This is an award under the Career Advancement Award program for women scientists and engineers. It is a study of class conflict over American education at the turn of the century. The award will enable the researcher to reorient her work toward qualitative and archival work on the social influences on American education. The project will examine a variety of newspaper, archival, and other sources in order to identify the contending groups trying to influence the direction of American education in several regions between 1880 and 1920. The project is designed to test the hypothesis that only those social groups that can draw on pre-existing organizations can translate their interests and claims into changes in the educational system. This project will contribute important new perspectives on the social roots of the politics that shaped the American educational system in the twentieth century. In addition to the scientific gains to be achieved by the research, this award will materially assist a very capable young researcher prepare for a more broad-ranging research career, thereby contributing to the strengthening of the national base of women scientists and engineers.
