This study examines the relationship between courses of instruction and professional training provided at colleges from the latter half of the eighteenth century to the early nineteenth century, with a particular focus on Yale College. 
In previous studies, education in American colleges during this period has been described as "civil education" or "education for leadership." According to these descriptions, the role of college education is to form students' minds and not merely to acquire knowledge for students to use after graduation. However, many American colleges, including Yale, were founded primarily as schools for instructing students in religious service. This objective was especially prominent at Yale during Thomas Clap's term as president. Therefore, what was the relationship between the courses of instruction offered at American colleges and later professional training? If the two were distinct, when did the separation begin to occur? This study offers answers to these questions by examining curricula changes at Yale between 1777 and 1828, when professional schools and their courses of instruction were first established.
This study concludes that the courses of instruction at American colleges were not distinct from professional training until the mid-nineteenth century. In particular, existing courses of instruction in the college were changed to correspond with the foundation and objectives of the newly founded professional schools at Yale. This relationship was a consequence of the perceived connection between the cognitive effect of college instruction and the use of the knowledge acquired in college. Previous studies tend to overlook this aspect. Furthermore, this was adopted not only at Yale but also at Harvard and other American colleges in this era.

論文