Progressive Education, Conceptions Of

The term progressive education proves to be as amorphous as the term curriculum itself. Little consensus exists, and the concept, although often not specifically defined, leads to much misunderstanding. When used in the field of curriculum studies, progressive education adopts more of an ideological definition, representing a dynamic, transactional view of learning, and a focus on the interests of students. Such a working definition, however, provides little clarity when the term is so widely and casually used to describe a wide array of educational practices.

In The Transformation of the School, Lawrence Cremin warned against formulating any capsule definition of progressive education, maintaining that no common description exists nor could exist partly because of the character of the movement that necessitated conceptual diversity and differences. At ...