Women Educators in the Progressive Era : The Women Behind Dewey’s Laboratory School

In 1896, John Dewey established the Laboratory School at the University of Chicago - an experimental school designed to test his ideas in the reality of classroom practice. Through a collective portrait of four of the school's teachers Women Educators in the Progressive Era examines the struggles and satisfactions of teaching at this innovative school, and situates the school community in the context of Progressive Era experimental impulses in Chicago and the nation. This book reassesses the implications of Dewey's ideas for current efforts to improve schools, as it explores how the Laboratory School teachers participated in inquiry designed to advance educational thought and practice. Contents......Page 6 Acknowledgments......Page 8 Introduction: The Laboratory School Community......Page 12 1 John Dewey and the Beginnings of the Laboratory School......Page 20 2 "Venturing in Education": Four Laboratory School Teachers......Page 36 3 The "Union of Intellectual Freedom and Cooperation": Organizing the Laboratory School Community......Page 56 4 Teachers as Researchers: Developing a Course of Study......Page 80 5 The Laboratory School and the Context of Progressive Era Experimentation......Page 108 6 Implications of the Laboratory School Experiment......Page 136 Notes......Page 158 Bibliography......Page 228 Index......Page 246 "In 1896, John Dewey established the Laboratory School at the University of Chicago--an experimental school whose creation coincided with the development of the philosophy of pragmatism. This book explores the experiences and writings of four teachers at the Laboratory School, both to investigate their lives as female professionals during the Progressive era, and to add to our understanding of this innovative institution and how these philosophies and innovations have carried out to this day"--Provided by publisher.