methods of the future?)]. In S. Opić, B. Bognar, & S. Ratković (Eds.), Novi pristupi metodologiji istraživanja odgoja (pp. 203–221). Zagreb: UÄiteljski fakultet SveuÄiliÅ¡ta u Zagrebu.
Dubovicki, S., Mlinarević, M., & Velki, T. (2018). IstraživaÄki pristupi i metodoloÅ¡ki okviri u istraživanjima budućih uÄitelja [Research approaches and methodological framework in the research of future teachers]. Nova prisutnost, 16(3), 595–611. doi:10.31192/np.16.3.11
Evans, R. W. (2011). The hope for American school reform: The Cold War pursuit of inquiry learning in social studies. New York, NY: Palgrave Macmillan.
Gardner, H. (1993). Multiple intelligences. New York, NY: Harper Company.
Giesecke, H. (1993). Uvod u pedagogiju [Introduction in pedagogy]. Zagreb: Educa.
Glatthorn, A. A. (2000). The principal as curriculum leader: Shaping what is taught and tested. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Gorard, S., & Taylor, C. (2004). Combining methods in educational and social research. Maidenhead, UK: Open University Press.
Gudjons, H. (1993). Pedagogija: temeljna znanja [Pedagogy: Key concepts]. Zagreb: Educa.
Hartman, A. (2008). Education and the cold war: The battle for the American school. New York, NY: Palgrave Macmillan.
Hrvatić, N., & PirÅ¡l, E. (2007). Kurikulum pedagoÅ¡ke izobrazbe uÄitelja [Curriculum of pedagogical teachers training]. In V. PreviÅ¡ić (Ed.), Kurikulum – teorije, metodologija, sadržaj, struktura (pp. 385–412). Zagreb: Å kolska knjiga.
Jagić, S. (2007). Problem kauzalnosti u pedagogijskom istraživanju [The problem of causality in educational research]. In V. Previšić, N. N. Šoljan, & N. Hrvatić (Eds.), Pedagogija prema cjeloživotnom obrazovanju i društvu znanja, Svezak 1. (pp. 58–67). Zagreb: Hrvatsko pedagogijsko društvo.
Jencks, C. et al. (1972). Inequality: A reassessment of the effect of family and schooling in America. New York, NY: BasicBooks.
Marsh, C. J. (2004). Key concepts for understanding curriculum. London, UK & New York, NY: Routledge-Falmer.
Matijević, M., & Rajić, V. (2015). Metodologije kurikulumskih promjena: nekad i danas [Methodology of curricular change: Then and now]. In S. Opić & M. Matijević (Eds.), Istraživanja paradigmi djetinjstva, odgoja i obrazovanja, IV. simpozij: Nastava i Å¡kola za net-generacije: Unutarnja reforma nastave u osnovnoj i srednjoj Å¡koli (pp. 635–654). Zagreb: UÄiteljski fakultet, SveuÄiliÅ¡ta u Zagrebu.
Mijatović, A. (1996). Kurikulum kao okosnica osuvremenjivanja odgoja i obrazovanja [Curriculum as the basis of modernizing education]. In Zbornik radova Prvog sabora pedagoga Republike Hrvatske (pp. 69–76). Zagreb: HPKZ.
Milat, J. (2005). Pedagoške paradigme izrade kurikuluma [Pedagogical paradigms of curriculum construction]. Pedagogijska istraživanja, 2(2), 199–208.
Miljak, A. (2005). Su-konstrukcija kurikuluma i teorije (ranog odgoja) obrazovanja [Co-construction of curriculum and theories of (early) education]. Pedagogijska istraživanja, 2(2), 235–251.
Möller, C. (1992). Didaktika kao teorija kurikuluma [Didactics as theory of curriculum]. In H. Gudjons, R. Teske, & R. Winkel (Eds.), DidaktiÄke teorije (pp. 73–88). Zagreb: Educa.
Ornstein, A. C., & Levine, D. U. (1989). Foundationd of Education. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin Company.
Ouakrim-Soivio, N. (2016). Basic education of the future: Let’s turn the trend! Croatian Journal of Education 18(1), 133–152. doi: 10.15516/cje.v18i0.2222
Pinar, W. F. (2003). International handbook of curriculum research. London, UK: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Publihers.
Poljak, V. (1984). DidaktiÄke inovacije i pedagoÅ¡ka reforma Å¡kole [Didactical innovations and pedagogical reform of school]. Zagreb: Å kolska knjiga.
Reiser, R. A. (2001). A History of instructional design and technology. Part II: A history of instructional design. Educational Technology, Research and Development, 49(2), 57–67.
Rudolph, J. (2002). Scientists in the classroom: The Cold War reconstruction of American science education. New York, NY: Palgrave Macmillan.
SardoÄ, M., & Gaber, S. (2016). The legacy of the Coleman report (Editorial). CEPS Journal, 6(2), 5–8.
Sahlberg, P. (2011). Finnish lessons: What can the world learn from educational change in Finland. New York, NY: Teachers College Press.
Sekulić-Majurec, A. (2007). Uloga sudionika odgojno-obrazovnog procesa u stvaranju, provedbi i vrednovanju kurikuluma [Role of actors in educational process - creating, apllicationing and evaluation of curriculum]. In V. Previšić (Ed.), Kurikulum – teorije, metodologija, sadržaj, struktura (pp. 351–383). Zagreb: Školska knjiga.
Sing, H. (2002). Utjecaj globalizacije na manje zemlje te uloga manjih zemalja u procesu globalizacije: primjer socijalne politike i socijalnog rada [The impact of globalisation on smaller countries and the role of smaller countries in the process of globalisation: The example of social policy and social work]. Revija za socijalnu politiku, 9(1), 23–32.
Smeyers, P., & Depaepe, M. (Eds.). (2008). Educational research: The educationalization of social problems. Berlin: Speinger.
Smith, M. K. (2000). Curriculum theory and practice. In The encyclopaedia of informal education. Retrieved from www.infed.org/biblio/b-curric.htm
Tanner, D., & Tanner, L. (1980). Curriculum development: Theory into practice. New York, NY: Macmillan.
TopolovÄan, T., Rajić, V., & Matijević, M. (2017). KonstruktivistiÄka nastava: teorija i empirijska istraživanja [Constructivist teaching: Theory and empirical research]. Zagreb: UÄiteljski fakultet SveuÄiliÅ¡ta u Zagrebu.
Tröhler, D. (2011). Languages of education. Protestant legacies, national identities, and global aspirations. New York, NY & London, UK: Routledge.
Tröhler, D. (2013a). The technocratic momentum after 1945, the development of teaching machines, and sobering results. Journal of Educational Media, Memory, and Society, 5(2), 1–19.
Tröhler, D. (2014). Change management in the governance of schooling: The rise of experts, planners, and statistics in the early OECD. Teachers College Record, 116, 1–26.
Tröhler, D. (2016). The medicalization of current educational research and its effects on educational policy and school reforms. Discourse: Studies in the Cultural Politics of Education, 36(5), 749–764.
Tröhler, D., & Barbau, R. (Eds.). (2011). Education systems in historical, cultural, and sociological perspectives. Rotterdam: Sense Publishers.
United States. National Commission on Excellence in Education. (1983). A nation at risk: The imperative for educational reform: A report to the Nation and the Secretary of Education, United States Department of Education. Washington, DC: The Commission.
Walker, D. F. (2003). Fundamentals of curriculum: Passion and professionalism. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Wiles, J., & Bondi, J. (1998). Curriculum development: A guide to practice. Mishawaka, IN: Prentice Hall.
Winkel, R. (1994). Didaktika kao kritiÄka teorija nastavne komunikacije [Didactics as critical theory of teaching communication]. In H. Gudjons, R. Teske, & R. Winkel (Eds.), DidaktiÄke teorije (pp. 95–116). Zagreb: Educa.
Wojtczak, A. (2002). Glossary of medical education terms. Retrieved from http://www.iime.org/glossary.htm
Zimmerman, W. (1997). Curriculum – Konstruktion. Klinkhardt: Bad Heilbrunn.
Published
2019-06-21
How to Cite
Topolovčan, T., & Dubovicki, S. (2019). The Heritage of the Cold War in Contemporary Curricula and Educational Reforms. Center for Educational Policy Studies Journal, 9(2), 11–32. https://doi.org/10.26529/cepsj.567
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