Is the Ed School the Dead School?: Premature Obituaries for an Institution

Clifford and Guthrie’s “horizontal” history of schools of education provides a novel contribution to the history and sociology of the American university. Following detailed case studies at such institutions as Columbia, Stanford, Chicago, Berkeley, UCLA, and Michigan, these authors conclude that no school of education has been able to maintain a central, prominent place within a distinguished American university. This essay review critically examines their argument. It takes issue with their recommendation that education faculty ought to de-emphasize the social science research model.