Document Type
Issue Area Four
Abstract
A cultural historical perspective on this American Leviathan issue reveals many of the constructs which support the idea of "readiness." Nineteenth Century Spencerian Socialism (an outgrowth of the academic contributions of Charles Darwin) buttressed the class, economic, and social differences emanating from the industrialization of America by asserting the idea that some folks were simply more fit to succeed than others. And, the Calvinist tradition of American intellectual thought as it relates to the worth of an individual supported the idea that some folks are elect in the eyes of God so we ought to assume their divine right to excel. An assumption emerges from this process of social and cultural differentiation that the cauldron of social competition results in the identification of those who are competent (assumed that they have worked diligently, are moral, etc.) and also the identification of those who are not competent, either because they are not elect in the first place or because they are lazy are incapable of competing.
Journal Title
Institute for Educational Leadership Monograph Series
Volume
4
Issue
2
First Page
110
Last Page
113
Publisher
Institute for Educational Leadership, University of Northern Iowa
City
Cedar Falls, IA
Copyright
©1993 Institute for Educational Leadership, College of Education, and the University of Northern Iowa
Language
en
File Format
application/pdf
Recommended Citation
Hopkins, Bruce E.
(1993)
"Using a More Holistic Approach to Assessment and Education,"
Institute for Educational Leadership Monograph Series: Vol. 4:
No.
2, Article 29.
Available at:
https://scholarworks.uni.edu/iel_monographs/vol4/iss2/29
