Doctoral Dissertation Research: Analyzing the Debates about Intelligence and Educational Opportunity in the United States after World War II

这个项目是对20世纪“智力”定义变化的历史研究。该项目关注的是从1945年二战后到20世纪70年代美国关于智商的争论。这将导致一部批判性的知识史，重点是改变心理学家对智力和认知能力的看法。关于智力和智商的大部分历史学术研究都集中在二战之前的时期，当时人们关注的是被认为塑造智力的可量化的营养和社会经济因素。二战后，出现了一种新的方法，它关注的是肯定是环境的一部分，但不容易量化的影响，例如父母、教师和学生对给定学习者潜力的信念。这个项目将探索智力的概念化或构建，作为一场关于认知价值和个人价值的更广泛的辩论。该项目将提供一个新的视角和历史焦点，将为这个尚未受到关注和非常值得关注的领域带来可喜的贡献。该项目不仅旨在讲述一个关于情报研究发展的新故事，还希望展示新的方法如何塑造国家层面的教育政策。因此，它既及时又重要，因为它与当前的标准化考试问题和其他相关的教育挑战有关。追踪政策、理论和教育实践层面之间的联系将有助于加强这项研究对当代辩论的相关性。

This project is an historical study of changing definitions of "intelligence" during the 20th century. The project focuses on debates about IQ in the US from 1945, just after World War II, through the 1970s. It will result in a critical intellectual history that focuses on changing views among psychologists on intelligence and cognitive ability. Most of the historical scholarship on intelligence and IQ has focused on the period prior to WWII when attention was given to quantifiable nutritional and socio-economic factor believed to shape intelligence. Following WWII, a new approach emerged that gave attention to influences that were certainly a part of the environment but not easily quantifiable, such as the beliefs of parents, teachers and learners about a given learner's potential. This project will explore the conceptualization or construction of intelligence as a more broadly conceived debate about both epistemic and personal worth. The project will provide a new perspective and historical focus that will result in a welcome contribution to an area that has not received and is very deserving of attention.The project not only aims to tell a new story about the development of intelligence studies but also wants to demonstrate how the new approach shaped educational policy at a national level. As a result, it will be both timely and important in terms of its relevance to current issues of standardized testing and other related educational challenges. Tracing connections between levels of policy, theory and educational practice will serve to enhance the relevance of this study for contemporary debates.