The Potential Role of Functional Motor Competence to Promote Physical Military Readiness: A Developmental Perspective

ABSTRACT Decreased physical fitness in military recruiting populations is problematic for the development of physical military readiness (PMR) and presents a threat to national security. The demonstration of low levels of fitness may be an indicator of a more foundational problem in the physical development of military recruits. We propose the development of functional motor competence (FMC) across childhood and adolescence as a necessary antecedent to advanced PMR training and military-specific tasks (i.e., rucking and obstacle course navigation) and as an integral part of sustained PMR. The development of FMC supports increases in cardiovascular and muscular endurance through repeated efforts performed during practice and in sport, as well as muscular power as many FMC movements mimic plyometrics in a strength in conditioning sense. We posit that an inadequate foundation in FMC will serve as a barrier to achieving sufficient PMR and combat success of the fighting force. We propose three possible solutions to ensure sufficient PMR levels through the implementation of developmentally appropriate FMC-based training. First would be promoting FMC-based training in junior reserve officer training corp and ROTC programs. Second would be a more global approach, on the scale of the National Defense Education Act, specifically focusing on promoting quality daily physical education that could reach millions of children. Third, individual branches could begin promoting the tenets of foundational FMC training concepts in their physical training manuals, which ideally would address FMC before and throughout basic training, as well as subsequent active duty training.

The National Defense Education Act, the American Association of University Professors and the dilemma of academic freedom in the mid-twentieth century

PurposeThis study asks how American institutions of higher education defended the principles of academic freedom (or intellectual autonomy) during the 1950s, even as they became increasingly dependent on the federal government's financial support, their eligibility for which required an oath of political loyalty under the terms of the National Defense Education Act of 1958. Universities whose students or professors resisted the oath faced a dilemma of institutional governance as well as intellectual integrity during the early years of the Cold War.Design/methodology/approachThe study draws on documentary and archival sources, including the Congressional Record, the AAUP Bulletin, student pamphlets, newspapers and other publications of the US federal government, and on secondary sources.FindingsThe author finds that the US federal government began to invest heavily in higher education during the 1950s, but financial support was often accompanied by political oversight. Higher education institutions and their professors struggled to reconcile a sense of responsibility for national service with a desire for academic freedom. The findings show how the federal government treated institutions of higher education and dealt with the issue of academic freedom during the Cold War.Originality/valueThis study draws on a large pool of primary sources and previous research to offer new insights into an enduring ideological tension between academic freedom, public service and financial patronage.

Guidance counseling in the mid-twentieth century United States: Measurement, grouping, and the making of the intelligent self

This article investigates National Defense Education Act and National Defense Education Act-related calls in the late 1950s for the training of guidance counselors, an emergent profession that was to play an instrumental role in both the measuring and placement of students in schools by “intelligence” or academic “ability”. In analyzing this mid-century push for more guidance counseling in schools, this article will first explore a foundational argument for the fairness of intelligence testing made by Educational Testing Service psychometrician William Turnbull in 1951, and then later taken up and employed by other National Defense Education Act-era advocates of testing and grouping. Secondly, this analysis will proceed to National Defense Education Act expert testimony, examining here assertions of the necessity of guidance counseling in schools, and an emergent and shared vision articulating the role guidance counseling was supposed to play in school life. A pattern or structure to this vision emerges here. According to its advocates, guidance counseling would not only inform the self-understanding of the measured individual, but it would also work to condition the ideology of individual intelligence across numerous layers of social life around the student: through peer group, through teachers and school administrators, and finally through home, family, and the wider community.

The United States and Sputnik: A Reassessment of Dwight D. Eisenhower's Presidential Legacy

Dwight D. Eisenhower's legacy as President of the United States from 1953 to 1961 has experienced a dramatic reversal in scholarly assessment. Previously denounced as a "do-nothing" president whose ignorance and complacency tarnished the prestige of the executive office, the declassification of National Security Archives, the publication of Eisenhower's memoirs, and the memoirs of those closest to the president has contributed to a shift in Eisenhower's reputation from animosity to admiration. Scholars now praise Eisenhower for his modesty, wisdom, and resourcefulness. This paper contributes to the ongoing historiographical revaluation of Eisenhower's presidential legacy by examining his handling of an overlooked episode of American history - the Sputnik Crisis of 1957. Upon receiving word of the successful launch of the Soviet satellite in October 1957, Eisenhower surrounded himself with scientists, academics, and engineers to formulate the most appropriate policy responses to Sputnik, and to refute Congressional calls for increased military spending. As such, Eisenhower accelerated the American satellite program, established the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), reorganized the Department of Defense to eliminate inter-service rivalry, and provided for moderate infusions of federal funding into post-secondary education via the National Defense Education Act. Indeed, Eisenhower's strategic handling of the Sputnik Crisis cements Eisenhower's reputation as an effective, proactive, and overall effective president.

Moving from the Status Quo to a 21st-Century Financial Aid System

With the creation of the first federal student loans as part of the National Defense Education Act of 1958, the US postsecondary financial aid system was set on a path from which it has not fundamentally deviated in the intervening decades. While college financing has trended almost inexorably toward greater reliance on student borrowing as costs have outpaced families’ incomes, the major components of the financing “mix” have remained unchanged. Financial aid policy is sometimes tweaked around the edges to lighten the burden of student debt, give colleges a competitive edge, or address undesirable disincentives. For the most part, however, these reforms bear more resemblance to the classic “shell game” than to authentic innovations. What American students need are more powerful tools with which to approach their futures—tools that help them prepare for higher education, persist to completion, and then leverage returns on their degrees. What they get, however, are repackaged versions of the same blunt instruments. While everyone wants improved outcomes from our financial aid investments, the nation’s apparent inability or unwillingness to innovate truly novel approaches to paying for higher education stands in the way of progress. The goal of financial aid policy has been narrowly framed as only helping young adults pay for college, a low bar that completely ignores the role financial aid could play in influencing early education, postsecondary completion, and post-college financial health. As a result, instead of receiving support at critical junctures along the opportunity pipeline to a prosperous adulthood, students are largely left to their own devices except at the moment when the tuition bill becomes due. To capitalize on the resulting missed opportunities, the United States needs more than different loan repayment schedules or loosened rules on grant disbursement. What we need is a fundamental shift in how we think about financing higher education and what we believe about why it matters.

Citizenship By Degree

Since the mid-twentieth century, the United States has seen a striking shift in the gender dynamics of higher educational attainment as women have come to earn college degrees at higher rates than men. Women have also made significant strides in terms of socioeconomic status and political engagement. What explains the progress that American women have made since the 1960s? While many point to the feminist movement as the critical turning point, this book makes the case that women’s movement toward first-class citizenship has been shaped not only by important societal changes but also by the actions of lawmakers who used a combination of redistributive and regulatory higher education policies to enhance women’s incorporation into their roles as American citizens. Examining the development and impact of the National Defense Education Act of 1958, the Higher Education Act of 1965, and Title IX of the 1972 Education Amendments, this book argues that higher education policies represent a crucial—though largely overlooked—factor shaping the progress that women have made. By significantly expanding women’s access to college, they helped to pave the way for women to surpass men as the recipients of bachelor’s degrees, while also empowering them to become more economically independent, socially integrated, politically engaged members of the American citizenry. In addition to helping to bring into greater focus our understanding of how Southern Democrats shaped US social policy development during the mid-twentieth century, this analysis recognizes federal higher education policy as an indispensible component of the American welfare state.

Divided by Loyalty: The Debate Regarding Loyalty Provisions in the National Defense Education Act of 1958

The National Defense Education Act (NDEA) of 1958 was the first federal investment in low-interest student loans and became a precedent for expansion of student loans in the Higher Education Act of 1965. In its controversial loyalty provisions, the NDEA required loan recipients to affirm loyalty to the U.S. government. Between 1958 and 1962, thirty-two colleges and universities refused to participate or withdrew from the NDEA loan program, arguing that the loyalty provisions unfairly targeted students and violated principles of free inquiry. This essay argues that debate over the loyalty provisions fractured a partnership between progressives who favored general aid to education and conservatives who supported short-term investment for defense purposes. Although debates over the NDEA loyalty requirements seem specific to the Cold War, a close examination of the arguments illuminates their alignment with long-standing ideological conflicts over legitimacy of federal aid to higher education.

The Public Policy Roots of Women's Increasing College Degree Attainment: The National Defense Education Act of 1958 and the Higher Education Act of 1965

How do we explain the steep increase in women's higher educational attainment that began in the mid-twentieth century and has continued, unchecked, in subsequent decades? Although many point to the emergence of feminism and the creation of Title IX in the 1970s as the origins of this trend, I argue that two federal student aid programs—the National Defense Education Act of 1958 and the Higher Education Act of 1965—helped set the stage for women to surpass men as the recipients of bachelor's degrees. Using historical analysis of primary and secondary resources, I present two related case studies that demonstrate the central role that unique political contexts and nondiscriminatory program administration have played in lawmakers' capacity to promote equal opportunity through public policy. This study suggests that women's increasing college degree attainment has important, but frequently overlooked, public policy roots.