Ellwood Patterson Cubberley

Who was Ellwood Patterson Cubberley?

Ellwood Patterson Cubberley was an American educator and author, a pioneer in the field of educational administration. He spent most of his career as a professor and later dean in the Stanford Graduate School of Education in California.

Cubberley was born in Andrews, Indiana. He graduated from Indiana University in 1891, he then served as president of Vincennes University from 1891 until 1896. He was superintendent of schools in San Diego, California from 1896 until 1898. He joined the faculty of Stanford, then went to Columbia University where he earned a Ph.D. in 1905. He returned to the Stanford faculty in 1906 as a professor of education. He was the dean of the Stanford school of education from 1917 until he retired in 1933.

During his career, he maintained a view of education as an instrument of social engineering, a view that created some controversy. Cubberley published a total of 30 works during his life, including:

Syllabus of Lectures on the History of Education, 1902

Changing Conceptions in Education, 1909

Public Education in the United States, 1919

The History of Education, 1920

Readings in the History of Education, 1920

A Brief History of Education, 1922