progressive education

American  

noun

1. any of various reformist educational philosophies and methodologies since the late 1800s, applied especially to elementary schools, that reject the rote recitation and strict discipline of traditional, single-classroom teaching, favoring instead more stimulation of the individual pupil as well as group discussion, more informality in the classroom, a broader curriculum, and use of laboratories, gymnasiums, kitchens, etc., in the school.

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progressive education Cultural  

1. A broad movement for educational reform in the twentieth century. Progressive education is principally associated with John Dewey, but it contains many different and often conflicting ideas. In general, progressive educators view existing schools as too rigid, formal, and detached from real life. They prefer informal classroom arrangements and informal relations between pupils and teachers. They also prefer that schools teach useful subjects (including occupations) and emphasize “learning by doing” rather than instruction purely from textbooks. Some place the developing personality of the child at the center of educational thinking and insist, “teach the child, not the subject.”

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Example Sentences

Voters in D.C.’s predominantly White and wealthy Ward 3 did something remarkable: They elected an unabashed progressive education advocate over a moderate budget analyst to represent them on the D.C.

From Washington Post • Jan. 31, 2023

Virginia, antisemitism, learning disabilities, the Vietnam War, the speeches of Martin Luther King Jr. and progressive education would seem overstuffed.

From New York Times • Nov. 24, 2021

Nixon, who is fifty-two, has been a progressive education activist for a decade, and she has never before allied herself with socialism.

From The New Yorker • Aug. 2, 2018

Mary Nguyen Barry is a senior policy analyst with Education Reform Now, a nonprofit think tank that aims to develop the next generation of progressive education ideas and leaders.

From US News • May 12, 2016

In the 1960s an opposing school emerged, inspired by academic linguistics and theories of progressive education.

From "The Sense of Style" by Steven Pinker