The History Behind Progressivism

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Defined by Princeton University’s WordNet research source, progressivism is (the political orientation of those who favor progress toward better conditions in government and society. From an educational standpoint, the term converts to define a pedagogical movement that began in the late nineteenth century and has persisted in various forms to the present. (Wikipedia.org) The idea of progressivism was introduced around the late 1890s (early 1900s) during the Progressive Era, in an effort to respond to the economic (industrial) and social issues that industrialization acquainted. The movement created the downfall of an exclusive government and converted it into a pro-reform network, made laws that set salaries and working standards, gave more rights to women, controlled child labor, and many more things that have impacted today’s government and legal decisions. Progressivism has greatly influenced the way that educators effectively educate their students, and how the students affected by it operate.
One of the main concepts behind progressivism was to improve the overall American lifestyle. Many state citizens were subject to products of low quality education, as well as low income households. According to a term paper provided by Academia.edu, progressivism allowed students to learn and develop as a person through lessons that cause the student to become involved in the lesson, along with the provision of a scientific method that allowed reflective thinking. (Mercado) Mercado’s document also observes that a challenge that the subject causes in modernized education is many educational environments follow a procedure where students are provided with a task or assignment, and are expected to practice it until they become seemingly...

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...Teaching Eleanor Roosevelt Glossary: The Progressive Era (1890-1920)." n.d. The Teaching Eleanor Roosevelt Papers Project. 23 March 2014. .

Mercado, Geoffrey Miles L. "An Evaluation of Progressivism in the Context of Christian Educational Philosophy." 18 March 2013. Academia.edu. 23 March 2014. .

Olson, Lynn. Dewey: The Progressive Era's Misunderstood Giant. 21 April 1999. March 23 2014. .

Princeton University. WordNet Search. n.d. 23 March 2014. .

Wikipedia.org. Wikipedia. n.d. 23 March 2014. .

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