LibGuides: Education: Find Primary Sources

Primary Sources

According to the Society of American Archivists' Dictionary of Archives Terminology, a primary source is "material that contains firsthand accounts of events and that was created contemporaneous to those events or later recalled by an eyewitness."

Some examples of primary sources are letters, diaries, speeches, business records, government documents, photographs, maps, and audio recordings.

Sources:

Society of American Archivists' Dictionary of Archives Terminology - primary source This links to the primary source entry in the Society of American Archivists' Glossary of archives-related terms.
Library of Congress - Types of Sources This links to a Library of Congress' research guide on primary and secondary sources.

Here are some education-related collection guides of primary sources found in the library's Frank Mt. Pleasant Library of Special Collections & Archives:

Barbara Benham Tye papers This links to a collection of Chapman University Professor Emerita of Education Dr. Barbara Benham Tye's published articles, books, doctoral dissertation, and professional materials related to her career in educational studies before and while at Chapman University.
Mendez et al. v. Westminster School District of Orange County et al. collections This links to collections of primary and secondary materials pertaining to the Mendez et al. v. Westminster et al. school desegregation court case.
Paulo Freire Critical Pedagogy Archive collections This links to several collections related to Paulo Freire, such as the Nita Freire papers and Henry Giroux papers.
Paulo Freire papers
University Archives - Academic Schools and Institutions collection - Donna Ford Attallah College of Educational Studies This links to a guide of university archives materials related to Attallah College, including ephemera, photographs, realia/objects, and administrative files.

You can also use the Catalog search box to find primary sources:

ArchivesSpace database This links to the Frank Mt. Pleasant Library of Special Collections & Archives database of collection guides for university archives and special collections materials.

For help with primary source research, please email the Frank Mt. Pleasant Library of Special Collections & Archives at: speccoll@chapman.edu

DocsTeach from the National Archives This links to the National Archives' resource for accessing and teaching with primary sources documents.
Library of Congress Teachers The Library of Congress offers classroom materials and professional development to help teachers effectively use primary sources from the Library's vast digital collections in their teaching.
National Archives Educator Resources The National Archives have created a variety of teaching and learning resources based on primary sources in the holdings of the National Archives.