Educational progressivism: Theory and practice

Abstract

The theory and main characteristics of progressivism are studied in the paper. The starting point for research of progressive education is the analysis of its philosophical, psychological and ideological foundations. Numerous aspects of progressivism are discussed in that context: goals of education and learning, role of school, nature of knowledge and the choice of educational contents, viewpoints on instruction and learning, as well as the position of teachers and students in educational process. In this, the intention is not to analyze only the theory of progressivism, but also to point out its practical aspects by describing the work of schools which have largely accepted the progressive ideas from the first half of the twentieth century with the intention of their further development. In that sense, this paper is also an attempt of studying the application of progressive ideas in practice in contemporary education. It is concluded that, notwithstanding the amount of criticism coming from other schools of thought, progressivism in education was and has remained an important reformation movement. Open schools, schools without grades, cooperative learning, multi-generation grouping in classrooms, experiential learning and numerous programs of alternative schools are the examples of infiltration of progressive ideas in contemporary educational practice.