The overall objective of the proposed research is to investigate the reciprocal interactions and the dynamic effects of social class upon school practices through a cross cultural comparison of the knowledge transmission process in early 20th century elementary schools of Buffalo. The main hypothesis is that class was a greater factor than ethnicity or race in the schooling process. During the planning stages, the PI will identify and study southern-born white and black immigrants to the city and study the shifts which occurred within these two populations between 1910 and 1930. Having established their resettlement patterns in the city by social class, the PI will determine the elementary schools in which their children enrolled. Locating their schools would allow to investigate the responses of the public elementary schools to the children of immigrant populations. The PI also plans to analyze the content of articles published in the widely circulated School Magazine between 1918- 1932. Through a systematic analysis, the investigator expects to show similarities and differences in the types of school knowledge transmitted to the pupil populations under study.
