ES2307: Progressive Education
Week 1
Introduction to Progressive
Education
Tutor: Joan Walton
Aim of the Module
The aim of this module is that you develop and
increase your knowledge and understanding of
progressive education.
This will include historical, theoretical and
experiential perspectives, and should enable
you to develop an informed position on its
significance and relevance as a concept and
practice.
 Show
evidence of engagement with texts and
ideas concerned with progressive education
 Show engagement with primary sources
 Show a knowledge of theoretical
perspectives and/or works
 Show an understanding of abstract concepts
within theoretical perspectives
 Show an ability to work with theorists and
their concepts in various forms of assessment
as appropriate
Presentation
Essay
60%
40%
 Small
groups of students will prepare 25
minute interactive presentations to be
delivered to other students on the module.
 The purpose of the presentations will be to
explain and discuss the content of journal
articles dealing with the theory and practice
of progressive education (the list of articles
to choose from is below)
 The presentations will be in weeks 9 and 10.
 Present
an essay under the title ‘A Theory of
Progressive Education’.
You must use at least one of the essential
readings, supplemented by your own
research. (2000-2,500 words)
Due Week 13.
Progressive education is at the same time a
historical movement, and a set of concepts
which mean different things to different
people at different times. This module
discovers the roots of progressive education in
the 18th & 19th centuries, explores its
development as a concept through the 20th
century, and enquires into its relevance and
significance in present times.
Most theories of progressive education include
an emphasis on the active learning of students,
and their preparation for active participation
in a democratic society.
It is intended that these principles are
explored and reflected in how this module
develops. Your involvement in the planning,
running and evaluation of the sessions will be
encouraged from the outset. Hence the
content of each session is open to negotiation,
in keeping with your interests as the semester
progresses.
1870 Elementary Education Act (Forster Act)
Board schools set up to provide primary (elementary) education.
1880 Elementary Education Act
Attendance at school compulsory from 5-10 years (raised to
1902 Balfour Act
Ended divide between church schools and those run by school
boards. Introduction of local education authorities.
1918 Fisher Act
Leaving age raised to 14 years.
1944 Education Act (Butler Act)
Introduced the tripartite system
1967 Plowden Report Children and their Primary Schools
Promoted child centred education; criticised by traditionalists.
1988 Education Reform Act
Introduced the National Curriculum

Comenius (1592-1670) a Czech teacher, scientist, educator and writer,
was one of the earliest advocates of universal education

1690 John Locke Essay Concerning Human Understanding Challenged
idea of original sin: children could be positively influenced and changed
through education. Emphasised the need to adapt education to suit the
child.

EUROPEAN ROMANTICISM

1762 Jean-Jacques Rousseau Emile Believed that children were born
naturally good, and that this goodness could be nurtured and
developed using his model of education.

1801 Johann Pestalozzi Swiss educational reformer, emphasized
power of nature, importance of motherhood, and advocated teaching
methods designed to strengthen the child’s own abilities. Wrote How
Gertrude teaches her children (1801)

Friedrich Froebel (1782-1852) German educational reformer,
influenced by Pestalozzi, known as the originator of the
‘kindergarten’.

1789 William Blake Songs of Innocence

1807 William Wordsworth Intimations of Immortality

AMERICAN PROGRESSIVISM LATE 19TH – MID 20TH CENTURY
Francis Parker (1837-1902 A founder of progressive elementary education. Believed
in children learning through experience with nature. Organised first teacher-parent
group.
John Dewey 1859-1952 Leader of progressive movement in America

1902 The Child and the Curriculum

1916 Education and Democracy: An introduction to the philosophy of education

1933 How We Think. A restatement of the relation of reflective thinking to the
educative process. An exploration of experience, interaction and reflection in the
learning process – and challenging linear models of thinking.

1938 Education and Experience

Rudolph Steiner (1861-1925) Austrian philosopher Ideas based on anthroposophy, a
holistic approach which sees person as integration of body, soul and spirit. Influence
development of Waldorf (Steiner) schools).

Maria Montessori (1870-1952) Italian physician and educator. Pioneer of child-centred
early years education. Took scientific approach - based her work on observations of
children, experimenting with how they could learn from their natural environment.

New Education Fellowship (founded 1921) small group of progressive educationists
and liberal thinkers, involved with the British Theosophical Society (Beatrice Ensor)

A.S Neil (1883-1973) Scottish educator Founder of Summerhill, renowned for its
liberal and anti-authoritarian philosophy and teaching methods
Despite many differences in views and approaches, there is a
general consensus that education should:

Prepare students for active participation in a democratic society.

Take a more holistic approach, and focus on students' social,
emotional, academic, cognitive and physical development.

Nurture and support students' natural curiosity and innate desire to
learn.

Foster internal motivation in students.

Be responsive to students’ developmental needs of students.

Foster respectful relationships between teachers and students.

Encourage the active participation of students in their learning, which
arises from previous experience.

Progressive educators should play an active role in guiding the
educational vision of our society.
https://progressiveeducationnetwork.com/history
/
Michael Gove:


For an analysis of those forces which do stand in the way
of liberating young people from the chains of ignorance, I
would recommend close attention to ..the ideology
of…progressive education
Progressive educational theory stressed the importance of
children following their own instincts, rather than being
taught. It sought to replace an emphasis on acquiring
knowledge in traditional subjects with a new stress on
children following where their curiosity led them. And that
was usually away from outdated practices such as reading,
writing and arithmetic.



This approach was deemed democratic - because it
replaced the rigid formality of the traditional schoolroom
with the teacher as authority figure and placed everyone
in the classroom - teacher and child - on the same footing
as co-creators of learning.
It was called progressive because it moved towards a new
emphasis on “learning to learn”. And one did not need to
study a subject discipline to acquire these abstract skills.
Progressive educational theory had its roots in the
teachings of Rousseau and other Romantics But far from
being progressive or democratic - this new approach to
education risked depriving the working classes of the tools
they needed to emancipate themselves from ignorance.
(Speech at Social Market Foundation 5 Feb 2013
http://www.smf.co.uk/media/news/michael-gove-speaks-smf/)
“How and why we should educate children has always been a
central concern for governments around the world, and there have
long been those who have opposed orthodoxy, challenged
perception and called for a radicalization of youth. Progressive
Education draws together Continental Romantics, Utopian
dreamers, radical feminists, pioneering psychologists and social
agitators to explore the history of the progressive education
movement. Beginning with Jean Jacques Rousseau's seminal treatise
Emile and closing with the Critical Pedagogy movement, this book
draws on the latest scholarship to cover the key thinkers,
movements and areas where schooling has been more than just a
didactic pupil-teacher relationship”.
John Howlett (2013) London: Bloomsbury Academic
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/1441141723/ref=oh_
details_o00_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1