Mary Ritter Beard and Marion Thompson Wright: Shaping Inclusive Social Education

Abstract

This article examines the contributions of Mary Ritter Beard and Marion Thompson Wright to inclusive curriculum in social education. Beard established the field of women's history through her writing and public addresses. Wright promoted the application of Black history in the schools through her work as a teacher educator and scholar with the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History. Wright also was involved in the struggle to end segregation of the nation's schools. Both women's contributions suggest the broad perspective which has characterized social education from its inception, more apparent when the focus moves beyond the organizational establishment of the field and the creation of the National Council for the Social Studies.