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Article: Plowden's progress.(reversal of progressive education in British schools)
- Article from:
- The Economist (US)
- Article date:
- June 20, 1998
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1998 Economist Newspaper Ltd. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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The ''progressive'' revolution in Britain's schools is being reversed. Why did it happen, what went wrong, and will the new approach be any better?
ONE day, almost 30 years ago, when The Economist's current education correspondent was a primary-school pupil, he walked into his classroom to find that it had changed. Instead of facing the front in rows, the desks had been bunched together in groups. From then on, the teacher spent less time talking to the whole class, and pupils spent more time, alone or in groups, pursuing projects such as ''communication through the ages'', at their own pace. A revolution was sweeping Britain's primary schools-or so it seemed. A few ...