"Paul Robert Hanna had an immense impact on education in the United States and abroad. His analysis of modern culture and his indictments of its schools still ring true," writes Jared R. Stallones in biography Paul Robert Hanna: A Life of Expanding Communities (Hoover Institution Press, 2002).
During a career of more than fifty years, Hanna's diverse contributions included a curriculum design that became the standard for elementary school social studies instruction, new formulations of the community school concept for international development education, dozens of textbooks, and the creation of an important resource for research in the instrumental uses of education—the Paul and Jean Hanna Archival Collection at the Hoover Institution, where he was a senior research fellow.
Yet, despite his long career and major contributions to education, there has been no comprehensive biography of Hanna available—until now.
Analyzing and placing in context Hanna's vast contributions, Paul Robert Hanna: A Life of Expanding Communities illuminates the life of a man who played a major role in the history of education in the twentieth century. From the beginning of his career in the rural Midwest to its peak as a leading figure in education, these chapters reveal the personal "expanding communities" of influence Hanna achieved throughout his life, including his work at Teacher's College of Columbia and Stanford University; his establishment of the Stanford International Development Education Center; the development of the analysis of the relationship between schools and modern social, political, and economic institutions; his role in founding and leading professional organizations for educators; his consulting work in foreign countries in East Asia, Africa, Europe, and Central and South America; and much more.
"This great volume of work would not have been possible without Hanna's unique combination of personal characteristics," writes Stallones. "He possessed tremendous energy, an ability to organize and motivate others, and lofty visions of the social good that education can produce."
About the Author
Jared R. Stallones, an assistant professor of education at California State Polytechnic University in Pomona, California, has worked in teacher education at the University of Texas and at California State University, Fresno. His research interests include the history and philosophy of education, school reform, and social science education.
The Hoover Institution, founded at Stanford University in 1919 by Herbert Hoover, who went on to become the 31st president of the United States, is an interdisciplinary research center for advanced study on domestic public policy and international affairs.
