Study Finds 'Idealized' Story of America Being Scrutinized, Questioned by High School Students

BUFFALO, N.Y. - A study by an education researcher at the University at Buffalo has found that the "celebratory grand epic" about America that prevails in many of the nation's history classrooms and textbooks is no longer taken at face value by the increasingly heterogeneous population of U.S. high school students.

Catherine Cornbleth, professor of learning and instruction in the UB Graduate School of Education, said the idealized story of America is beginning to crack as students confront contrary evidence and come to understand how marginalized groups have struggled to be represented.

The traditional, exclusive, idealized version of American history, she added, is further eroded by teachers who extend student understanding by including the histories, cultures, and perspectives of the many different groups in their curriculums.

Based on her findings, Cornbleth said history instruction needs to be reformed with the goal of developing and expanding student understanding of the United States and the historical processes out of which it developed.

Results of the qualitative study, "Images of America," are published in the summer issue of the American Educational Research Journal, a peer-reviewed publication of the American Educational Research Association. The association represents 20,000 educators who conduct research and evaluation in education.

Cornbleth said she devised the study to better understand the substance of students' knowledge and beliefs about the U.S. and its history, and to provide the basis for possible improvements in the teaching and learning of American history.

The study, which took place prior to Sept. 11, 2001, involved 25 volunteer juniors and seniors at three high schools in Western New York. Participants ranged in age from 16-19 and were of diverse racial, ethnic and socio-economic backgrounds.

When subjects were asked to characterize "America," Cornbleth noted, their answers were relatively sophisticated, mixed critique with hopefulness and appeared to mask deep divisions in American society.

She said most characterizations of America revolved around three themes: 1) freedom (with its attendant rights and opportunities), 2) diversity of race, ethnicity, culture and geography, and 3) inequity insofar as race, gender, socioeconomic status and disability are concerned.

One-third of the subjects, she said, identified three additional motifs: "progress," "the American Dream" and "better than other nations."

Principal themes played out differently within individuals and groups, but were not inconsistent with those conveyed in fifth-, eighth-, and 11th-grade U.S. history classrooms, which portray America as imperfect, but "best." Students in the sample put more emphasis on "imperfect," reflecting the greater consideration of multiple, including critical, views of the nation in the upper grades classes.

Cornbleth said characterizations of "America" were more personalized, localized and complex than those found in most American. history curriculums and texts.

Twenty-three -- or 92 percent -- of the 25 students said school, including specific courses, was a major source of their images of America

Fifteen -- or 60 percent -- cited personal experience and 11 students cited family and/or older people, television and news media as principal sources informing their image of America

Reading and books were mentioned as sources of images by only five students, all males, who challenged the conventional, largely positive versions of U.S. history.

Although not overly positive, Cornbleth said what the students said about the U.S. was realistic and continued to "support the nation-state.

"The hopefulness that the students expressed seems to derive from the fact that they see good things about the country, even if they think it could be better," Cornbleth added.

Their criticisms, she said, tended to speak to the idea that the country is not living up to the principles and promises in the Bill of Rights.

As an example, she cited a comment by a male African-American student, who said: "America's not like it should be. It hasn't been for a long time. And until America decides that it's going to be, or lives by the principles that it was built on, it will never be what it should always have been."

She added, "Although students frequently mentioned freedom -- often as their first response to our questions about what comes to mind when you hear the words "U.S." or "America" -- few had much to say about it."

Cornbleth, who has taught social studies at high schools in Texas and Connecticut, said social-studies curriculums may be missing opportunities to exert a more constructive influence on young people's knowledge and beliefs about who Americans are.

"I recognize that history classes in secondary schools, which tend to focus on people, places and events, must compete with more powerful sources of information," she said, "but schools may be missing opportunities to help students comprehend historical processes and think critically about the information they encounter in and out of school."

She noted that beliefs influence individual action and that changing or extending knowledge and beliefs is not simply a matter of addition or exchange.

"It is a matter of working with, and building on, what people already 'know,' whatever that might be," she said.

When it comes to reforming history instruction, Cornbleth offers the following suggestions:

-- Instead of just presenting "one damn thing after another," history classes should help students grasp connections between events and movements, long-term processes like industrialization and post-industrialization, and political struggles like those involving civil rights and environmental protection.

-- It would be useful for students not only to examine individual accomplishments and frustrations, but also the experiences of those in particular social classes, races, ethnic groups and genders. That way, Cornbleth said, "they will be able to see both the societal forest and its various groves and trees."

-- More cross-cultural education and experiences, especially for those attending largely white schools, could help students understand and accommodate diversity and learn how people talk and work through their differences.

Cornbleth said that all of America's peoples would likely benefit from "nurturing continuing 'dialogues among differences'" in and out of school.

The "Images of America" study is part of a larger social-identities project by Cornbleth that she said "looks at how students describe themselves when identity is not a multiple-choice question." Project results will be published next year in a book, "Hearing America's Youth: Social Identities in Uncertain Times."

Cornbleth's research has focused on the politics, policies and practice of curriculum; social studies and history education, and the social identities of individuals and groups.

Cornbleth is the author of many publications, including the books "Curriculum in Context" (1990), "The Great Speckled Bird: Multicultural Politics and Education, Policymaking" (1995, 1999) and "Curriculum politics, policy, practice: Cases in comparative context" (2000). Recent publications include a chapter on "Climates of Constraint/Restraint of Teachers and Teaching" in W. B. Stanley's book, "Critical Issues in Social Studies Research for the 21st Century."