William Segall

author of School Reform in a Global Society

November 4, 2015

Dr. William E. Segall is professor-emeritus of social foundations in Oklahoma State University's College of Education and the University's School of International Studies. His graduate seminars in Ethiopian and Soviet educational systems are noted internationally along with his pioneering undergraduate social foundations curricula on the role schools play in global societies. Dr. Segall has also taught in Canada and was a principal of a Japanese juku. Other books authored by Dr. Segall include Introduction to Education: Teaching in a Diverse Society (Rowman and Littlefield Publishers, 2004), and Oh, Do I Remember! Experiences of Teachers During the Desegregation of Austin's Schools, 1964-1971 (State University of New York Press, 2001), both with Anna V. Wilson. He also authored Readings in Secondary Education in the United States (Selected Academic Readings, 1969) with John Wells.

School Reform in a Global Society describes how a silent, wealthy upper class in the United States waited until the end of the 20th century to transform America into something it had been during the Age of the Robber Barons. Known today as Neoliberals, these nostalgic elites crave the return of the unregulated capitalism of the nineteenth century and see themselves as the new Victorian imperialists. In the name of greater globalization, their corporate policies force governments of developing countries to accept schooling that disregards and damages their cultures. And in the United States, they have discovered they cannot create their imperial utopia without first forcing schools to develop an obedient working class. This social history of schools, capitalism and colonialism shows how those who crave wealth and power are willing to gamble away the lives of American youth in order to satisfy dreams of economic glory.

URL: https://library.okstate.edu/news/celebratingbooks/2008-honorees/william-segall

Last Updated: 14 January 2022