Education for Modernity: The Impact of American Social Science on Alva and Gunnar Myrdal and the “Swedish Model” of School Reform

Peter Piot (Executive Director of UNAIDS) challenged Bangkok International AIDS Conference attendees to think ahead 10 years or more so we will be prepared to meet the challenges that will face us [1]. Over this next decade, many formidable challenges are likely to stem from the interactions of social, ecological, political, and economic change; existing social structures; the changing HIV epidemic, and changes produced by emerging biomedicine and viral evolution. Although some challenges will be unpredictable, we should plan ahead for those we are able to anticipate. This paper identifies important social research issues regarding the changing global epidemic so funding agencies, journal editors, social science communities, individual researchers and students, non-governmental organizations, communitybased organizations, and the general public can debate them and, hopefully, act on them.

Florence Kelley: Pragmatist, Feminist, Socialist

This study discusses the commonalities and differences between Social Studies and Science education in Japan, focusing on the curriculum structure, research themes, and educational roles. Both subjects are central to fostering students’ understanding of society and nature, with Social Studies rooted in the social sciences and Science in the natural sciences. The analysis highlights shared elements, such as problem-solving and inquiry- based learning, and the presence of both integrated courses (e.g., “Science and Our Daily Life” and “Modern and Comprehensive History”) and specialized subjects (e.g., “Basic Biology” and “Advanced Japanese History”). Despite certain similarities, these subjects differ in their research focus. Science education often addresses students’ misconceptions and cognitive development, whereas Social Studies research rarely extends beyond lesson-based studies to explore students’ prior knowledge. Examining these subjects in parallel clarifies their distinct methodological approaches and foundational principles, thereby providing insights into the broader positioning of Social Studies and Science education research in Japan.

How and why social science theory can contribute to medical education research

Basic and strategic research for infectious disease control at the interface of the life, health and social sciences

As two of the leading social scientists of the twentieth century, Alva and Gunnar Myrdal tried to establish a harmonious, “organic” Gemeinschaft [community] in order to fight an assumed disintegration of modern society. By means of functionalist architecture and by educating “sensible” citizens, disciplining bodies, and reorganizing social relationships they attempted to intervene in the lives of ordinary men. The paradox of this task was to modernize society in order to defend it against an “ambivalent modernity.” This combination of Weltanschauung [world view], social science, and technical devices became known as social engineering. The Myrdals started in the early 1930s with Sweden, and then chose the world as their working field. In 1938, Gunnar Myrdal was asked to solve the “negro problem” in the United States, and, in the 1970s, Alva Myrdal campaigned for the world's super powers to abolish all of their nuclear weapons. The Myrdals successfully established their own "modern American" marriage as a media image and role model for reform. Far from perfect, their marriage was disrupted by numerous conflicts, mirrored in thousands of private letters. This marital conflict propelled their urge for social reform by exposing the need for the elimination of irrational conflicts from everyday life. A just society, according to the Myrdals, would merge social expertise with everyday life, and ordinary men with the intellectually elite. Thomas Etzemüller's study of these two figures brings to light the roots of modern social engineering, providing insight for today's sociologists, historians, and political scholars.

School Reform: The District Policy Implications of the Effective Schools Literature

Part 1 Social research and educational change, Bruce J. Biddle and Don S. Anderson. Part 2 Can social research have an effect?: basic and applied social psychology, Dorwin Cartwright the national interest in the support of basic research, Robert McCormich Adams et al what ails education research, Chester E. Finn Jr. postpositivist criticisma, reform associations and uncertinties about social research, Thomas D. Cook dilemmas in social research, Hubert M. Blalock Jr. why isn't educational research more useful?, Henry M. Levin erosion of the education research infrastructure - a reply to Finn, Richard J. Shavelson and David C. Berliner. Part 3 Models for social research: science and behavioural research, Fred N. Kerlinger paradigm and practice - on the impact of basic research in education, J.W. Getzels social policy research and societal decision making, James S. Coleman reforming educational policy with applied social research, David K. Cohen and Michael S. Garet social psychology as history, Kenneth J. Gergen what is a constructivist paradigm?, Egon G. Guba and Yvonna S. Lincoln. Part 4 Knowledge generation and knowledge distribution: the many meanings of research utilization, Carol H. Weiss knowledge creep and decision accretion, Carol H. Weiss the use of social research knowledge at the national level, Nathan Caplan research and policymaking in education - some possible links, T. Neville Postlethwaite if dissemination is the solution, what is the problem?, Jack Knott and Aaron Wildavsky research models - insiders, gadflies, limestone, Patricia Thomas. Part 5 Research, ideology and educational impact: Brown Vs Board of Education, Irving Louis Horowitz and James Everett Katz special commissions and educational policy in the U.S.A. and U.K., Maurice Kogan and J. Myron Atkin some historical facts about IQ testing, Leon Kamin does evaluation make a difference?, Marvin C. Alkin et al the self-fulfillment of the self-fulfilling prophecy, Samuel S. Wineberg the Manchester statistical society and the foundation of social science research, R.J.W. Selleck.

Identifying what matters: Science education, science communication, and democracy

Ethics and the Social Sciences. Edited by Leo R. Ward. (Notre Dame, Indiana: University of Notre Dame Press. 1959. Pp. xi, 127. $3.25.) - Value In Social Theory. Essays by Gunnar Myrdal, selected and edited by Paul Streeten. (New York: Harper & Brothers. 1959. Pp. xlvi, 269. $5.00.) - Volume 54 Issue 2

<i>Stephen Schryer</i> Fantasies of the New Class: Ideologies of Professionalism in Post–World War II American Fiction<i>Fantasies of the New Class: Ideologies of Professionalism in Post–World War II American Fiction</i>. Stephen Schryer. New York: Columbia University Press, 2011. Pp. 278.

Culture and Complexity

From mobile phones and laptop computers to in vitro fertilization and social networks on the Internet, technological devices, products and services are increasingly shaping the lives of people around the world. The pervasiveness of technology and the underlying science that makes it possible has led to a certain ambivalence: most people trust that ‘science’ will eventually help them to live longer, healthier and happier lives. However, they also feel increasingly uncomfortable about certain new technologies, often those that challenge or improve on ‘nature’. Genetically modified crops, gene therapy, stem cell research, cloning, renewed interest in nuclear power: the list of controversial topics involving science and technology is growing steadily and debates on these topics regularly occupy centre stage in public and political arenas. > …the research process itself constitutes a largely overlooked opportunity for addressing social concerns Policy‐makers have responded by calling for increased attention to be paid to the ethical, legal and social aspects of scientific research and technological developments. In particular, new and emerging areas of research—such as genomics, synthetic biology and nanotechnology—have been accompanied by studies of their broader societal implications as well as public‐engagement efforts, in order to guide research and development in ways that respect societal concerns. Such attempts to shape technological trajectories have traditionally occurred both before scientific research, for example, through research policy, technology assessment or public participation, and afterwards, through regulations or market mechanisms. Although these stages are crucial points at which to intervene, the research process itself constitutes a largely overlooked opportunity for addressing social concerns. Indeed, if one acknowledges the central role that scientific research has in the innovation process, this is an area well worth examining. Shaping technological trajectories will, at some point, include shaping the very research processes that help to characterize them (Fisher et al , 2006). Social and …

Myrdal, Gunnar (1898–1987)

Social change is understood as a more or less rapid and comprehensive change of societal structures and institutions, including changes to the economic, technological, and cultural frameworks of a society (Calhoun, 1992). A case in point is the breakup or transformation of the former communist countries in Europe in the 1980s. The political transition to representative democracy included a profound change of the economic system to market capitalism, which was soon overlaid by the negative effects of globalization. Today, some 20 years after the event, we have a huge variation of political and economic transformations around the world. These transformations also include countries such as the United Kingdom or China that have undergone economic reforms without changes in the basics of the political system. Given that social change is evident at the macro level, it is also plausible to assume that such changes have an impact on individuals’ behavior and development. Until recently, however, such issues did not rank very high on the research agenda, at least not for psychology. This is the background to this Special Section, which brings together papers that investigate the effect of social change on the lives of individuals.