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Intergroup Education

Intergroup education was a program devised during the 1930s to attempt to foster understanding between different groups, especially Christians and Jews. Housed at the University of Chicago, a group of curriculum experts and researchers worked to develop materials to be used by teachers and schools interested in intergroup education. Over more than three decades, intergroup education examined a variety of issues that would later be of similar interest to other progressive educators, including those involved in antiracist education, bilingual education, critical race theory, and multicultural education. During the period it was in use in the schools, intergroup education helped many teachers and students explore issues of equity and equality.

Background

During the Great Depression, competition for jobs, food, and other necessities of life caused stress in the lives of most Americans and negative interactions between members of different groups. Of particular concern were reports of increased racism and anti-Semitism, which were perceived as threats to national unity. In 1934, in an effort to combat these threats, the National Conference of Christians and Jews (NCCJ) and the American Council on Education (ACE) entered into a collaboration that sought to reduce prejudice and conflict through education. This collaboration, formally known as the Intergroup Education in Cooperating Schools Project, worked to create curriculum and provide professional development and training to teachers and administrators interested in the project's goals.

In 1944, Hilda Taba became involved with intergroup education when she was asked to lead a summer workshop at Harvard University. The workshop led to the publication of Democratic Human Relations, which was published as a yearbook by the National Council for Social Studies. Born in Estonia in 1902, Taba immigrated to the United States, where she earned a master of arts degree from Bryn Mawr College and a Ph.D. from Teachers College at Columbia University, where she was a student of John Dewey. After receiving her doctorate in 1932, Taba worked as curriculum director of the Dalton School in New York City, where she met Ralph Tyler, who was in charge of the Eight-Year Study, a major evaluation of how students from progressive secondary schools fared when they transitioned to college work. Taba joined Tyler in this work, moving to the Ohio State University to become part of the Eight-Year Study team. In 1938, Taba followed Tyler to the University of Chicago, where she became director of the Curriculum Laboratory. Taba was appointed in 1945 as director of the Center for Intergroup Education, which was also located at the University of Chicago. Taba served in this role until 1951 and made major contributions to intergroup education's development of curriculum as well as evaluation of its effectiveness. As Taba was a leading proponent of progressive educational thought, her influence on the project was immense.

Implementation and Effectiveness

As the Intergroup Education Center's director, Taba supervised a staff of eight curriculum specialists. Under her direction, they worked directly with the teachers and administrators at 72 schools located in 18 states. Taba was known for her interactive and progressive curriculum, and this was reflected in the intergroup education work. The curriculum devised by the intergroup education specialists featured a variety of progressive instructional strategies, such as conflict resolution, literature circles, and role playing. In keeping with the project's original goal of reducing prejudice and conflict, the intergroup education curriculum addressed a variety of topical issues, including community relations, economic instability, housing patterns, and issues of newcomers. Because much of the conflict and prejudice emanated from patterns of immigration, the intergroup education advocates worked to address these issues and to help students and their families feel a part of the school community, regardless of their place of birth. The intergroup education classrooms featured teachers who acted as mediators who assisted children in learning to think, unlike traditional classrooms where the instructors lectured almost exclusively.

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