The National Society for the Study of Education:  A Requiem

Mark Smylie

March 1, 2009

I want to let you know of a little noticed but important recent event in our field.  On December 31, 2008, the National Society for the Study of Education (NSSE) dissolved as an independent nonprofit membership organization.  Established in 1901 by a small group of educators, including John Dewey, Nicholas Murray Butler, and Charles Hubbard Judd, NSSE was the nation’s oldest active educational research organization.  Since its founding, NSSE was dedicated to the improvement of American education by bringing together educational scholars and educational leaders in “serious, continuous, and extensive study.”  NSSE focused attention on enduring issues in education, including those that were not treated systemically by other research or professional associations.  NSSE sought to assemble the best theoretical, empirical, and professional knowledge about these issues and explored the implications of this knowledge for policy, professional practice, and future research.  By joining educational scholars and educational leaders in study, NSSE served historically to strengthen the role of research in educational policy and professional practice and the role that issues of policy and professional practice can play in shaping research. 

One of NSSE’s most significant contributions was the publication of an unbroken series of yearbooks dating from 1902, most of them in two volumes.  These books represent a history of thought and commentary on key issues of American education across the 20th century and into the 21st.  NSSE yearbooks have been edited by some of the nation’s preeminent education scholars who have included the likes of Elliot Eisner, John Goodlad, Robert Havighurst, Sharon Lynn Kagan, Ann Lieberman, Jeannie Oakes, A. Harry Passow, Harold Rugg, E. L. Thorndike, and Ralph Tyler. 

Our College of Education had deep ties to NSSE.  Over the years, several members of the faculty served on the NSSE Board of Directors as well as yearbook editors and chapter authors (with apologies for any omissions):  Mary Bay, David Hansen, Kim Lawless, Yolanda Majors, David Mayrowetz, Larry Nucci, Bill Schubert, Tim Shanahan, Louanne Smolin, Mark Smylie, Lauren Sosniak, Steve Tozer, Herb Walberg, and Ed Wynne.  In addition to contributing chapters to several yearbooks, Herb edited a related book series, sometimes called the McCutchan series in reference to these books’ publisher. 

UIC’s involvement with NSSE extended well beyond individual faculty contributions.  The College of Education served as NSSE’s host institution for the past 9 years.  In 2000, after nearly 30 years in a basement office in Judd Hall at the University of Chicago, NSSE ’s operations moved to a basement office in the EPASW Building.  During its time at UIC, I served as Secretary-Treasurer of the organization (an executive director of sorts), and Debra Miretzky, a 2002 Ph.D. graduate of our College, served as the Society’s Program Director.  Deb managed the daily operations of the Society and production of the yearbooks.  NSSE received generous support from Vicki Chou in the form of office space, occasional support for Deb and research assistance, and unwavering encouragement.  In 2000, NSSE received a small seed grant from the Provost’s Office to support the transition from the University of Chicago to UIC.

After coming to UIC, NSSE published nine two-volume yearbooks, a total of 18 books.  These yearbooks were the latest in a line of national scholarly publications housed in the College that include the Journal of Reading Behavior, Journal of Higher Education, Human Development, and Educational Theory, co-hosted with UIUC.  We also hosted the journal of the Illinois Reading Council.  While at UIC, NSSE created an electronic archive of more than half of the yearbooks published since 1902 and made that archive available to the public through NSSE’s website (http://nsse-chicago.org) which was also developed here.  NSSE sponsored a Chicago forum on bridging the research-practice gap.  It also hosted an unbroken string of sessions at AERA conferences and sponsored occasional sessions at the annual meetings of the American Association of School Administrators, an historical partner organization of NSSE. 

The topics and editors of the yearbooks published at UIC include: 

• Constructivism in education (edited by D. C. Phillips, Stanford University)
• The past, present, and future of American education (edited by Thomas Good, University of Missouri).
• Standards-based reform (edited by Susan Furhman, University of Pennsylvania).
• Educational leadership for the 21st century (edited by Joseph Murphy, Vanderbilt University)
• Educating at-risk students (edited by Sam Stringfield and Deborah Land, The Johns Hopkins University).
• Educational governance (edited by William Lowe Boyd, The Pennsylvania State University, and Debra Miretzky).
• School-university-community partnerships (edited by Mary Brabeck, NYU).
• Teacher workforce development (edited by Mark Smylie and Debra Miretzky, UIC).
• Classroom assessment and accountability (edited by Mark Wilson, University of California-Berkeley).
• Media literacy (edited by Gretchen Schwartz and Pamela Brown, Oklahoma State University).
• Uses and misuses of data in educational accountability and improvement (edited by Joan Herman, UCLA, and Edward Haertel, Stanford University).
• The superintendency (edited by Paul Kelleher, Trinity University, and Rebecca Van Der Bogert, Superintendent, Winnetka IL Public Schools).
• Educational equity and excellence (edited by Arnetha Ball, Stanford University).
• Evidence and decision making in education (edited by Pamela Moss, University of Michigan).
• Information and communication technologies (edited by Louanne Smolin, UIC; Kim Lawless, UIC; and Nicholas Burbules, UIUC). 

Among these yearbooks was the “centennial volume,” published in 2001 marking the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Society (edited by Lyn Corno, Teachers College).

The final yearbook published at UIC was a two-volume set on the purposes of education in democratic society at the turn of the 21st century.  These two 2008 books are the products of a three-year project, “Why Do We Educate?”, initiated by the NSSE Board and supported by a grant from the Spencer Foundation.  The purpose of this yearbook was two-fold.  The first was to create a record of contemporary thought about the purposes of education.  The second was to provoke and promote the conversation about why we educate at a time when much of the discourse about education consists of critique and arguments about the efficacy of specific policy options.  It is a discourse largely silent on the goals and reasons for education.  The first volume of the yearbook is the “scholarly” treatment of the question of why we educate.  It contains original essays from leading academics in education, the humanities, political science, law, and economics.  The second volume contains a collection of more than 90 original and reproduced speeches, essays, and other works by notable nonacademic figures in arts and literature; business, science, and technology; education; political and civic leadership; religion; sports; and the media.  Gary Fenstermacher (University of Michigan) served as the volume editor.  The first book of the volume was edited by David Coulter (University of British Columbia) and John Wiens (University of Manitoba).  I edited the second.  Attached is a flyer that lists the contributors to each book. 

In October 2008, a forum on these books was held in Washington DC in conjunction with AERA’s Brown Lecture.  Nel Noddings (Stanford University) was the featured speaker.  The books were also presented and discussed by a panel at this month’s meeting of AACTE in Chicago.  Additional forums are being planned by Mary Futrell, Dean of the College of Education at George Washington University (and former NSSE Board member) for educators and civic leaders in the DC area.  Coulter and Wiens are also planning forums in Canada. 

There are several reasons for NSSE’s dissolution, most of them financial.  As with many small nonprofit education organizations, membership and income from dues fell precipitously during the past few years.  Despite changing publishers to increase book sales, income from royalties also fell largely because of general restructuring in the publishing industry.  Concurrent with the move to UIC, NSSE’s Board sought to strengthen the organization’s ability to achieve its original mission of actively linking scholars and educational leaders.  But in an environment of increasing competition for fewer resources, we were unable to secure the grants and other external funds to make that shift successfully. 

Even though NSSE is now dissolved, the yearbooks will continue to be published without interruption through Teachers College at Columbia University and under the umbrella of Teachers College Record.  The 2009 yearbook will be a two-volume set on globalism, the new localism, and education.  This yearbook and future yearbooks can be purchased through TCR’s website:  http://www.tcrecord.org.  Access to the electronic archive of past NSSE yearbooks can also be gained through this website. 

In closing, I would like to extend personal thanks to all in the College who supported NSSE these past years through membership, through service on the Board, through editing and the contribution of chapters to yearbooks, and through interest and encouragement.  Thanks to Vicki and to the Provost for their support.  And special thanks to Deb for her stewardship and daily labor in the relative obscurity of L244. 

One-hundred-and-eight years.  What a ride!

University of Illinois at Chicago College of Education, (MC 147) 1040 W. Harrison St., Chicago, IL 60607-7133.