Book excerpt: Mission Statement: The book series, entitled Research in Curriculum and Instruction, will focus on a) considerations of curriculum practices at school, district, state, and federal levels, b) relationship of curriculum practices to curriculum theories and societal issues, c) concerns derived from curriculum policy analyses and from analyses of various curriculum advocacies, and d) insights derived from investigations into curriculum history. Although the series will emphasize the American curriculum scene, aspects of curriculum practice and theory embedded in non-US countries will not be overlooked. Furthermore, this series will not restrict its concern to general curriculum matters, but it will draw explicit attention to curriculum issues relating to the several curriculum subjects. The series' primary concern will be to illuminate practice and issues toward informed and improved curriculum practice. This volume will contain selected papers presented at meetings of the Society for the Study of curriculum History across the past decade plus several specially commissioned papers from senior scholars in the field. Professor Field was the Society's President for some time during that period. Papers will treat dimensions of the development of the American school curriculum, both elementary and secondary.