2. Pioneers of
Progressive Education
Educational Pioneers
John Dewey Francis Parker
Lucy Sprague Mitchell William Kilpatrick
Friedrich Froebel William James G. Stanley Hall
3. The Progressive Education
was an attempt towards
1. The child should have freedom to develop naturally.
2. Natural interest is the best motive for work.
3. The teacher is a guide, not a taskmaster.
4. A student’s development must be measured
scientifically, not just by grades.
5. Students’ general health and physical development
require attention.
6. The school and the home must work together to meet
children’s needs.
7. The progressive school should be a leader in trying new
educational ideas”
4. Two main approaches of
progressive education are
‘child-centred’ education -
which aims to give children the
freedom to develop naturally in
a democratic environment, and,
‘social-reconstructionism’ -
which focuses on a curriculum
highlighting social reform as the
aim of education
5. Attributes
•Emphasis on learning by doing – hands-on
projects, expeditionary learning, experiential
learning
•Integrated curriculum focused on thematic
units
•Strong emphasis on problem solving and
critical thinking
•Group work and development of social skills
•Understanding and action as the goals of
learning as opposed to rote knowledge
6. Attributes
•Collaborative and cooperative learning projects
•Education for social responsibility and
democracy
•Integration of community service and service
learning projects into the daily curriculum
•Selection of subject content by looking forward
to ask what skills will be needed in future society
•De-emphasis on textbooks in favor of varied
learning resources
•Emphasis on lifelong learning and social skills
•Assessment by evaluation of child’s projects
and productions
7. Criticism of
Progressive Education
Strongest critic is E. D. Hirsch Jr.
According to Hirsch, “from kindergarten
through high school, our public educational
system is among the worst in the
developed world. For over fifty years,
American schools have operated on the
assumption that challenging children
academically is unnatural for them, that
teachers do not need to know the subjects
they teach, that the learning ‘process’
should be emphasized over the facts
taught. All this is tragically wrong.”
