Progressivism
Progressivism
The core belief
- Humans are social by nature and learn best in real-life activities with others.
- Education prepares young people for adult life and lets them realize their interests and potential.
- Learning by doing is emphasized; learning in isolation separates mind from action.
Curriculum characteristics
- Emphasis on the natural and social sciences and new developments.
- Learning tied to present community life.
- Built around learners’ experiences, interests, and abilities.
- Integration of subjects, and exposure to democratic values for all.
Progressivism turns the focus from the content to the learner and the way learning actually happens. Its starting claim is about human nature: people are by nature social, and they learn best in real-life activities carried out with other people. A curriculum that ignores this, and tries to pour knowledge into a still and silent learner, is working against the grain.
The core belief
On the progressive view, the role of education is to transmit a society’s identity by preparing young people for adult life, while also letting learners realise their own interests and potential. It holds both ends together: fitting into society and becoming fully oneself.
Two ideas follow. First, learners should learn to work with others, because learning in isolation separates the mind from action. Knowing and doing belong together, and doing is social. Second, and most famously, learning by doing is emphasised. Real understanding grows out of activity and experience, not out of passively receiving information.
People are social and learn best by doing, with others
Education prepares learners for adult life and lets them realize their interests and potential. Learning by doing is central, because learning in isolation separates the mind from action.
The progressive curriculum
A progressive curriculum is shaped by the belief that learners engage most with what feels relevant to their lives. That single idea drives its main features.
It emphasises the study of the natural and social sciences, with the teacher introducing learners to new scientific, technological, and social developments. To widen each learner’s personal experience, learning is tied to present community life rather than kept apart from it.
Because people learn best from what they find most relevant, the curriculum focuses on the experiences, interests, and abilities of learners. It also favours the integration of several subject areas at once, rather than confining learners to one separate discipline at a time. And it deliberately exposes learners to democratic values that recognise the accomplishments of all citizens, regardless of background, culture, or gender.
It integrates several subjects rather than teaching them separately
Learning is tied to present community life and built around learners’ experiences and interests. The curriculum also exposes learners to democratic values that recognize all citizens.
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