A study analyzed preservice teachers' responses to contemporary published scholarly articles dealing with various facets of the American political economy in relation to the historical developments in schooling. Subjects, six students in a "Historical Perspectives in Education" course, commented in writing on their weekly reading assignments and on what they heard about the social and historical foundations of education in lectures and discussion. Subjects included a black male, two Anglo males, two Anglo females, and a Hispanic female. Results indicated that: (1) the black male and the two Anglo women were accommodating to the messages conveyed in the reading selections which attacked the status quo in education; (2) the two Anglo men opposed the texts; and (3) the Hispanic female resisted the readings. Findings suggest the individuality of all readers regardless of their gender and racial background, and further indicate that the course readings were more or less accepted by the respondents depending on their roles in a cultural minority or majority depending on their self-concepts. (Eighteen references and a list of the readings in the order encountered in class are attached.) (RS)