igently taught the principles of progressive education to thousands of teachers and school leaders throughout his career. A major research endeavor, the "eight-year study," demonstrated that students from progressive high schools were capable, adaptable learners and excelled even in the finest universities. Other educational reform movements that have been influenced by or are similar to progressive education are Open Education, the Summerhill School, and the methods of Maria Montessori. Many ubiquitous teaching concepts now highly integrated in education such as, "Open classrooms, "schools without walls", "cooperative learning", "multiage approaches", "whole language", the "social curriculum", "experiential education", and numerous forms of alternative schools all have important philosophical roots in progressive education.In addition, "Activities programs" were designed to supply certain aspects of progressive education to those schools in which more radical adjustments were not possible. These activities included clubs, student self-government, and school publications. Opponents of Progressive EducationProgressive principles have never been the predominant philosophy in American education. From their inception in the 1830s, state systems of public schooling have primarily attempted to achieve cultural uniformity, not diversity, and to educate dutiful, not critical citizens. From its start, the movement received rather sharp criticism from a variety of different sources, particularly for its failure to emphasize systematic study of the academic disciplines. Beginning in the 1950s during a time of cold war anxiety and cultural conservatism, progressive education became widely rejected. Opposition increased greatly in the years following World War II, and many say that by the late 1950s the progressive movement had dissolved. By that time, however, the progressive movement had already effected a permanent change to the teaching climate ...
