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

In fact, John Dewey and other founders of the progressive education movement in the early 20th century were deeply anti-utilitarian.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 9, 2026

John Dewey, the father of progressive education, said in “Democracy and Education,” in 1916, “Democracy has to be born anew every generation, and education is its midwife.”

From Washington Post • Feb. 14, 2022

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

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

From "The Sense of Style" by Steven Pinker