Edmund W. Gordon papers

1957-1990

The Edmund W. Gordon papers, dating from 1957 to 1990, document Gordon's career in government and academia, mostly from the mid-1960s to 1990 at Project Head Start (federal office), Columbia University Teachers College, and Yale University. The papers contain correspondence and subject files holding published and unpublished papers by Gordon and others; drafts and manuscripts of book chapters; files of the Head Start program; lectures and speeches; academic departmental correspondence; government, non-profit, and academic reports; and research-in-progress. The collection does not contain personal or family papers.

The papers are in two divisions: Correspondence and Subject Files. The Correspondence, dating from 1958 to 1986, is with researchers, educators, academics, organizations, students, and other colleagues. Many of the correspondents can also be found in the Subject Files. Some of the correspondence is arranged chronologically (1968 to 1986), but most is in alphabetical files. The collection holds no sustained correspondence between Gordon and any person or organization.

Gordon's drafts and final copies of published and unpublished papers, as well as speeches and lectures delivered at meetings and conferences, can be found throughout the collection.

The Subject Files, dating from 1957 to 1990, are arranged either alphabetically or chronologically. They hold correspondence; published and unpublished papers; book chapters and papers-in-progress; grant applications and reports; government, non-profit, and academic project reports; raw research data; transcripts and notes for speeches and lectures; and proceedings of conferences and retreats.

Subject Files with the most documentation include the Program of Research Concerned with the Improvement of Minority Education (PRIME); Yale University; Head Start; the National Institute of Education; the Academy for Educational Development; the American Orthopsychiatric Association; the American Personnel and Guidance Association; Compensatory Education; Exemplary Projects and Programs; the Educational Testing Service; Gordon's book Human Diversity and Pedagogy; the Institute for Urban and Minority Education; Review of Research in Education (a journal Gordon edited in the 1980s); and Teachers College/Columbia University.

The Program of Research Concerned with the Improvement of Minority Education (PRIME), funded in part by the Josiah Macy Junior Foundation, consisted of pilot projects at several New York City high schools with underprivileged and minority populations. The files include researcher correspondence; raw research results and teacher/student interview transcripts (which do not hold personally-identifiable information); Macy Foundation correspondence and reports; and letters from school administrators and teachers.

The Yale University files include documentation of the Program for Curriculum Materials Research; correspondence among the Psychology and Afro-American Studies department students and faculty, as well as course syllabi; correspondence with university administration; and letters and literature regarding the Bush Center for Child Development and Social Policy.

The Head Start files date from 1965 to 1971. They contain inter-office correspondence; progress reports; evaluations; survey results and other research data; and minutes and transcripts of meetings.

Files regarding the American Orthopsychiatric Association hold correspondence pertaining to the American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, which Gordon edited in the early 1980s.

Files documenting Gordon's work with the National Institute of Education appear under the Institute's parent entity, the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare.

The Teachers College files include a copy of Gordon's doctoral dissertation; course descriptions; files on the Counseling and Guidance Training Institute; committee and sub-committee reports; and site visit reports.

Subjects with medium amounts of documentation include the College Entrance Examination Board; the Educational Testing Service; Exemplary Projects and Programs; the Institute for Urban and Minority Education; and the Education Resources Information Center (ERIC). Smaller files hold letters from researchers, former students, organizations, and school systems consulting with Gordon, as well as grant applications, reports, and information on conferences, symposia, retreats, and other events.

The collection contains one electronic file in WordStar format holding the outline for a book titled "Defiers of Negative Predictions for Success."

The collection also contains a small set of audio and video recordings dating from 1971 to 1989. They document conferences, speeches, and academic retreats. Audio and video recordings are currently unavailable pending preservation transfer.