Social Stratification of School Knowledge in Character Training Programs of South Buffalo, New York, 1918-1932

Abstract

This essay shows how policy makers and teachers in Buffalo, New York designed and implemented a stratified curriculum as an outgrowth of the school district's character training program. They differentiated by socio-economic status the knowledge type they disseminated to their pupils in the early 1900s, emphasizing academics in elementary schools which higher- and middle-status pupils attended. In contrast, they emphasized character training at the expense of academics in lower-status schools.