EDUC Midterm (1770-1900's)

John Dewey

Philosopher who championed progressive education and the idea that students learn best through active, hands-on experience.

Mortimer Adler

Philosopher who advocated perennialism and argued that all students should study enduring ideas through the Great Books.

Paulo Freire

Educator who developed critical pedagogy to help marginalized learners question inequality and achieve liberation.

Ladson-Billings

Scholar who introduced culturally relevant pedagogy to foster academic success, cultural competence, and socio-political awareness.

Muhammad

Scholar who created the historically responsive literacy framework centered on identity, skills, intellect, and criticality.

Essentialism

An educational philosophy centered on teaching foundational academic knowledge, basic skills, and traditional discipline.

Progressivism

An educational philosophy prioritizing student interests, experiential learning, and democratic problem-solving.

Social Reconstructionism

An educational philosophy that positions schooling as a direct tool to solve societal problems and create a more just world.

Indigenous Knowledges

Holistic systems of understanding rooted in ancestral traditions, relationships to the land, and community heritage.

Thomas Jefferson

Early American statesman who proposed a taxpayer-supported school system to develop an informed citizenry for self-governance.

Noah Webster

Author who standardized American spelling and language through early textbooks to build a unified national identity.

Horace Mann

Reformer who led the common school movement to establish universal, state-funded, and standardized public education.

William Cooper Nell

African American activist and historian who spearheaded the successful campaign to desegregate Boston public schools in 1855.

Richard Henry Pratt

Military officer who established the Carlisle Indian Industrial School and championed forced assimilation policies for Native youth.

Ohiyesa (Charles Eastman)

Dakota physician and author who educated the public on Indigenous culture and advocated for Native rights while bridging both worlds.

Bishop John Hughes

Catholic leader who protested Protestant bias in New York public classrooms, spurring the creation of an independent parochial school system.

Frederick Douglass

Abolitionist and orator who emphasized that literacy and knowledge were vital tools for liberation and civil equality.

Benjamin and Sarah Roberts

A father and daughter who challenged racial segregation in an 1850 Boston lawsuit, setting an early legal precedent against separate schooling.

Dame Schools

Early colonial home-based classrooms taught by women that provided young children with initial reading, religious, and practical instruction.

Common Schools

Nineteenth-century public institutions designed to provide free, standardized, and universal elementary education to all children.

Assimilation

The process of compelling or encouraging a minority group to adopt the customs, language, and culture of a dominant group.

Democracy

A system of government by the people, requiring an informed and educated public to function effectively.

Social Control

The use of schooling and institutional rules to regulate behavior, enforce conformity, and maintain established societal order.

Educational Opportunity

The principle that every learner should have fair and equal access to high-quality schooling, resources, and life chances.