Service-learning has become an integral component of American education, and scholars continue to debate its definition, purposes, and outcomes. Service-learning in the classroom is not without critics at present, however. This article provides an introductory examination of Irving Babbitt's critiques of the service-learning ethic at its inception…

At the end of the nineteenth century, proponents of the manual training movement called for the implementation of manual training classes in America's schools. This movement -- whose distinctive feature was 'the education of the mind, and of the hand as the agent of the mind' -- was supported by a revolutionary rhetoric: manual training classes…

This article analyses, mingles and blends divergent and complementary strands from the thinking of Hannah Arendt (1906-1975) and Sir Alec Clegg (1909-1986), two contemporaneous but different influential public figures and thinkers in the post-World War Two period. The paper uses these strands to construct a critique of the current colonisation of…

The Progressive Movement in the United States was a complex, multifaceted, and organic reform movement, comprised of diverse reformers who instituted unique social and educational initiatives to improve society. This historical study focused on the establishment and success of the Children's School Farm of New York, an early twentieth-century…

Although initially ideologically diverse, the charter school movement has become increasingly aligned with neoliberal ideology, which assumes that public services, including education, are improved through market forces, such as accountability, competition, efficiency, and managerialism. Yet little is known about how leaders of ideologically…

Contemporary academic scholarship has devoted a tremendous amount of effort to documenting the prevalent standardized, formal schooling environment. Too little has been written about the persistence of small, independent progressive schools that have never stopped putting their students' individual needs and interests first. Peachtown Elementary…

John Dewey's vision of education and of the school as a model for society was grounded in a commitment to collaboration. This view continues to inform the basic assumptions of progressive educators, especially in the USA. Collaboration in classrooms is offered as the basis and matrix for collaboration beyond them, in the civic realm. But the civic…

"The Oxford Dictionary of English" defines authoritarianism as the enforcement or advocacy of strict obedience to authority at the expense of personal freedom, as well as a lack of concern for the wishes or opinions of others. In this paper I argue that there are growing signs of a move towards more authoritarian practices and structures…

This article engages the question: In what ways and to what extent was William Rainey Harper's founding vision for the R.E.A. shaped by the rhetoric of American imperialism and its legitimation of violence against other nations? Using a historical methodology, this research explores how Harper's originating vision for the R.E.A. grew out of his…

In a rapidly changing context, US institutions of higher education are struggling amidst myriad pressures related, for example, to funding, accountability, standardisation and technology. In particular, pressures on 'progressive' or non-traditional colleges are immense. These schools, which have historically emphasised individualised,…

In May 1941, two progressive educationalists, Jozef Emiel Verheyen and Leo Roels, published a new pedagogical journal, "VlaamschePaedagogiek" (Flemish Pedagogy, 1941-1944). The journal aimed to contribute to the development and proliferation of a pedagogy that rooted in the Flemish soil and national character. Verheyen and Roels were…

Starting from autonomist theorist Antonio Negri's concept of "constituent power" and from decolonial philosopher Enrique Dussel's notions of obediential power and the ethics of "exteriority," this study outlines key principles for democratic education in the present. The article contrasts these philosophical starting points…

The purpose of this essay is to examine Harper Lee's insights about education, particularly as found in "To Kill a Mockingbird." Lee apparently relied on reflections of her own experiences as the narrator, Scout, describes her first day in school in chapters two and three. But, it should be kept in mind that the narrative is fiction, a…

Popular music has existed in American education since the 1700s. However, biases related to race and class, and concern for student morality have often led educators to eliminate or suppress these musics in the classroom. Progressive teachers and students themselves sometimes advocated for popular styles, which eventually made their way into the…

Escuela Luz del Mundo (ELM) or "Light of the World School" was a progressive Christian middle school that served a high poverty, Mexican immigrant community in Albuquerque, New Mexico USA for seven years. In this study, the two distinguishing features of ELM are examined: Academic excellence and how Christ's love was revealed at the…