At the dawn of the last century a shift in direction emerged among education policy-makers in Saskatchewan. Prior to 1905, the territories that would become Saskatchewan and Alberta maintained a school system largely modelled after Ontario's British-inspired system. Between 1905 and 1937 however, the shared geography and culture of the continental plains that span the border between the United States and Canada became the primary influence on education in the Canadian prairies. In Border Crossings, Kerry Alcorn examines Saskatchewan's embrace of the culture of farmer revolt and populist and progressive democratic thought that originated south of the border. He argues that as a consequence Saskatchewan education developed in resistance to eastern Canadian forms, with education policy makers - some brought in from the United States - consciously looking to their southern neighbours for direction in developing educational models. Alcorn's detailed portrait of University of Saskatchewan president Walter C. Murray and his "Wisconsin Idea," further highlight the influence of the north-south axis. A challenge to standard histories of Canadian education, Border Crossings encapsulates the development of the meaning, practice, and language of Saskatchewan education in the early twentieth century.

Kerry Alcorn is an independent scholar who has worked for the Saskatoon Public School Division for over twenty-five years.

Kerry Alcorn's profile page

“In its broad but carefully constructed sweep of continental influences, Border Crossings provides a major contribution to knowledge of Canada’s education system and the reasons why one province eschewed central or eastern Canadian models and instead patterned its institutions and practices on its American counterpart.” Dianne Miller, College of Education, University of Saskatchewan

“Kerry Alcorn’s work on the impact of American thought on Saskatchewan schools addresses an existing void in this literature. Border Crossings offers a fascinating account of the formation of Saskatchewan’s public schools and the important American influe

“Border Crossings will challenge historians of education across the continent to think differently about educational developments in North America and to make greater sense of our schools’ shared histories.” Historical Studies in Education