Historiography of Education Reform during the Gilded Age and Progressive Era

Edward Ferrer

HIS 603: Gilded Age & Progressive Era

Cassandra L. Clark, MA, ABD

July 24, 2016

The Gilded Age and Progressive Era witnessed an eruption of change to the American

culture. These changes came in the form of vast economic opportunities, great floods of

immigration, and many social reforms. As societies began to progress into a deeper state of
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industrialism, the American public started to adapt to a new way of life that accompanied the

booming industries. During the economic and political changes that were occurring

throughout the late 19th- and early 20th-century, a variety of social issues began to become

known, calling for diverse reforms. Among the range of social problems that Americans

wanted addressed was the issue of education.

During the last part of the nineteenth century and into the twentieth century,

"progressive education" was a phrase used to explain ideology and execution intended to

make learning institutions as organizations that are more effective in the community. Even

though various disparities of style exist and importance amongst the progressive teachers,

stakeholders share the perceptions and values that American democratic system means

dynamic involvement by all the Americans in economic, political, and social verdicts that

will influence their day to day activities. Within the last few years, a novel social narration

has lately surfaced concentrating on how the learners are considering social conditions and

social mobility with the awareness that are often concentrating on ethnic and marginalized

learners. Historians have researched and written on the correlation between education trends

and urban development by analyzing learning institutions based on class structure. In

addition, linking urban education to transformations in the outline and expansion of urban

connecting civilization with societal restructure campaigns, and assessing the resource

settings affecting child-life and the association between institutions and other bodies that

intermingle the youths. Historians have also made the relationship of education to the

modification of the quality of workforce, economic growth, and productivity. Historians’

approaches or interpretations have changed over time due to the desire to make education an

equitable opportunities for all potential learners. Albeit many disparities of approaches exist

and significance amongst the progressive educators, stakeholders share the beliefs and values

that American independent system means dynamic participation by all the Americans in

economic, political, and social decisions that will influence daily activities.

Historiographical Development
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The progressive educational era as described by Kliebard was a period of child

developmentalism, traditional humanist approach, social Reconstructionism, and social

efficiency with the unifying traits.1 Like any other discipline, education has experienced

historiographical development for many years; however, this study focuses on the reforms

during in Gilded Age and Progressive Era. A historiographic comprehension of how the

political transformation and sociocultural background of learning have influenced progressive

education is a clear way of enhancing the readers and scholars abilities to incorporate

different views and perspectives of the past into modern pedagogical reflection and improve

future investigation happenings.2 Breisach reminds readers in his deliberation of the

applications of the methodology of historians. The author reiterates that every significant

innovative discovery regarding the history transforms how people think of the current time

and the prospect of the future. Conversely, each transformation in the situations of today and

in the prospects for the coming years changes individuals ‘perceptions of the history.3 Having

quoted the Breisach it is pertinent to consider history of education from the Gilded Age and

Progressive Era. Related impacts of modern education reform and curriculum analysis have

refreshed attention in the past issues of progressive learning. Most recently, the inputs to

better community through learning have been the core reason of reforming education for

equitable learning chances and supportive environment of learning.4 The scholars have

indicated that a resurgent apprehension concerning social modernization as a philosophy of

learning with a visualization and dedication to independent values and principles.5 Historians’

1HerbertM. Kliebard, The Struggle for the American Curriculum, 1893-1958, (3rd Ed. New York: Routledge &
Kegan Paul, 2004), 32.

2Ernst Breisach, Historiography: Ancient, medieval and modern, (Chicago: University of Chicago Press 1983),
2.

3Breisach, Historiography: Ancient, medieval and modern, 2.

4Katherine Chaddock Reynolds and Susan L. Schramm. A Separate Sisterhood: Women Who Shaped Southern
Education in the Progressive Era. (New York: Peter Lang, 2002). 112-136.

5Breisach, Historiography: Ancient, medieval and modern, 5

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approaches or interpretations have changed over time due to the desire to make education an

equitable opportunities for all potential learners. Throughout the Gilded Age and Progressive

Age, education opportunities were based on school’s political affiliation and sociocultural

background of learning that led to class stratifications and inequality of learning

opportunities. The desire to influence education has driven historical study since a

historiographic comprehension of how the political setting and sociocultural transformation

of education have influenced progressive education and helped learners integrate perspectives

of the history into modern pedagogical. Evidently, the period led to emergence of

multicultural education that is based on the concept of educational equity for all learners

despite their cultural differences.

Most philosophers and legislators concur that a new market-oriented visualization for

public education is the current concern. There is also universal accord regarding the course

and values of educational reform. However, there is substantial divergence and deliberation

concerning the sources of this learning revolution. Regarding this deliberation, a significant

instrumentalist approach puts market-based reforms as a constituent of a company or scholar-

driven political venture, one concerning well-planned and well-premeditated educational

changes.6

Many historical records place the idea for common education in the 1800s as the

element of the bigger class effort for involvement in the autonomous procedure. For example,

Horace Mann (1796–1859) put effort to build a statewide structure of proficient educators,

based on the Prussian framework of "common schools" that considered the belief that every

person was entitled to the similar content in education.7 This principle of common education

associates with the argument of paper since it refers to equitability of education opportunities.

6Jamie Brownlee, “Elite power and educational reform: A historiographical analysis of Canada and the United
States.” Paedagogica Historical 49, no. 2, (2013):194–216.

7PaulE Peterson, Saving Schools: From Horace Mann to Virtual Learning. (Cambridge, Mass: Belknap Press of
Harvard University Press, 2010), 21–36.
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The desire for equal education opportunities also extended to working class since there was a

trendy longing by employees to acquire education to safeguard them from political and

economic exploitation.8

Brass is another historian who interpreted the historical transformation of education

based on the histories of neo-Foucaultian and “educationalization” of English education. His

approach is based on an archival psychoanalysis that reconsiders landmark forms of teaching

methodologies that corresponded with the fast development of the curriculum in regarding

the 1894 document of the commission of ten and “1918 Cardinal Principles of Secondary

Learning.”9 The historical interpretation evaluates the mentioned improvement credentials

along with the initial all-inclusive learning materials. The Brass study analysis assumes a

discriminating concentration on their clear objectives and underlying principles for education

and the educational principles and activities by which English was anticipated as a legislative

reaction to a variety of social challenges.10 The desire for equal educational opportunities led

to the historical effort to improve the mainly disregarded approaches of the education as

positioned to advance the ethical and communal state of the people. Equal learning chances

widen young people’ capacities for autonomy and allow all to acquire professionalize

education using the psychological disciplines, and to incorporate predicament groups within

the counteractive rooms of learning.11

Altenbaugh provides a collection of essays recounting the responsibility of educators

in the enlargement of public schooling in the 20th-century. His book is ordered into four

sections. The initial section talks about women's work includes reasons for Western Women

Teachers having a purpose in life, Rural Vermont educators in 1915-1950 incorporating home

and work responsibilities, and the equal rights movements of New York City School

8Brownlee, Paedagogica Historical, 194–216.

9JoryBrass, "English Teaching and the Educationalisation of Social Problems in the United States, 1894–1918."
Paedagogica Historica 52, no. 3 (2016): 221-235.

10Brass, Paedagogica Historica, 225.

11Ibid, 225.
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educators between 1900-1920.12 The second section talks about educators and the society

having African-American teachers, women teachers as community builders, religious

discrimination, political retribution, and educator job security.13 Section three deals with

professionals or workers equal educational opportunities. The last section consists of

interpretive approach in a historical study where ethnohistory reconsidered and history of

education described.14 The book’s content is linked to this study’s objective since it shows

that equal education opportunities were devised in progressive era to empower women of

difference races since male educators once dominated the field.

In many ways, Santora explains that the historiography of interactive education

corresponds with American historiography and the historiography of learning. He explains

that this is not surprising when people comprehend that the American Historical Association

(AHA) has been key in the proficient basis of both educational and national development.15

Whereas early twentieth century scholars accentuated nationwide Accord, homogeneity, and

the significance of America's future, educational historians, typically teachers, created

inspirational histories that required ennobling the latest profession of education.16

Nonetheless, academic debates of presentism, relevance, and usefulness came to disturb both

chronological customs. Educational historians argued about the worth of presentism whereas,

teachers debated the comparative advantage of functional and non-functional learning.17

From the different approaches and interpretation of the historians, it is clear that the main aim

12RichardJ. Altenbaugh, The Teacher's Voice: A Social History of Teaching in 20th Century America, (London:
Falmer Press, 1991), 27.

13Altenbaugh, The Teacher's Voice: A Social History of Teaching in 20th Century America, 27.

14Ibid, 27.

15EllenDurrigan Santora, Historiographic perspectives of context and progress during a half century of
progressive educational reform. Education and Culture 16, no. 1(1999): 1-15.

16Wayne Urban, "Organized Teachers and Educational Reform during the Progressive Era: 1890-1920." History
of Education Quarterly 16, no. 1 (1976): 35

17Santora, Education and Culture, 1. 18 Ibid, 1.

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of educational reforms has always been based on equal opportunity philosophy. The

approaches or interpretations are different in their presentation but have a common or same

objective, equal education opportunity for all. There are political, religious, economic, race,

and other societal issues that affect education; however, historians of education have put

effort to show that with equal opportunity education reforms are possible. Historians of

education, generally teachers, created inspirational histories to show significance of the

modern pedagogical of education. The gap these historians needed to fill is the academic

arguments of presentism, relevance, and utility that affected the equal opportunity philosophy

of education. Academic historians ennobled the worth of presentism whereas teachers argued

the comparative merit of practical and non-functional learning.18 The 1930s denoted a period

of the Depression resultant from profound efforts for the functionalists in educational

departments and progressive historians had a sense of the AHA19

Reasons for Historiographical Development

There are diverse reasons provided for the changeover of educational account in the

training of educators. The historians of education attribute the predicament to resources in the

history of education. They argument that resources do not appropriately link education to the

social arrangement of each era under contemplation and pay inadequate concentration to the

real sensible troubles of education,20 impedes equal education opportunity efforts.

Interpretations change over time because people wanted accountability and equality in

learning the process. During progressive era, education used to explain ideology and

implementation that projected to make learning institutions effective organizations of the

public.

In evaluating the opposing impacts that created urban learning in America, it

enlightens how proletariat movements worked throughout the early on 20th-century. Different
18

19Ibid, 1.

20Ibid, 2.
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countless of the normal narration of American learning that focus on Eastern cities and New

England, Reese‘s study evaluates education in some America cities.21 Reese explores the

methods in which varied society groups put effort to make restricted education receptive

organizations in a time of theatrical transformation. School restructuring was a prevailing

pattern of the Progressive era for educational equity; however, society institutions from

restricted socialists to parent-educator organizations struggled against the modern trend

regarding centralization and discriminatory politics.22

Many theorists and teachers have been acknowledged fittingly for their aid to the

research changes in education, as others have been particularly overlooked. According to

Generals, Booker T. Washington was one of the leading campaigners in the educational

experimentalist transformation. Generals’ research stipulates that Washington's learning

activity and reported viewpoint were completely reliable with the extensive lobby group of

progressive learning.23 Particularly, he initiated progressive-experimentalist activities

improved techniques of aptitude and societal consciousness through harmonization of

industrial, scientific, and farming learning for prolific earning and ultimate education.24

Washington’s concept is associated with efforts of educationists during the progressive era

since during this era, education explained ideology and implementation that projected to

make learning institutions effective organizations of the public.

According to Brownlee, early in the 20th-century, both the management and

structuring of public learning institutions in America and Canada were progressively put on

the rubric of organization business welfare. In the Canadian perspective, a coalition of

educators, politicians, and capitalists was formed to call for a transformation in the

techniques and principles of schooling. The elite collaboration encouraged educational

21William J. Reese, Power and the Promise of School Reform: Grassroots Movements during the Progressive
Era. (2nd Reissue Ed, New York: Teachers College Press, 2002). 1-10.

22Reese, Power and the Promise of School Reform: Grassroots Movements during the Progressive Era, 5.

23Donald Generals, "Booker T. Washington and Progressive Education: An Experimentalist Approach to

Curriculum Development and Reform." The Journal of Negro Education 69, no. 3 (2000): 215.

24Generals, The Journal of Negro Education, 215.

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restructuring with a fresh vigor and reliability in an effort to steady socially different groups

and devised a new image of industrial concord.25 Corporate inspiration for progress in the

augment in occupational and scientific preparation was dual. The first concept provided

Canadian organization with rewarding new ventures in building and the invention and sharing

of educational resources. The second was about the primary advantage of the social power

job of these new learning arrangements.26 Besides the more noticeable purpose to use

learning to extend a regimented and prolific labor force, elites also encouraged mass

schooling since they dreaded that an increasing, uneducated waged people could upset the

social organization.27 The argument that uneducated salaried people would be a problem in

the society could be considered as one of the reason historians of education encouraged equal

educational opportunities to increase number of skilled and educated workers. Therefore, it is

clear that the change over era was discovered since scholars wanted to improve workforce

and educational trends and proceeds.

According to Johanningmeier, Patricia Graham's latest argument of support to

community education in America shows that this type of education has been progressive and

reactive to public's demands and encourages the previous take of Merle Borrowman and

Charles Burgess that the leading enlightening philosophy is a task of the country's demand for

human capitals. When a country has clear and detailed workforce demands, educational

principle highlights public productivity standards. When human capitals demands are not

eagerly expressive, learning ideology emphasizes consummatory principles.28 Sometimes, the

learning institution and community, through guidance counselors and media highlight the

acquaintance and skills learners’ necessities to sheltered situations with important communal

and financial gains. Thus, an adequate provision of appropriately skilled workers is assured of

25Brownlee, Paedagogica Historical, 194–216

26Ibid, 198

27Ibid, 199.

28Erwin V. Johanningmeier, "Public Education, Educational Research, and the Nation's Agenda during the
Progressive Era." American Educational History Journal 33, no. 1: 97-106.
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finishing anything identified as one of the country's priorities. Once less conviction regarding

human capital requirements, learning institutions accentuate how learners can build up and

take pleasure in their learning interests.29

Sol Cohen argues that an affluent and contentious period in the chronological account

of the history of learning has been overlooked in the enthusiasm to obtain the new historical

accounts.30 The author argues that historians hat to acclimatize with the forces, mainly in the

period between 1930s and 1940s. The harmony was between individuals who would

construct the ground of purely functional approach addressed to educator preparation and to

modern social challenges making an educational field complicated.31 Following the

expansion and background of identified challenges, Cohen finished by acknowledging

particular hazardous prospect involving the history and the present times. He narrates that in

the dexterity of narration of learning and warns that development is possible only by

comprehending and acknowledging the history concepts.32 It is evident that the reason for

different interpretations of historiographical development in education has been due to

different perspectives of achieving equality among teachers and learners. Changes involving

learners and educators are concerns of any history writing regarding changes in the sector.

Therefore, the resulting implications to historical realities are that education has transformed

over the period due to common ground of creating equal learning opportunities.

The Current Historiographical Interpretations Credibility, Methodologies, and Biases

The current historiographical interpretations are market-based concepts that put

learning as a means of creating workforce that corresponds with human resources

requirements. It is evident that both the organization and reforming of public education

institutions in America are progressively put on the rubric of organization industry welfare.

29Johanningmeier, American Educational History Journal, 106.

30Sol
Cohen, "The History of the History of American Education, 1900-1976: The Uses of the Past." Harvard
Educational Review 46, no. 3 (1976): 298-330.

31Cohen, Harvard Educational Review, 299.

32Ibid, 299.
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The credibility of such interpretation is that they promote education that is relevant to current

needs of the world. However, with the quest of ensuring that education is based on the rubric

of market, makes the interpretations defiant of the Gilded Age and Progressive Era objectives

of equality in education. The methodologies are bias since they concentrate of restructuring

education for market-oriented objectives forgetting the historical equity aspects of education.

The interpretations have led to changes in the form of enormous economic opportunities,

huge influx of immigration, and several social reforms issues. The methods of current

historiographical interpretations are mainly based on the concept of linking schools to

urbanizations and modern development. They are bias on the concept of market progress

forgetting equality aspects of education.

Historiographical Context

Arguing that historians have lately revitalized deliberations concerning the Gilded

Age and Progressive Era, a director of a project, Robert Johnston, heads an innovative school

that initiates educators to the predominant historiographical arguments and to the numerous

contradictories of then American civilization in the years 1877 to 1920.33 National

Endowment for the Humanities demonstrated that education was structured by the

occasionally opposing ideologies of democracy and capitalism. The organization requests

how the state handled the fast transformations that happened throughout the late 19th- and

early 20th-centuries. The institute analyzed various educational topics such as the creation of

institutions, urban planning, employment and class stratifications, females and progressive

restructures African-American immigration and its influence, reactions to immigration issues,

conservation and architecture, and the viewpoint of the Progressive Era.34

The institution shows that field experiences at sites momentous to Chicago’s

workforce history, the Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Robie House, the Newberry Library,
33National Endowment for the Humanities. “Rethinking the Gilded Age and Progressive Era, 1877 to 1920,”
Division of Education Programs. [online] Available at: http://www.neh.gov/divisions/education/other-
opportunities/2013/rethinking-the-gilded-age-and-progressive-era-1877-1920, 2013, par. 1-2.

34National Endowment for the Humanities. “Rethinking the Gilded Age and Progressive Era, 1877 to 1920,”
Division of Education Programs. Par. 1-2
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Hull House Museum, and the databases at the University of Illinois, enliven educational

discussions.35 In leading establishment occasions, historians Robert Johnston, Jeff Sklansky,

Leon Fink, and are coupled by Maureen Flanagan (Illinois Institute of Technology), Theo

Anderson (independent scholar), Adriane Lentz-Smith (Duke University), Jeff Helgeson

(Texas State University), Daniel Greene (Newberry Library), and curatorial staff36. The

concept of deliberation is based on selections from the literatures of W.E.B. Du Bois, Jane

Addams, William James, and Emma Lazarus, and historians James Barrett, James Green,

Alan Trachtenberg, Rebecca Edwards, and project scholars.37 The historiographical context of

these historians is that education is based on the concept of market demands.

On the other hand, Brownlee reopens various the influential theoretical arguments

among significant historians on the aspects of learning reform, contending that there is a

dependable propensity in the empirical findings to downplay or refute the implication of

"instrumentalist" assessments for hegemonic or cultural and structuralist enlightenment. As

an outcome, education experts who proposed and supported the instrumentalist prominence

on influential intercession in the strategy procedure and the significance of prearranged

learning actions have frequently been discharged as conspiratorial and naive.38 To sustain the

concept and those created by instrumentalist scholars, Brownlee incorporates historical proof

from Canada and America in three chronological eras. These eras were the mid-nineteenth

century, post-Second World War, and the early twentieth century. In every of the mentioned

historical eras, Brownlee shows how the formation and rationale of learning organizations

were customized mainly at the request of economic influential individuals to outline and

execute a specific framework of schooling restructuring. Core to Brownlee’s debate is that

authoritative financially viable players forever acknowledged the political aspects of

education and that leaders’ class awareness is and has been well instituted with admiration to
35Ibid, 1-2

36Ibid, 1-2.

37Ibid, 1-2.

38Brownlee, Paedagogica Historical, 199.

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learning issues.39 It is evident that the author was targeting to change educational

stakeholders’ perspectives regarding educational reforms.

Most of the deliberations in Brownlee’s sections concentrate on the resemblances

between America and Canada under evaluation; nevertheless, it is not meant to refute that the

organization and materials of education systems vary considerably transversely and inside

both countries. Whereas educational customs and frameworks in Canada have not at all

replicated the US concepts, it is nevertheless factual that correspondences in social

influences, in economic growth, and in cultural and political principles produced learning

structures with numerous of the identical fundamental characteristics.40 Furthermore, learning

concepts from America have extremely dominated in Canada. For example, most of early

Canadian learning scholars and reformers had some enlightening in places such as Stanford,

Chicago, and Columbia. Canadian journals also habitually based on American databases to

illustrate new educational restructures. In addition, educational restructuring in the US and

Canada depends on periodicals coming from North America.41

Brownlee could be considered as one of the liberal and consensus historians. David

Tyack produced “The One Best System” in 1974 for such historians with cognizant attempt to

integrate the concepts of the changes into an impartial history of urban education.42 The

author showed that progressive education was burdened with successes and failures, good

objectives and ill-conceived approaches, as urban education centers looked for resolutions to

challenges generated by the utter statistics and chaotic situation of city learning institutions.43

Tyack's input to the history of progressive learning produced an ineffaceable spot on

historical interpretations of educational development. Consequently, historians have

39Ibid, 200.

40Ibid, 201.

41Brownlee, Paedagogica Historical, 200.

42David Tyack, The one best system: A history of American urban education. Cambridge, MA: Harvard
University Press. (1974), 189.

43Tyack, The one best system: A history of American urban education, 196-197.
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acknowledged the intricacy of the era by thinning the extent of their studies, bearing in mind

the geographic distances, schools, customer-capacities, or concepts of hypothetical,

frameworks, method of teaching or syllabus issues in larger aspect. Additionally, Tyack has

precedence for progressive education historians to employ manifold ideological and

sociocultural structures to discover more completely the variety of incentive for and

influences of education restructuring.44

On the other hand, Kliebard borrowed from revisionist, customary historiography, and

philosophical point. Produced supplementary political conventional atmosphere of the 1980s

and syllabus was being reviewed from numerous aspects, the author created a

historiographical aspect of progressive learning as an effort of opposing interest teams for

supremacy in the area of curriculum restructuring.45 Kliebard's investigation of the academic

foundations of modern prospectus allowed him to illustrate syllabus indicators as interchange

of various reform campaigns with different professional awareness team, periodicals, and

sequential acme. He saw syllabus strategy from different aspects as a mirror image of the

fight for power among numerous schools of transformation.46 Whereas Kliebard's

interpretation of history offers no extraordinary description of improvement, he emphasized

and deepened scholars and other historians’ understanding of the restructuring procedure by

proposing that it is recurrent, multifaceted, and surging.47 He contended that progressive

learning era was actually a changing concoction of four arrangements namely child

developmentalism, traditional humanist approach, social Reconstructionism, and social

effectiveness with the unifying characteristic.48 Consequently, the author concluded that

progressive education involved an extensive variety of not just diverse but opposing concepts

that became fundamentally hollow. Following his breakdown of the progressive education,
44Ibid, 1197.

45Kliebard, The Struggle for the American Curriculum, 1893-1958, 10

46Ibid, 24.

47Ibid, 24

48Ibid 32
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Kliebard has cautioned readers and other scholars to the allegorical mishandling of

progressive education as a conifer of either democratic or Deweyan education restructure.49

In contrast, Cremin's “The Transformation of the School” used a positive perspective

of education reform. The author concentrated on anything that propelled learning institutions

into a greater agreement with the transformations of society attributed to the economic

growth of the state. Because of such an inclusionary observation, balancing also competing

and conflicting restructures were illustrated as progressive reforms.50 The author argues that

the historiography of progressive learning has commonly pointed the movement's capacity

from Cremin's largely described and diverse restructures integrated within the bigger

background of academic and social history to restructures that are mainly teaching

methodology oriented on child-centered education.51

Whereas Cremin was apprehensive with mirroring absolute and harmonized aspects

of learning, those subsequent, leaning on revisionists, applied multiple aspects to concentrate

significantly on more intently envisaged subjects like urban learning institutions, teaching

activities, ideology, and policy. Methodologies transformed and extra materials were

documented as historians investigated deeper into challenges involving the execution of

progressive restructures.52

Furthermore, Cuban’s “How Teachers Taught: Constancy and Change in American

Classrooms, 1890-1980” demonstrates a vast emptiness in the progressive education history

via the author’s historical analysis of classroom education in public learning institutions.

Cuban’s study responded to the drawbacks of Cremin, Ravitch and others whose effort had

presented indistinct pictures of the accomplishment of progressive restructures in public

49Ibid 32

50Lawrence A.Cremin, The transformation of the school:Progressivism in American education, 1876-1957,

(New York: Random House. 1961), viii.

51Cremin, The transformation of the school:Progressivism in American education, 1876-1957, 118.

52Ibid, 104.
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learning institutions. Cuban concentrated on the options educators made as they produced

room for both corresponding and contradictory transformations.53

Another historian, Zilversmit, extended the historiographical of the progressive

education era to 1960; however, his findings had similar conclusions to Cuban’s findings.54

Measured beside the principles of progressive learning as articulated by John Dewey,

restructuring was unsuccessful and its eventual malfunction was based on its perceived

accomplishment being rhetorical. In recitation of the reasons for the collapse of progressive

era, the author added some concerns articulated by Tyack, Cuban, and Cremin. Zilversmit

constantly urbanized the subject matter that matters of authority and the learning

responsibility in the duplicate, not the alteration of civilization played as key restrictions in

the execution of John Dewey’s idea of progressive restructuring.55 These authors have given

historiographical context that replicates what happened during the Gilded and Progressive

eras.

Credibility/Value

Kliebard’s, Cuban's, Zilversmit’s, Dewey’s, and Cremin’s works are credible since

they describe and provide valuable information and critics about the progressive education to

help in understanding the current topic of study. Cuban's revolutionary effort in the record of

teacher activities must have inspired ensuing inquest by historians like Zilversmit.56 The

strengths of his work were based describing how teachers’ reforms would influence

progressive education. The only weakness identifiable was reliant on society impacts not

economic and political aspects to analyze the issue. It is a pertinent source since it provides

relevant information for the current study. Zilversmit, even though rather more hypothetical,

described progressive education based on the child-based, democratic and experiential

53Larry
Cuban, How teachers taught: Constancy and change in American classrooms, 1890-1980, (New York:
Longman, 1993), 248-256.

54ArthurZilversmit, Changing schools: Progressive education theory and practice, 1930-1960. (Chicago:
Chicago University Press, 1993). 169.

55Zilversmit, Changing schools: Progressive education theory and practice, 1930-196, 169.

56Cuban, How teachers taught: Constancy and change in American classrooms, 1890-1980, 256.
 Ferrer 17

tutoring activities as supported by John Dewey.57 The author’s effort was somewhat extensive

than Cuban's description. For him, development was the transformation from topic-centered

strategies to growth suitable student practices that would supplement the child's social and

democratic also academic growth. Zilversmit added to readers’ acquaintance of main sources

via his insertion of information associated with school rule and teacher activities in Winnetka,

other inhabited Chicago learning institution, and institutions in many of Middle American

urban and suburbs.58

On the other hand, Cremin debated that the end of progressive learning was

perceptible to the campaign's divergence from its inventive reason based on the Deweyan

point of view. Dewey encouraged the system of concepts that for an instant in the past

appeared to congregate in Dewey's “Schools of Tomorrow and Democracy in Education”

disjointed and issues as minor discrepancies in the historical movement.59 The concept

loomed devastatingly large as diverse aspects of the profession pressed diverse features of

progressive learning to coherent.60 Dewey cautioned against the pessimist approaches on

educational values that based on principles to the prohibiting of students' cognitive

expansion. In a period of extreme formalism, Dewey stipulated of collapsing school existence

in an era of learning inequity and deliberated about democratizing civilization and culture

during unrestrained economic uniqueness he termed as a fresh 'socialized education' for

further spirited social accountability.61 Kliebard contended that Dewey could have supported

to the buckle of his personal concepts, and impeded the development of a learning

restructuring corresponding to his principles. Kliebard illustrated that Dewey's work

presented a gap analysis for further interpretation, and Dewey applied the deformations he

witnessed as chances to query and supplementary build, elucidate, and evaluate his values.
57Zilversmit, Changing schools: Progressive education theory and practice, 1930-1960. 169

58Ibid, 169.

59John Dewey, The school and society, (Chicago: Chicago University Press, 1899). 41.

60Cremin, The transformation of the school:Progressivism in American education, 1876-1957, 271.

61Dewey, The school and society, 41.

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The words Dewey applied were similar to his generation; however, as Kliebard evaluated

Dewey's succeeding works, he realized the concept of phrases and keywords change

considerably.62 Dewey's exit from the initial meaning of expressions like occupational

learning was substantial. As a conduit, teachers began to idealize conjecture into performance

but failed in their interpretations since they could not see the divergences.63 These sources

presented relevant information about education reforms in the progressive era.

Connections between Political, Cultural, Social, or Economic Developments

In each of the Gilded Age or Progressive Era, Brownlee demonstrates how the reform

and reason of schools were customized mainly at the request of economic professional to

form and execute a particular framework of educational reform.64 The economic elites were

closely linked to political authority and the specialized educational institution. Fundamental

to his contemplation refers to the influential financially viable players having constantly

acknowledging the political criteria of education and the fact that leaders show class

consciousness being urbanized with admiration to learning topics.65 Based on interactionist

and phenomenological or paradigms and primarily linked to the innovative sociology of

learning, the cultural convention in the empirical findings provides main concern to the

coordinating responsibility for culture in recreating class associations. Historians debate that

the economic framework is excessively deterministic, thus opposing the existing encounters

of class players. Consequently, the scholars emphasize the significance of the official and

casual civilization of education, the structure, and broadcast of curricular acquaintance, the

procedure involving social and education imitation are associated with other social

institutions such as family and society, also how class supremacy in learning is practiced

throughout a procedure of domination.66 In response to cultural and economic restructuring-

62Kliebard, The Struggle for the American Curriculum, 1893-1958, 76.

63Dewey, The school and society, 41.

64Brownlee, Paedagogica Historical, 216.

65Ibid, 194–216.
 Ferrer 19

oriented comprehension of learning, struggle concepts have surfaced as an evaluation to the

importance of domination and control.67

Connections

Historiography has required perceptive approach of the imprecise mirrors of Dewey's

commencement of progressive learning to position the connotation of his concepts in the

execution of progressive restructures.68 The concept has been built on three categories.

Cremin acknowledges the buckles of Dewey's main beliefs by educational educators as well

as followers and learners of Dewey and scientific educators.69 Tyack, Zilversmit, and Cuban

acknowledged the smolder display of progressive oratory applied by governmental

progressives to provide systematically piloted schooling of a humane representation and

persuade educators to use subtle methodologies of classroom control. Lastly, the three

historians found teachers with the power to negotiate understandings of progressive learning,

giving teacher-based hybrids that mirrored both change and constancy. The discoveries have

put Dewey the position of pioneering thinker and infrequent nuisance in the attempt of

making schools as the main area of social transformation.70 Consequently, historians have

unpredictably summarized the concept that while Dewey’s ideas were essential to the

expansion of progressive learning and teaching, they were also obsolete. It is clear that the

shift in American civilization influenced the progressive education from various aspects. The

developments in the Gilded Age or Progressive Era and corresponding shifts in American

society were affected by issues of race, immigration, industrialization, or wealth and poverty.

66George Willis, Robert V. Bullough, John T. Holton, Craig Kridel, and William H. Schubert. The American
Curriculum: A Documentary History, (Westport, CT: Praeger Publishers, 1994), 201-206.

67Ibid, 205.

68Dewey, The school and society, 41.

69Lee Benson, Ira Harkavy, and John Puckett. Dewey's Dream: Universities and Democracies in an Age of
Education Reform: Civil Society, Public Schools, and Democratic Citizenship, (Philadelphia: Temple University
Press, 2007), 125.

70Dewey, The school and society, 115.

 Ferrer 20

The topic analyzes the progressive education as seen during the era and concludes that

political, cultural, social, or economic developments influenced the progress. Need for

equality led to workers, women, and different races struggling for educational reforms

realizations.

Significance of Topic

The topic is significant in shaping readers understanding of political, cultural, social,

or economic connections since it inquest the historiographical of education reform in the

progressive era. Through literature review, it is clear that many historians have connected

these issues and discovered that they influence reform in different aspects. Dana Goldstein

and other scholars have traced the many propensities that have transformed the most

contentious profession in the U.S.71 Precisely; Goldstein demonstrates that approximately

each initiative for reforming learning and teaching over the last 2 and half decades has been

attempted earlier and unsuccessful to make a significant dissimilarity.72 Therefore, there is a

gap analysis for further study that this topic presents.

Roles of Race, Industrialization, Immigration, or Wealth or Poverty in progressing

Modern American Nationalism

Throughout the literature review, it is evident that education reform has been

impacted by roles of race, immigration, industrialization, or wealth or poverty in forging

modern American nationalism. Bankston and Caldas argue that public schooling is a

fundamental fraction of American civil faith and, consequently, provides people with an

unquestioning faith in the capability of teaching and learning to resolve Americans’ entire

political, social, and economic predicament.73 The volume outlines the expansion and growth

of America's confidence in public edification from earlier than the Civil War to date,

71Dana Goldstein, The Teacher Wars: A History of America's Most Embattled Profession, (New York: Anchor
Books, 2014), 86-102.

72Goldstein, The Teacher Wars: A History of America's Most Embattled Profession., 88.

73Carl L. Bankston and Stephen J. Caldas. Public Education, America's Civil Religion: A Social History, (New
York: Teachers College Press, 2009). 331-334.
 Ferrer 21

analyzing modern educational expansion like the “No Child Left Behind” (NCLB) policy.

The authors explore the way American’s faith in teaching and learning frequently makes it

hard for Americans to reflect sensibly regarding the aptitude and restrictions of public

education.74 Incorporating sociology, history, religion, politics, and educational hypothesis,

the authors raised fundamental issues regarding what learning can achieve for the Americans.

They pointed out that many allegedly contrasting perceptions on public teaching and learning

actually occur from the equivalent root suppositions.75 Therefore, from these authors concept,

the current study or topic exposes the gaps analysis involving pursuit of impartiality in

education and students accomplishments. The study looks at approaches in which teaching

and learning can be prearranged to provide for diverse inhabitants.

Roles

Race creates opportunity for all Americal ethnicity consideration in education

reforms. Civilization or industrializations have created avenues of using innovative

technology to improve education systems. Wealth and poverty present an opportunity for

economical assessment of education reform requirements. According to Winslow, by the

1820s, most of citizens of the United States were encountering enlivening also disconcerting

economic and social and changes. The government and private persons were venturing in

infrastructures.76 However, the current world of industrializations has transformed the trends

of social, discipline, and work relations. Youthful females and males are changing forever-

conventional family structures.

The surfacing of industrialized and the expansion of urban and cities resulted in new

social challenges. The author reiterated that expansion led to the deterioration of living and

working status, the increase in poverty, and the increasing inequality between poor and rich.

74Bankston and Caldas, Public Education, America's Civil Religion: A Social History, 332

75Ibid, 332.

76Barbara Winslow,. “Education Reform in Antebellum America.” American Reform Movement. [Online].
Available at: http://www.gilderlehrman.org/history-by-era/first-age-reform/essays/education-reform-antebellum-
america, 2009. Par. 1-2
 Ferrer 22

Temporarily, intermittent economic sag produced greater difficulties and indecision. The late

Protestant leaders articulated apprehension at the increasing social status, regarding that

shortage leading to students engaging in crimes and other expressions of social decay.

Augmented immigration led to the poor, inexpert, religion, and non-English-speaking Irish

threatening the Protestant.77 It is clear that these innovations led to social problems and

influenced education reform in different ways.

The author pointed out that political change go hand in hand with the social and

economic transformations. Especially, suffrage extended to white Americans, which led to the

surfacing of fresh trendy political movement. The process increased political action and

increased labor conflicts and restructuring in reaction to the expansion of salaried labor and

escalating social categorization. Together with other transformations due to industrialization

and the growing diversities a genuine anxiety for the predicament of the underprivileged,

resulted in the creation of reform campaigns in many development aspects.78

The author reiterates that a longing to restructure and enlarge education led to

informed several social, political, and economic urges toward reorganization. The three

significant core elements of education restructuring in the progressive era included schooling

for the ordinary woman and man, superior admission to higher schooling for females, and

education for African-American.79 The core issue of the common education improvement was

the conviction that free widespread education devoted to good nationality and ethical tutoring

would guarantee the mitigation of challenges involving the innovative state. The general

school campaign was an explanation of some type of official learning, which is available to

all people, urbanized and controlled via augmented governmental involvement at the

government phase and encouraged by local possessions excise.80

77Winslow, American Reform Movement, 1-2

78Ibid, 1-2

79Ibid, 1-2.

80Ibid, 1-2.
 Ferrer 23

Goldstein provides some practical proposals for encouraging men and women and

enhancing American education systems. The proposals include inveterate standardized

assessments to help educators establish what their learners do or not and where to aspire their

education. Likewise, Dana suggests application of value-added computation to aim assist to

those who are under pressure and occupation chances to elite. Goldstein does not refute

tenure, but calls closure of obsolete union protections.81

Sadovnik points out that interest in progressive learning and female-based teaching

methodologies have gained considerable support in current educational restructuring efforts.

Organizations examine the female pioneers of progressive education and women educational

managers’ educational movements. The author noted that females lived outstanding lives with

their traits entrenched in schooling nowadays.82 The volume also explored if women

leadership approaches support modern feminist aspects of guidance that contend women

leaders of more comprehensive, self-governing, and compassionate compared to male

leaders.83

Nationalism

Nationalism has been a subject of debate in educational restructuring since for

restructuring to be effective; genuine citizens must have equal opportunities. However, due to

the influx of immigrants, nationalism is a key consideration in education reform. The topic

analyzes education reform during the progressive era; the information gathered so that

nationalism is one of restructuring consideration in forging modern American educational

reforms.

Analysis

81Goldstein, The Teacher Wars: A History of America's Most Embattled Profession, 102.

82Alan R. Sadovnik, and Susan F. Semel, Founding Mothers and Others: Women Educational Leaders during
the Progressive Era. (New York, NY: Palgrave, 2002), 279-282.

83Sadovnik and Semel, Founding Mothers and Others: Women Educational Leaders during the Progressive Era,
280.
 Ferrer 24

The analysis reveals that the ongoing scholarly, historical dialogue about the

historiographical development of education during the progressive era has influenced current

educational reforms. The historiography of education reform was based child

developmentalism, traditional humanist approach, social Reconstructionism, and social

efficiency. The historians critic, support and advance the concepts of these education reforms’

interpretations.

Gaps in the Historiography

The gaps in the historiography identified are based on the concepts that education

reform is influenced by economic, social, and political development. Since these three

components of development are affected by various factors, there is a gap analysis how the

reform was affected then and how it is being done current. Within the last few decades, a

fresh social narration has lately emerged concentrating on who the learners were regarding

social background and social mobility. In the dialogue, the main historians, Kliebard, Cuban,

Zilversmit, Dewey, and Cremin have shown the reform trends in progressive era; however,

their works were not exhaustive thus gave a gap for further exploration on the topic. In my

interpretation, the sources gave substantial information for a further survey of historians’

interpretations.

The Topic Benefit

The paper has shown than innovation, and industrial revolutions have influenced

education reform for many years, in that concept, new innovative technologies like the

online-based system will increase the chances of equality in education. By introducing new

reform approaches, the scholarly historical dialogue on the nature of this period will be

positively impacted.

The future direction of the study should be based on new techniques and

methodologies of the education reform. The future study would evaluate how contemporary

period has changed the interpretations witnessed in progressive era concerning education. I

recommend further exploitation of secondary sources of recent time with modern strategies of
 Ferrer 25

education reform. Furthermore, it is necessary to compare the weakness and strengths of the

progressive era strategies for reform with contemporary strategies then decide on strategies to

improve on and those to discard.

 Ferrer 26

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