Lawrence A. Cremin and the Educative Potential of Social Institutions

Lawrence A. Cremin, who insisted he be called Larry, was a prolific writer, actively engaged administrator and leader, and beloved mentor and colleague. Cremin is known as an exceptional historian of education who effectively and seamlessly demonstrated the impact American sociohistorical priorities had in shaping our educational systems and their reform. A proponent of progressive education, Cremin stressed the need to recognize educative opportunities across all social institutions to include religion, youth groups, transitional homes, and media moving beyond the singular focus on schools as the bearers of responsibility for educating the populace. His analysis of sociohistorical priorities illuminated the educative potential located within all of America’s social institutions. Cremin’s many works, always rooted in history, were exemplars of a study on the roles of society’s values and beliefs both religious, political, and otherwise and its influence on education. Cremin’s work exploring the influences of sociohistorical forces on American education is unparalleled and while it covers only up to the late twentieth century provides lessons to all educators, formal and informal, that can be used today.