Desegregation and Social Reform Since 1954

Dating back to the end of the Civil War, court orders and Constitutional Amendments by the Judicial Branch, the Congress, and the States have had a profound influence upon social reform. Indeed much of the impetus of desegregation in education has been provided by the highest Court in the land-for instance, the 1954 desegregation decision, whereby the Supreme Court handed down a ruling outlawing segregation in public education. It is noteworthy, however, that the High Court decided against handing down a set of procedures to implement its decision until a year later-which gave rise to the desegregation movement in education. According to Kenneth Clark,' the magnitude and implications of the desegregation movement have been such that they demand from American social scientists a commitment to assume the responsibility inherent in their role as objective students of our society and an attempt to understand the dynamics and complexities of this aspect of social change. Clark points out that the dilemma of social scientists in employing the techniques of objectivity of science here is highlighted by the fact that complex social problems have historically been resolved not so much through the application of facts or principles but through the effective use of economic, social, political, or military power. He refers to some hypotheses and concludes that based upon the best available empirical knowledge, effective techniques for the desegregation of the public schools and other social institutions will be accepted and used only when it is regarded as to the advantage of the dominant or controlling power

Desegregation · Political science · Politics · Social reform · Higher Education Research Studies · Innovations in Educational Methods · Law · Public Administration · School Choice and Performance

• Historiography and Bibliography

  Open Access•Elinor Mondale Gersman•History of Education Quarterly•1975

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• Equality of educational opportunity

  James Samuel Coleman•Equality of educational opportunity•1979

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