Deculturalization and the Struggle for Equality: A Brief History of the Education of Dominated Cultures in the United States

Joel Spring's history of school policies imposed on dominated groups in the United States examines the concept of deculturalization--the use of schools to strip away family languages and cultures and replace them with those of the dominant group. The focus is on the education of dominated groups forced to become citizens in territories conquered by the U.S., including Native Americans, African Americans, Asian Americans, Latino Americans, and Hawaiians. In 7 concise, thought-provoking chapters, this analysis and documentation of how education is used to change or eliminate linguistic and cultural traditions in the U.S. looks at the educational, legal, and social construction of race and racism in the United States, emphasizing the various meanings of "equality" that have existed from colonial America to the present. Providing a broader perspective for understanding the denial of cultural and linguistic rights in the United States, issues of language, culture, and deculturalization are placed in a global context. The new 9th edition is extensively revised throughout to reflect the result of dramatic national events since the 2016 publication, including the rise of Black Lives Matter, increased educational inequality with the pandemic, concerns about institutional racism, debates over cultural and racial identity, White nationalism, and debates about the interpretation of U.S. history.