The Importance Of Social Efficiency Theory In Education

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Social efficiency theory, as described by Schiro (2013), began in 1913 when Franklin Bobbitt introduced his ideals that educators must use scientific methods to determine the set of objectives students needed to learn in order to grow and function as contributing members of society. Efficiency implies a careful organization and carrying out of educational experiences the learner must learn. In order for that to happen, Bobbitt refers to the creation and use of behavioral objectives by educators. Behavioral objectives use desired learner behaviors outcomes which the educator may observe and assess. As Schiro (2013) points out, the social efficiency theory is one under which “Educators, acting as agents of society, must determine the needs of society and the products [pupils with skills] that fulfill those …show more content…

This insurgence of immigrants brought with it a multitude of languages and cultures. Due to the oppression, they were experiencing, groups such as Irish Catholics, African-Americans, and Native Americans ended up forming their own schools for a time. This segregation widened the divide in the nation, and worried Protestants that social stability was at risk (Spring, 2014, pg. 111). The common schools were in actuality not common for all people. For African-Americans, once they were allowed to have an education they were not welcomed into the common, or public, school. States then allowed for separate schools which segregated the races. The African-American schools were inferior to other schools in resources and educational experiences. Spring (2014) describes the conflict protestant leaders had between wanting to civilize African-Americans through schooling and fearing for their own racial and cultural purity (pg. 121). This conflict ultimately led to the continuity of segregation through much of the nineteenth and twentieth

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