Progressivism is the orientation that believes that improvement and reform in the human condition and society are both possible and desirable. Progressives identify with John Dewey's Pragmatism that schools were part of a larger framework on institutional and social reform. The Progressive Movement was diverse; its members held varied and sometimes even contradictory beliefs. The thread that held it together was a unifying concern for the problems caused by the growth of industrialization and the expansion of the cities in America. The movement affected the way Americans viewed the nature of society, the role of government, and the goals of the education system.

The progressive movement grew out of the populist movement of the 1890s, a political movement that united farmers an

d laborers in opposing the power of large corporations. Progressives supported reforms in many areas. They envisioned a role for government as a mediating power against the power of wealth. Important Progressives were Theodore Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, Robert LaFollette. Reformers themselves were a diverse group, frequently with different views, but always the same general purpose-- to reform America. Among them were politicians, labor leaders, religious leaders, and teachers, men and women who believed the federal government needed to address the ills of a modern industrialized society. Progressivism in U.S. education started as a reaction against formalism, verbalism, and authoritarianism of traditional schooling. The concept of progress was emphasized asserting that human beings are capable of improving their environment by applying intelligence and the scientific method. Progressivism held that human society could be refashioned by political reforms. The belief was through legislation and peaceful social innovation through education would reform the nation. People such as Pestalozzi, Freud, and especially Dewey influenced the Progressivism movement. Dewey exerted a profound influence on Progressive education. Progressive education was a rallying point for all those who opposed educational traditionalism.

Progressives believe that people are social animals that learn well through active interplay; and that man is a child of nature. Progressives believe that men are equal; no individual class can lay claim to rule others. Man's nature is neutral and is directed by society and man's nature is socially built.

Many new scientific, technological, and social developments, reflecting the progressivist notion that progress and change are fundamental. Students are also exposed to a more democratic curriculum that recognizes accomplishments of women and minorities as well as white males. Students solve problems in the classroom similar to those they will encounter outside of the schoolhouse; they learn to be flexible problem solvers.

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