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About
Progressive Education
Short Description:
A child-centered approach to learning that values experience, inquiry, creativity, and social responsibility over rote memorization and control.
About
Progressive education is built on the idea that learning should be meaningful, active, and responsive to the child. Rather than rigid curriculum and standardized tests, it prioritizes curiosity, critical thinking, and the whole development of the learner—intellectual, emotional, social, and ethical.
John Dewey is often credited as a founder of this movement, emphasizing experiential learning, democratic classrooms, and education rooted in real-life problem solving. Progressive educators believe that children are not passive receivers of information, but active participants in their own growth.
This approach also embraces the idea that learning is social and collaborative—not just individual—and that schools should prepare children to live thoughtfully and justly in a shared world.
In practice, progressive education often looks messy, nonlinear, and deeply alive. Projects emerge from children’s questions, assessments are based on observation and reflection, and teachers act as guides rather than authorities.
How It Shows Up in Practice
You’ll find progressive education in:
- Project-based or inquiry-driven classrooms.
- Mixed-age learning environments with lots of autonomy.
- Teachers who follow children’s interests instead of a fixed script.
- Schools that integrate social justice, nature, and emotional learning.
References
- Dewey, J. (1938). Experience and Education
- Alfie Kohn. What is Progressive Education?
- Sizer, T. (1992). Horace’s School