EDST 580: Problems in Education/ Directed Study Proposal
Student Name: Jonathan B. Fisher
Email: jonathanbfisher@gmail.com
EDST 580 Supervisor: Mona Gleason
Email: mona.gleason@ubc.ca
Course Title: Philosophical origins, historical realities and political consequences
of progressivism in American higher education in the last 100 years
Course Rationale: In this directed study I will seek a deeper broader
understanding of the philosophical origins and social-political trajectories of what
Lawrence Cremin (1961) has termed “progressivism in education” in North
American colleges and universities. More specifically, I will take up the following
three questions: First, how has progressivism been understood as a project in
higher education by teachers, students, administrators, philosophers and other
members of the public over the course of the last 100 years? Second, what have the
characteristics and immediate consequences of progressive projects in higher
education in the last century been? And finally, how do the above impact presentday discourses on higher education? These three questions will provide the
organizational structure for the course readings and writings.
Additionally, upon completing this course I will have generated a thorough
historical account of the context of progressivism in higher education in North
America, which will comprise the introductory portion of my M.Ed. final project.
The writing and research I complete for this course will compliment the original
archival research I have previously completed on educational philosopher, John
Dewey’s involvement in the history of progressive Black Mountain College.
Writing Assignments: Weekly blog posts on my personal web page
(http://www.jonathanbfisher.net) will allow me to give brief analyses of relevant
readings, and receive comments from my supervisor and other readers. In theory
the public format of the blog will function not only as a record of my thought
processes over the twelve-week course, but also as an initial means of sharing the
results of my research, and as an important step towards meaningful political
change. The final formal essay for this course will comprise the first half of my final
project for the Department of Educational Studies M.Ed. degree.
Syllabus:
Week 1 (September 9): Finalize Syllabus; Scan/Copy All Readings
Reading: Reese (2013); Whitehead (1949); Hawkes (2013);
Writing: Introductory Blog Post
Week 2 (September 16): Philosophical Origins of Progressivism
Reading: Finn (1981); Hook (1927); selections from Morris (1970)
Writing:
Week 3 (September 23): John Dewey as Public Intellectual
Reading: Biesta & Miedema (1996); Dewey (1897); Waks (2013);
Writing:
Week 4 (September 30): Dewey’s disciples and immediate intellectual successors
Reading: Reichert (1966); Snelgrove (2008); selections from Wallace
(1991);
Writing:
Week 5 (October 7): Progressivism and anti-racism
Reading: Baker (2011); Fallace (2011); West (2010)
Writing:
Week 6 (October 14): Progressivism and feminism
Reading: Aldridge (2009); Rorty (1990); Weiler (2004)
Writing:
Week 7 (October 21): **GRADUATION APPLICATION DEADLINE** The case of
Black Mountain College: intellectual freedom & the problem of accreditation &
endowment
Reading: Bojesen (2011); Dennis (2008); Dewey (1934); Feinberg (2013);
Stanger (2011);
Writing:
Week 8 (October 28): Critical Pedagogy: Paulo Freire and parallels and
intersections with progressivism
Reading: Finn (1981); Hook (1995); Stallones (2006) & (2010);
Writing:
Week 9 (November 4): The case of Highlander Folk School: Progressivism, adult
education and labor
Reading: Horton, Freire, et al. (1990);
Writing:
Week 10 (November 11): Criticism of Pragmatism & Progressivism in Education
Reading: Feinberg (1972); Pinar (2005); Schutz (2011)
Writing:
Week 11 (November 18): Reimagining Progressivism
Reading: Rorty, R. (1982); Dyehouse (2007); Tight (2011); VanPatten &
Davidson (2010);
Writing:
Week 12 (November 25): FINAL ESSAY DUE
Working Bibliography
Aldridge, J. (2009). Four women of Chicago: Mothers of progressive education and
developers of John Dewey’s idea. Social Studies Research and Practice, 4(3),
111-117.
Baker, S. (2011). Pedagogies of Protest: African American teachers and the history
of the Civil Rights Movement, 1940-1963. Teachers’ College Record, 133 (12),
2777-2803.
Biesta, G. & Miedema, S. (1996). Dewey in Europe: A case study on the international
dimensions of the turn-of-the-century educational reform. American Journal of
Education, 105.
Bojesen, E. (2011). For Democracy: Lessons from Black Mountain College. Journal
of Black Mountain College Studies, 3:3. Retrieved from:
http://www.blackmountainstudiesjournal.org/.
Cremin, L.A. (1961). The Transformation of the School: Progressivism in American
education, 1876-1957. New York: Alfred A. Knopf.
Dennis, M. (2008). The illusion of relevance: Southern progressives and American
higher education. The Journal of the Historical Society, 8(2).
Dewey, J. (1897). My Pedagogic Creed. New York: E.L. Kellogg and Company.
--. (1916). Democracy and Education: An introduction to the philosophy of education.
New York: MacMillan Company.
--. (1934). Art as Experience. New York: Minton, Balch and Company.
Dyehouse, F. (2007). A politics for interactivity: Progressivism and its limits in
federal congressional deliberations of distance education policy. Computers
and Composition, 24, 404-420.
Dworkin, M. (1954). Dewey on Education. New York: Teachers’ College Press.
Fallace, T.D. (2011). Dewey and the Dilemma of Race: An intellectual history, 18951922. New York: Teachers’ College, Columbia University Press.
Feinberg, W. (1972). Progressive education and social planning. Teachers’ College
Record, 73(4).
--. (2013). Saving a Progressive Vision: Moving the Barnes Collection. International
Journal of Progressive Education, 9(1).
Finn, M.E. (1981). Education innovation and Dewey’s moral principles in education.
Educational Studies, 12.
Hawkes, G.W. & Hawkes, T.E. (2013). Miracles and monstrosities: John Dewey and
the fate of progressive education. Schools: Studies in Education, 10(1).
Hook, S. (1927). Metaphysics of Pragmatism. Chicago: The Open Court Pub. Co.
--. (1995). John Dewey: An intellectual portrait. Amherst, NY: Prometheus Books.
Horton, M. Freire, P., et al. (1990). We Make the Road by Walking: Conversations on
education and social change. Philidelphia, PA: Temple University Press.
Morris, C. (1970). The Pragmatic Movement in American Philosophy. New York:
Geroge Brazillier.
Pinar, W.F. (2005). The problem with curriculum and pedagogy. The Journal of
Curriculum and Pedagogy, 2(1).
Provenzo, E.F., Jr. (2006). Time Exposures: Visual Exploration in the History of
American Education. Unviersity of Miami. Retrieved from:
http://www.education.miami.edu/ep/Time%20Exposures/html/time_exposu
res_1.html/.
Reese, W.J. (2013). In search of American progressives and teachers. History of
Education: Journal of the History of Education Society, 42(3), 320-334.
Reichert, W.O. (1966). Randolph Bourne on the teacher as hero. The Educational
Forum, 30, 427-432.
Rorty, R. (1982). Consequences of Pragmatism: Essays, 1972-1980. Minneapolis,
MN: University of Minnesota Press.
--. (1990). Pragmatism and Feminism. The Tanner Lectures on Human Values,
University of Michigan, Delivered: December 7, 1990.
Stanger, A. (2011). Merce Cunningham’s ensemble space and the Black Mountain
principle of community. Journal of Black Mountain College Studies, 3(2).
Retrieved from: http://www.blackmountainstudiesjournal.org/.
Schutz, A. (2011). Power and trust in the public realm: John Dewey, Saul Alinsky
and the limits of progressive, democratic education. Educational Theory,
61(4).
Snelgrove, D. (2008). Society, education and war: John Dewey and his student
Randolph Bourne. Journal of Philosophy and History of Education, 58, 150-161.
Stallones, J. (2006). Struggle for the soul of John Dewey: Religion and progressive
education. American Educational History Journal, 33(1), 19-28.
Stallones, J. (2010). Struggle for the soul: John Lawrence Childs. American
Educational History Journal, 37(1), 19-36.
Tight, M., ed. (2011). American Higher Education: Major themes in education. New
York: Routledge.
VanPatten, J. & Davidson, B. (2010). Progressivism: Another look then and now.
Journal of Philosophy and History of Education, 60, 126-32.
Whitehead, A.N. (1949). The Aims of Education. New York: Mentor Books.
Waks, L.J. (2013). John Dewey and the Challenge of Progressive Education.
International Journal of Progressive Education, 9(1).
Wallace, J.M. (1991). Liberal Journalism and American Education, 1914-1941. New
Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press.
Weiler, K. (2004). What can we learn from progressive education? Radical Teacher,
69.
West, C. (2010). Why I left Harvard for Princeton. Journal of Blacks in Higher
Education, No. 66, 64-69.
Williams, J.J. (2011). How to be an intellectual: The cases of Richard Rorty and
Andrew Ross. Dissent, 58(1).