He spent most of his career as a professor and later served as the first dean of the Stanford University Graduate School of Education in California.
On June 15, 1892 he married Helen Van Uxem,[4] a fellow student he had met at Indiana University.
He advocated enlightenment and modernization over ignorance, cost-cutting, and traditionalism in which parents tried to block their children's intellectual access to the wider world.
In conducting surveys, he applied an integrated theory of organization, administration, and teaching, to assess the strengths and weaknesses of individual schools.
Cubberley's work influenced the establishment of the factory model of curriculum implemented widely throughout North America well into the 21st century.
Some academicians have used Cubberley's methodology as a cautionary tale and termed his approach anachronistic and evangelistic, and some of his administration stances have been attacked as sexist and autocratic.