10. Indiana Department of Public Instruction

Indiana Department of Public Instruction

The Indiana Free School Law, enacted in 1852, provided for a general and uniform system of common schools and school libraries. The Law provided for a state Superintendent of Public Instruction (SPI) and established the first State Board of Education (SBOE). Although duties and functions of both have changed over the years, school curriculum has always been of importance.

The Indiana Vocational Education Law was enacted in 1913. Vocational education, as provided for by this law and as it was being developed by the State Board of Education, aimed to provide the young people of the State with vocational training, which would adequately prepare them for productive work in agriculture, in trade and industries, and in the business of home-making. Below are some historical documents on Vocational Agriculture in Indiana.

Present Status of Industrial and Vocational Work in Indiana (November 1913)

Helps For Teachers Of Agriculture
(January-April 1915)

Pre-Vocational Agricultural Courses for the Public Schools of Indiana (April 1915)

What the Public Schools of Indiana are Doing in Pre-Vocational Agricultural Work (June 1915)

Supervised Home Project Work (January 1917)

Club And Vocational Training in Farming and Home-Making in Fountain County (April 1922)

Some Results of Eight Years of Vocational Training in Indiana (September 1922)

Courses in Agriculture for High Schools
(September 1928)

Some Historical Data on Vocational Agriculture Education in Indiana from 1913 to 1931

Digest of the Official State Five-Year Plan for Vocational Education in Agriculture in Indiana (1943)

Present and Post-War Plans for Agricultural Education in the Public Schools of Indiana (1944)

Handbook on Indiana History
(1961)