Implementing progressive education in Alberta's rural schools
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Date
2012
Authors
von Heyking, Amy
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Canadian History of Education Association
Abstract
In the mid-1930s, in the midst of economic depression, social turmoil and political upheaval,
the province of Alberta introduced an innovative progressive school curriculum, consisting
of the “enterprise” approach and the replacement of history courses with Social Studies.
Historians who have examined this revision, like Robert Patterson, assert that the curriculum
was never seriously implemented, particularly in the rural schools of the province. They argue
that young and inexperienced teachers with few teaching resources were simply not up to the
task of putting the child-centred, project-based program into effect. This paper argues that
rural teachers, not inhibited by many elements of what Tyack and Cuban call “the grammar
of schooling,” were actually well placed to implement hands-on, subject-integrated and
student-directed learning activities. An examination of a range of primary source material, including
teacher memoirs, newspaper accounts and Department of Education correspondence,
indicates that rural teachers, though they faced considerable challenges in fully implementing
progressive curriculum reforms, adopted and adapted teaching practices they saw as relevant
and useful for the students in their classrooms.
Description
Open access journal
Keywords
Curriculum change--Alberta--History , Curriculum planning--Alberta--History , Education--Alberta--History , Progressive education--Alberta , Rural schools--Alberta , Rural teachers
Citation
von Heyking, A. (2012). Implementing progressive education in Alberta's rural schools. Historical Studies in Education/Revue d'histoire de l'education, 24(1), 93-111.