WHAT IS PROGRESSIVE EDUCATION?

Progressive Ed Emphasizes

Intrinsic Motivation 

When giving feedback, no grades combined with purely written or oral comments for improvement had the highest impact on the continued motivation of students. (Butler)

Multiple experiments reveal that students, when pressured with a grade, are less likely to be motivated and/or would be less likely to perform as best as possible. (Pulfrey and Buchs)

When members of a group knew that their contribution would be visible and graded, they shared less relevant information in comparison to those who were not expecting a contribution grade. (Hayek et. al.)

Students who were presented with their grade cards halfway through the year showcased decreased motivation, engagement, and performance after receiving a low marking. (Poorthuis et. al.)

De-Testing

High-stakes testing has made no improvement to students’ learning, but rather demotivate and diminish learning outcomes. (Amrein and Berliner)

Standardized testing negatively impacts African American and Latinx students. (Camara)

Autonomy

Study shows how children, when left alone to develop their own structure, are better at self-directed processes in the future. (Barker et. al.)

Adolescents had incredibly close ties between their purpose and identity. When teenagers understood their place in the world, they took more purposeful actions and understood more about who they were. (Cotton Bronk)

Research finds that 9th and 10th-grade students had greater life satisfaction and less depressive symptoms when they find meaning and love in their lives. (Gillham et. al.)

Equity

An overview of 186 research studies in K-12 that demonstrate “new racism”- hidden racism within schools in the curriculum and in systemic practices. (Kohlio et. Al)

An overview of understanding school inequity through the lens of race, including arguments from law and social studies. (Ladson-Billings and Tate)

Restorative Discipline

Restorative Discipline offers a positive approach to conflict mediation. It empowers students to resolve differences constructively and work towards solutions on their own. (Varnham)

Punitive discipline promotes the School to Prison Pipeline that disproportionately impacts African American youth while Restorative Discipline combats this. (Gonzalez)

Progressive Educators

John Dewey

Dewey championed experiential learning and the need for reflective thought.

Maria Montessori

Montessori advocated for a mixed grade education that focused on play and hands-on learning.

Jean Piaget

Piaget was the pioneer of the constructivist theory of knowing, a cornerstone of progressive education.

Paulo Freire

Freire advocated for his concept of critical pedagogy — the need to recognize learners for who they are, teach based on their lives, and disestablish systems that place them at a lower echelon than educators.

John Holt

Holt, a champion of the unschooling movement, wrote about how traditional schools do a poor job of preparing students to live healthy, happy lives.

Jonathan Kozol

Kozol has spent much of his life detailing the inequalities of communities, particularly through the school system.

Henry Giroux

Giroux is a contemporary of Freire who writes on the dangers of neoliberalism and corruption of education due to corporate control and consumerist culture.

bell hooks

hooks, a feminist and social activist, writes on the oppressive nature of schooling and the ways that race, capitalism, and gender affect the classroom.

Alfie Kohn

Kohn dedicates his writing to critique the traditional education system, calling upon educators to seek a pedagogy of unconditional love that puts students at the center of learning.

Deborah Meier

Meier is a champion of the small school movement.

Susan Engel

Engel focuses on the development of curiosity, play, and teaching.