Overview

The nature of intelligence and how it can be measured has occupied psychologists, educationalists, biologists and philosophers for hundreds of years. However, there has been little investigation into the rise of the traditional dominant educational ideology that intelligence and IQ have innate limits and are unchanging and unchangeable. This book traces the roots of this mind set back to early puritan communities on both sides of the Atlantic, drawing parallels between puritan dogma and the development of the traditional curricula and selection processes that are still firmly embedded in school practice today. Drawing on the work of Galton, Pearson, Burt, Goddard, Terman and others in his search for the truth about intelligence testing, John White looks at the personal histories and socialised religious backgrounds of these key psychologists and casts an entirely new light on schooling in Britain and the USA in modern times. This work also shows how we can transcend this heritage and base our educational system on values and practices more in tune with the twenty-first century.

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9780415394932

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Reviews

'This is an important and readable account of one important aspect of our system's history. It is replete with surprising vignettes and wise comment on contemporary schooling. No one who wants to think about the modern curriculum should miss it.' - Harry Brighouse, Book of the week, TES Friday Awarded 2nd Prize for the 2007 Society for the Educational Studies Book Award

Awarded 2nd Prize for the 2007 Society for the Educational Studies Book Award

Author Information

John White is Emeritus Professor of the Philosophy of Education at the Institute of Education, University of London, UK.

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