ABSTRACT
Underlying the projection of soft power by Western countries is a clash of cultures. One vehicle is progressive education, a paradigm that derives mainly from Anglo-American culture. Progressivism is the primary frame of reference for curriculum and teaching reforms targeting classroom change in ‘developing’ countries. It is heavily entwined with Western cultural, political and economic interests, such that it is often a form of cultural imperialism that directly or indirectly is a soft power policy plank in the international culture wars. Cultural imperialism, the role within it of comparative education, and the extensive failures of progressive reforms give rise to an exploration of some traps through which studies of classroom reform have been caged by culture-bound value judgements that project a worldview that often runs counter to local educational cultures with deep epistemological and pedagogical roots. This introductory chapter locates the issues, defines some key terms, and summarises what follows. The evidence is that progressivism remains axiomatic as a travelling policy despite its widespread failure to generate paradigm shift in classroom practice. The sensible conclusion from the failure of progressivism is that formalism should be the primary frame of reference for classroom change in developing countries.
