The progressive education may be regarded as a direct outcome of the influences of pragmatism in education. The principles underlying progressive education have influenced the modem educational theories and practices to a very great extent all over the world. So it is in the fitness of things that we consider them here.
The term ‘Progressive Education’ was first used in 1919 while founding the Progressive Education Association in Washington, D.C. being predominantly child-centered; this Association (PEA) embraced the following principles:
1. Freedom to develop naturally.
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2. Interest, the motive of work.
3. The teacher a guide, not a task-master.
4. Scientific study of pupil development.
5. Greater attention to all that affects the child’s physical development.
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6. Co-operation between school and home to meet the needs of child-life.
7. The Progressive School a leader in educational movement.
The progressive education is chiefly based on the above seven principles. It has come as a protest against the formalism of the day in the educational field. Some hold that the Progressive Education Movement is more of a philosophizing about education than a philosophy of education.
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The progressive education may be regarded both as a protest as well as a vision. In the beginning it started as a protest against the standardization in education, regimentation of minds, mass methods of instruction and “determinism and mechanism of educational science.”
As already stated above, this movement has influenced education throughout the whole world. It has helped the school to concentrate its attention mainly on the development of the whole child both as an individual and a member of the society. Kilpatrick has been one of its most influential advocates.
He has helped greedy in “formulating its philosophy and developing its practices.” He has been successful in popularizing the movement both in classroom teachers and educational leaders.