impact of kurt lewins contribution to education

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Running head: IMPACT OF KURT LEWIN’S CONTRIBUTION TO EDUCATION

The Impact of Kurt Lewin's Contributions to Education 57 Years after

Brown v. Board of Education:

The Relevance of OD in Public Education in America Today

Karen Parker Thompson

American University

May 31, 2011

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IMPACT OF KURT LEWIN’S CONTRIBUTION TO EDUCATION

Abstract

The U.S. Department of Education reports that schools are more segregated today than three

decades ago (Bhargava, Frankenberg & Le, 2008; Frankenberg & Lee, 2002). Even though the

Supreme Court ruled segregated schools to be unconstitutional in the historic Brown v. Board of

Education decision in1954, schools did not desegregate overnight or even over the course of a

few years (Bhargava, et al., 2008). The alarming crisis of deepening segregation in American

schools affects students of all races and race is a determining factor in school segregation

(Bhargava, et al., 2008; Frankenberg & Lee, 2002). Today, nearly 40% percent of African

American and Latino students attend “apartheid schools,” – schools that are virtually non-white

and therefore, inherently “unequal” (Frankenberg & Lee, 2002). This paper probes the effects of

resegregation (how students of color in public schools are becoming more racially isolated) in

education and the relevance of organization development in public education today. It chronicles

the influence of Kurt Lewin’s work in area of integration and his contributions to the theory and

practice of education 57 years after the historic ruling of Brown v. Board of Education. Many of

today’s educational practices were conceived by Lewin or “descendants” of Lewins’ teachings

and are culturally responsive pedagogy; this paper focuses on two important theories:

cooperative learning and action research and their impact on students of color.

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The Impact of Kurt Lewin's Contributions to Education 57 Years after Brown v. Board

of Education: The Relevance of OD in Public Education in America Today

Segregation Again

Segregation is back. 57 years have passed since the historic Supreme Court ruling

(Brown v. Board Education) that struck down segregation in public schools. For a few decades

segregated education seemed to be fading away, but since the 1970s, de facto segregation has

been gaining ground (Bhargava, Frankenberg & Le, 2008; Frankenberg & Lee, 2002).

During a recent Teach For America panel discussion, Segregation in American Schools

and its Impact on the Achievement Gap (2011), Russlynn Ali, Assistant Secretary for Civil

Rights, U.S. Department of Education, was asked how education has changed in the 50 plus

years since Brown v. Board of Education? She answered:

Our schools are more segregated than they were 15-20 years ago. Recent research

shows that 40% of Latino students are in schools where they represent 90-100%

of population and 30% of African American students are in schools where they

represent the super majority (Teach For America, 2011).

Pedro Noguera, Professor of Education, New York University Steinhardt School of

Culture, Education, and Development was asked if, according to his research, segregation today

matters. He answered, “When students of different racial and social economic backgrounds go

to school together, opportunities available to poor children of color increase (Atanda, Holme,

Revilla & Wells, 2004; Teach For America, 2011).” The social science research on integrated

schools has shown a positive trend toward long-term academic achievement and professional

gains for African American students, now adults, who attended integrated schools (Atanda, et al.,

2004). For Latino students, eradicating segregation creates possibilities of increased academic

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achievement and greater community and political involvement (The Civil Rights Project & The

Mexican Legal Defense Fund, 2008).

It is my belief that the theories of organization development (OD) conceived by Kurt

Lewin in the 1930s and 40’s are an impelling means to challenge segregationist trends in

education in America, in 2011, 57 years after court ordered desegregation.

The Relevance of Kurt Lewin to OD

Kurt Lewin was a German born American social psychologist, educator and researcher.

He was born in1890 in Mogilno, Germany, now Poland (Lewin, 1998). Early on, Lewin became

involved in the socialist movement and was especially interested in combating anti-Semitism, the

democratization of German institutions, and the position of women in society (Marrow, 1969).

Lewin, whose lifework was devoted to understanding patterns of human behavior, social justice

issues and leadership in groups, received his Ph.D. from the University of Berlin in1916

(Anderson, 2010 and Lewin, 1998). In 1933, Lewin, his second wife Gertrud, and their two

children emigrated to the United States to escape Nazi persecution (Anderson, 2010 and Lewin,

1998). In1940, Lewin became a proud American citizen (Lewin, 1998).

Kurt Lewin's impact on OD and educational psychology is well documented (Anderson,

2010; Heider, 2004; Smith, 2001). What is now known as OD can be traced back to his work and

that of his students (Anderson, 2010; Sherman & the Schmucks, 2004). Many of his theories are

used today in the practice of education, such as: group dynamics, leadership styles, cooperative

learning, action research, conflict resolution, classroom management and field theory (Anderson,

2010; Lewin, 1998; Sherman & the Schmucks, 2004). Anderson (2010) said, “At its core,

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Lewin’s work was an effort to understand and create personal and social change, with the

objective of building and growing democracy in society” (p.16).

Lewin’s Influence on Brown v. Board of Education

It was because of Lewin’s commitment to democracy and social justice that he

agreed to head up the Commission on Community Interrelations (CCI) in New York in 1945

(Cherry & Borshuk, 1998). Derived from the American Jewish Congress (AJC), CCI dealt with

prejudice and discrimination against Jews and other minority groups (Cherry & Borshuk,

1998; Lewin, 1998; Marrow, 1969).

Even though Lewin died in 1947, his colleagues continued his commitment to eradicating

social injustices through their work with CCI. In 1954, CCI staff members, Stuart Clark, Isidor

Chein and Stuart Cook, gave highly influential testimony to the United States Supreme Court’s

Brown v.Board of Education hearing (Cherry & Borshuk, 1998; Sherman & Schmucks, 2004). In

the Journal of Social Issues, Cherry and Borshuck (1998) wrote, “The NAACP and its legal

staff, headed by Thurgood Marshall, made extensive use of social scientific research in its court

challenges, the most famous of which was Brown v. Board of Education in 1954” (p. 134).

According to Sherman and the Schmucks (2004), the anniversary of Brown in 2005 is closely

related to Lewin’s “commitment to democratic and social change” (p. 3).

Kurt Lewin’s Contributions to Education after his Death

Cooperative Learning

After the hearings, desegregation was slow to occur in the nation’s schools (Frankenberg

& Lee, 2002; Sherman & Schmucks, 2004, p. 6, reference Coleman, et.al, 1966). Sherman and

Schmucks (2004) said, “The challenge of fostering more positive interpersonal

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relations among diverse groups i became a major focus after desegregation plans were put into

effect during the late 1960’s and 1970’s” (p. 6). At the IASCEii conference in 1979, David

Johnson, Elliott Aronson, Richard Schmuck and Larry Sherman came together to present their

research on “cooperative learning” (Sherman & the Schmucks, 2004). When applied,

cooperative learning made positive contributions to the integration of black and white students

(Ladson-Billings, 1994; Sherman & the Schmucks, 2004).

The roots of cooperative learning began with the research of Morton Deutsch, who

learned directly from Kurt Lewin (Sherman & Schmucks, 2004). Sherman (2004) said, “The

social psychologists who have been most influential in advancing American educational practice

were students of Kurt Lewin” (p. 3). In Appendix 1, Sherman and Schmuck show the

genealogical links of the cooperative learning research of Johnson, Aronson, Schmuck and

Sherman to Kurt Lewin in 2004 (p.8).

Today, there are many variations of cooperative learning structures. According to

Sherman (2004), “A large body of research exists on the positive effects of cooperative learning;

these studies indicate enhanced academic achievement, more supportive and trusting intergroup

relations, and greater individual self-esteem” (p. 11). Most of the cooperative learning

techniques used with elementary, middle and high school students today show a variety of

important educational outcomes: higher achievement, appreciation of school, peer-to-peer

encouragement to succeed in school, student accountability for their own learning, collaboration,

altruism, and support and trust between students in different racial groups (Ladson-Billings,

1994; Sherman & the Schmucks, 2004, reference Slavin, 1995, p. 11).

Gloria Ladson-Billings , Professor of Urban Education at the University of Wisconsin,

creator of the term "culturally responsive pedagogy," and a leader in the field of culturally

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relevant teaching (CRT), describes cooperative learning as one of the key teaching methods used

by African American teachers working successfully with African American students to improve

academic achievement (Ladson-Billings, 1994). Heterogeneous cooperative grouping is a

common best teaching practice associated with CRT. Other research studies (Heider, 2004;

Marrow, 1969) show cooperative groups and cooperative learning as enabling students to work

together to maximize and stimulate learning for all group members. Research in working with

Latino students found that student-centered work in cooperative groups creates interdependence

among students and teachers. (The Civil Rights Project & The Mexican American Defense Fund,

2008).

Action Research

Lewin took great interest in the lives of children. Miriam Lewin (1998) wrote, “Father

respected children as young human beings who had their own thoughts and understandings” (p.

117). Patricia and Richard Schmuck (2004) said, “Lewin and his student, Ronald Lippitt, shared

a strong interest in how adult leadership affected children’s attitudes and behaviors” (p. 13). The

Schmucks and Lippitt used action research in their work with teachers and administrators in

public schools with the goal to improve students’ attitudes toward school and academic

achievement (Sherman & the Schmucks, 2004). What Lewin, Lippitt and the Schmucks liked

about action research, is that after data collection there is action (Sherman & the Schmucks,

2004; Smith, 2001). They saw it as a continuous cycle of data collection first and then action,

which translated into interventions for continuous classroom and school improvement (Sherman

& the Schmucks, 2004).

Building on the action research theories of Lewin, Lippitt and Richard and Patricia

Schmuck, Michelle Fine, winner of the 2011 Kurt Lewin award and Professor of Social

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Psychology and Urban Education at the Graduate Center in City University of New York

(CUNY), uses participatory action research (PAR) in her work with urban and suburban high

school students in the New York City area.

In an on-line interview, Michelle Fine said the following about action research:

The two words, “action research,” trace their academic roots to social scientists,

like Kurt Lewin, who got deeply involved in community work and social action in

the course of their research. But it was still largely the social scientists doing the

research. The friendly amendment the word participatory brings is that it taps the

knowledge of those directly affected by the issue or struggle, and invites them to

shape the questions, the research, the knowledge, and the products—it views them

as experts and not just subjects. To this, we’ve added an additional amendment:

recognizing the knowledge of young people. (Cervone, 2004, para. 5)

In 2002, Michelle Fine and over 100 high school students and researchers from CUNY’s

Graduate Center formed a PAR team to study the achievement gap in public schools in New

York City and surrounding suburbs. The project was called the “opportunity gap” (Fine et al.,

2004). Their first assignment was to study whether schools in New York were equal -- 50 years

after Brown banned segregation in public schools in America.

Through PAR, students were immersed in methods training and learned about interviews,

focus groups, survey design, and participant observation. They created a survey and distributed

it to over 10,000 diverse youth in 15 school districts (Fine et. al., 2004). The results from the

survey question pertaining to the level of support for school desegregation show that 75% of

young people who attend desegregated schools reported that, “Attending a racially integrated

school is very important to me.” These same students are, however, extremely concerned about

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the relative absence of integration in their classrooms. The survey also reveals that African-

American and Afro-Caribbean students are twice as likely as white American student to register

concern about racial imbalances witnessed in their classrooms.

In 2004, their journey and research results were chronicled through dance and spoken

word poetry performances and in the book and DVD, Echoes of Brown, Youth Documenting and

Performing the Legacy of Brown v. Board of Education.

The Resegregation Crisis in Our Schools Today

It’s ironic that over a half century after Brown, persistent patterns of residential

segregation create a two-tiered system of education in the world’s greatest democracy. The Civil

Rights Project at Harvard University showed that since 1986, in the 186 districts studied, in all

but seven districts, Black and Latino students have become increasingly racially segregated from

White students. The report also says that minority schools are “unequal” for students of color

(Bhargava et al., 2004; Frankenberg & Lee, 2002; The Civil Rights Project & The Mexican

American Legal Defense Fund, 2008).

Kurt Lewin’s theories about integration are still relevant in 2011 and show a correlation

to the benefits of integration in education. In the late 1940’s CCI’s results from action research

on integrated housing in New York City, planned by Lewin and after his death implemented by

his colleagues Morton Deutsh and Mary Evans Collins, reported white housewives in segregated

housing (white only), to be more peevish, suspicious and hostile toward others, including

towards other whites. White residents in integrated housing (white and black), despite initial

fears, came to like living with blacks and considered them to be good neighbors; many whites

expressed pride in their building’s “democracy” (Marrow, 1969).

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Columbia University Teachers College studied individuals who attended high school in the peak

integration years the 1970’s. The results proved that integrated schools did more than any other

institution to bring together people of different races and foster equal opportunity. People

interviewed reported that attending integrated schools was one of the most meaningful

experiences of their lives, and many times their only opportunity to meet and interact with people

of different races and cultures (Atanda et al., 2005).

Conclusion

Today, OD practitioners are still inspired and influenced by the work of Kurt Lewin.

Since his death in 1947, Kurt Lewin continues to impact education through his direct

descendants (Deutsch, Lippitt, Festinger, Kounin). Cooperative learning has emerged in their

students (Johnson, Aronson, Schmuck, Sherman) as solutions to improving human relationships.

“As a means to “resolving conflicts,” cooperative learning has been one of the great success

stories in American educational practice, so much so that it is generally considered

as one of those best practice approaches to structuring classrooms for effective learning”

(Ladson-Billings, 1994; Sherman & the Schmucks, 2004).

In 2011 in schools across the country, educators are using a process that collects ideas

from students to help improve schools called Student Led Focus-Groups (SLFG). SLFG, an

offshoot of action research, uses dialogue to engage students in conversations to express their

concerns about their school and classroom. In this process adults listen and observe silently and

students play key roles in conducting focus groups with their peers. (Northwest Regional

Educational Laboratory, 2007). SLFG can also be used when issues emerge within classrooms,

to identify school-wide concerns; and as an evaluative feedback practice between students and

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teachers. (Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory, 2007). Through Student-Led Focus

Groups, students of all academic levels, social standing, races and cultures have an opportunity

to have their voices heard.

Action research and cooperative learning are but two of Lewin’s OD theories and

practices being used to transform education and positively affect students and their families from

all races and nationalities, 57 years after Brown v. Board of Education.

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Appendix 1

Genealogy of Kurt Lewin’s Influence on Cooperative Learning

FIGURE 1 Genealogy of Kurt Lewin’s Influence on Cooperative Learning in American

Schools. Chart is a replica of chart designed by Lawrence Sherman and Patricia and Richard

Schmuck (2004, September) for the symposium presentation at the International Conference on

Kurt Lewin: Contribution to Contemporary Psychology in Mogilno, Poland. (p. 8)

Morton Deutsch Leon Festinger Ronald Lippitt Jacob Kounin

Elliot Aronson Richard Schmuck Lawrence Sherman

Jigsaw

KURT LEWIN

IASCE (International Association for the Study of

Cooperation in Education) Members and some of their

Cooperative Learning Techniques:

1. Robert Slavin (STAD, TGT, JIGSAW II, TAI, CIRC)

2. Shlomo& Yael Sharan (GROUP INVESTIGATION)

3. Donald. Danseareau (SCRIPTED STUDENT DYADS

4. John Fantuzzo (RECIPRICAL PEER TUTORING)

5. Spenser Kagan (COOP-COOP)

6. Elizabeth Cohen (COMPLEX INSTRUCTION)

7. Lawrence Sherman (DEC & STP)

8. David & Roger Johnson (CREATIVE CONFLICT)

9. Emmy Pepitone: (COACTION & COLABOR)

I.A.S.C.E:

Richard Schmuck 1st President;

Robert Slavin, ShlomoSharan, and

others, Past Presidents

David Johnson

Creative

Conflict

Student Team Project

(STP)

Dyadic Essay

Confrontations (DEC)

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Notes

i Especially Black and White students ii International Association for the Study of Cooperation in Education (IASCE) was founded by Richard Schmuck.

The first conference was held in Israel in 1979 (Sherman & the Schmucks, 2004).

impact of kurt lewins contribution to education

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