Does progressive teaching work?

I regard it as the foremost task of education to ensure the survival of these qualities: an enterprising curiosity, an undefeatable spirit, tenacity in pursuit, readiness for sensible self-denial and, above all, compassion
Kurt Hahn, founder of Gordonstoun school

Earlier this year, shadow education secretary Michael Gove condemned progressive education techniques as ‘a misplaced ideology’ that ‘has let down generations of children’. He continued to bemoan the ‘dethroning of the teacher’ and the emphasis on learning empathy and other ‘soft skills’ in place of more structured learning.

Representatives of the National Union of Teachers were quick to refute this and, at its conference, debated a number of moves to introduce a more liberal form of learning and to move away from the proliferation of testing that we see in Britain’s schools today.

What constitutes a ‘progressive education’, though, and how does it filter through in classrooms in the UK?

Radical new ideas

Progressive education was an expression coined in the early 19th century when philosophers and educators started putting forward radical new ideas to change the way schools approached education. The movement was led by John Dewey, one of the first reformists to emphasise education as an experimental, child-centred process. 

Alongside Dewey, the most influential advocates of alternative, progressive methods include Maria Montessori, Kurt Hahn and Rudolf Steiner whose names live on more prominently in the educational landscape. So what exactly does progressive mean?

Progressive education is generally taken to encompass a type of education that’s child-centred and matched to each child’s pace of learning rather than being subject-centred and dictatorial. The emphasis tends to be on learning through hands-on, practical experience with high regard for creative expression in the early primary years and with less importance put on competition and testing.

Elements of progressive teaching exist in many schools in varying degrees, while others have wholeheartedly embraced one or other philosophy. The interim findings of The Primary Review published earlier this year suggested that the present emphasis on testing children from a young age has sparked interest among parents in progressive methods that are less obsessed with early grading.

There are whole books written about progressive education, its strengths and weaknesses, failures and successes. It’s a topic that demands in-depth reading, but here’s an introduction to the three progressive philosophies that are alive and well in the UK today.

1. The Montessori method

This method of education is based on the theories of Maria Montessori, which she developed based on her experiences working with the children in the depressed San Lorenzo district of Rome in the early 1900s.

It’s a child-centred approach to nurturing pre-school and primary children, where the teacher acts more as a director or guide to enable children to learn at their own pace. The approach focuses on providing an experiential learning environment that matches the developmental level of the child. It incorporates hands-on, practical learning where children begin to understand concepts and develop skills by handling different materials and objects.

Montessori ditches the use of traditional tests and grading in favour of more qualitative feedback that tracks improvements and monitors the child’s strengths and weaknesses. Usually to be found in the fee-paying sector, Montessori recently found success in a state sector experiment.

In 2005, Gorton Mount Primary School in Manchester introduced Montessori teaching to more than 100 of its youngest pupils. These children were from difficult backgrounds and traditionally low achievers. A year later, the school was receiving glowing praise from Ofsted inspectors and the headteacher, Carole Powel, reported its indubitable success: "I'd seen the children with new confidence and independence in the classroom," she told The Independent, "But I'd also seen them make more tangible progress – in maths, for example."

There are around 500 Montessori schools in the UK.

2. The Waldorf way

The Waldorf approach is what Rudolf Steiner schools teach based on the theories and philosophies of the Austrian philosopher and educator, Rudolf Steiner. It bears similarities to the Montessori method by placing importance on creativity in a child’s development and instigating a pace of learning that matches the child’s ability.

According to Steiner, early learning should be largely hands-on and experience-based using all the senses. From around age six, children should be given space to develop imaginatively and creatively until age 14 when they’re ready to embrace intellectual thought.

Steiner schools discourage the use of televisions and computers among pre-school and early primary age children and favour co-operation over competition until later years. Waldorf children also start reading later and this has put advocates of Steiner schools at odds with the government over the Childcare Act 2006, which has laid down the Early Years Foundation Stage requirements that children start reading by age four.

The Save Steiner Schools campaign states that: ‘Steiner Waldorf kindergartens do not teach literacy at all at age 4-5 because this is covered very well in the initial years in the main school at a time (beyond age 6) at which it is believed to be more appropriate for children to learn it.’

There are around 40 officially accredited Steiner schools in the UK with several more waiting to achieve full Steiner status.

3. The guiding hand of Kurt Hahn

Kurt Hahn believed in experiential education, developing a set of philosophies on which he founded Gordonstoun School in Scotland and which inspired the Outward Bound movement, the Duke of Edinburgh Award and many other schools.

He believed that every child possesses an inherent spirituality and moral code that can keep them right, but which is eroded by the wily ways of modern life. He identified six declines in the character of adolescents due to the ills of society – including a decline in fitness, initiative, imagination, self-discipline and compassion. 

Kahn believed that education had to work to stem these declines stating that: ‘I regard it as the foremost task of education to insure the survival of these qualities: an enterprising curiosity, an undefeatable spirit, tenacity in pursuit, readiness for sensible self-denial, and above all, compassion.’

Kurt Hahn’s principles of education have shaped the essential ethos of Gordonstoun and have been adopted in differing degrees by other independent schools around the country. He also inspired the establishment of Outward Bound, the International Baccalaureate and the Duke of Edinburgh Award.