Beyond the Department of Education: John Dewey’s Legacy and the Decline of Public Education

Commentary
Education in the United States and Canada is decentralized and controlled at the state or provincial level, based on the belief that local governance leads to more tailored and responsive systems.
In the United States, this decentralization has sparked debates over the federal government’s role, especially since the creation of the Department of Education (DOE) in 1979 under the Carter administration.
Since its inception, the DOE has been a political flashpoint, with many conservatives calling for its abolition, arguing that the federal government should not dictate educational policy to the states. The Trump administration’s promise to eliminate the DOE is significant….