Selling Progressive Education to Albertans, 1935-1953
- Three strains of reform: administrative, social & pedagogical
- Progressive reform called “The New Education”
- “By 1944, the Ontario experiment with an activity-based and child-centered curriculum was nearly over” (Heyking, 2012).
- The old school had history and civils, while the new courses consisted of things such as social studies, which was a major change to the education program
- They wanted to move from a traditional school system to that of a more progressive school system
- They wanted to prepare children for the life ahead of them, not just one that they were going to be mothers and fathers
- They involved lots of educational supporters
- There was no evidence that the educationalists were either successful or failures in their ideas
- The idea that when you become a married woman you must then not be a teacher at a school anymore
The Triumph of “Formalism”: Elementary Schooling in Vancouver from 1920’s to 1960’s
- “A major strain on the history of Canadian education during the first half of the twentieth century was the effort made by educational theorists and school officials to overcome the popularity of formalism” (Sutherland, 2012)
- School was not just about hanging out with your friends and getting to play on the playground anymore, it had a formal agenda to follow and that must be met before you got to transfer into the next grade
- Everyone in a child’s life helped give them an idea about what to expect when they start school
- They are taught everything from learning to read and write, to math and drawing
- The school system had set up a place for child to complete their basic training as a child and have fun and be educational while doing it
- The classrooms had British flags hanging up on them
- Religion was a big part of the education process in this time
- They then began focusing on other types of education such as physical education
- This newly acquired knowledge helped the children of the day prepare for their next step at high school