Alice Miel
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Alice Miel (February 21, 1906 – January 31, 1998) was an American
Life and career
Miel was born in
Miel focused on the democratic social learning environment of children in schools. She supported democratic ideals and the development of democratic behavior as the ultimate goal of schooling. She was one of the first to apply social learning theories, democratic principles, and processes to various areas of curriculum development and school administration. Miel believed social learning should be taught throughout the day not just one subject area. She also believed the teacher was the most important factor in curriculum change and reform would fail if all the people carrying them out were not included. Miel believed it was important to include social issues in the curriculum and was interested in issues of equity and diversity.
Although her ideas were well thought through, they were not received very well at the time for many reasons. They include: 1. People thought in terms of discrete subject areas. 2. She published "More Than Social Studies" in a time where American education was considered soft and in dire need of more math and science. The focus on math and science was increased even more by The National Defense Act which linked federal support to a national policy objective. 3. Finally, 3. Alice Miel lacked affiliation with social studies traditionalists and was not considered an expert or specialist in any of the social sciences.
She had become a teacher at the height of the Progressive Movement in education and it became a strong undercurrent in her life. Miel's career started at
Miel made many efforts to promote democratic leadership and decision-making among educators and to enhance the capacity of schools for change and self-renewal. She developed a knowledge base of factors that affect schools' capacity for change, used cooperative action research to help school systems plan research-based instructional innovations, worked to influence and involve a variety of members in the community to make decisions affecting their schools, and developed models of school change in her curriculum development research.
Death
After many achievements, on January 31, 1998 Dr. Miel died at the age of 91. As a professor of education and an author who focused on curriculum development, Dr. Miel taught and left her impression on the subject matter throughout the country and around the world.
Publications
- Changing the curriculum, a social process, 1946
- Cooperative procedures in learning, 1952
- More than social studies; a view of social learning in the elementary school, 1957
- Individualizing reading practices, 1958
- Creativity in teaching: invitations and instances, 1961
- The shortchanged children of suburbia; what schools don't teach about human differences and what can be done about it, 1967
Sources
- New York Times Archives
- Education Encyclopedia
- Encyclopedia of Education Second Ed. Vol. 5
- "Bending the Future to Their Will" by Margaret Crocco and Ozro Luke Davis
- "Addressing Social Issues in the Classroom and Beyond" by Samuel Totten and Jon E. Pedersen