ABSTRACT
Historically, the education reform movement tends to be assigned to the period between the end of the 19th and the first third of the 20th century: 1880–1930, 1889–1924/1925, or 1890–1933. The industrial states in Europe first established full general schooling in the late 19th century, a process that was associated with the disciplining of society as a whole. Modern schools switched “public education from conveying knowledge within the immediate environment to the dynamic of knowledge and the related learning achievements”. As Jurgen Oelkers pointed out, “In pedagogical reflection, schools are notoriously imperfect”. As schools became more widespread, school criticism also increased and became more vehement. Instead of “book school” methods, these critical voices called for object-lessons and an “education that was suitable for children.” The Swedish pedagogue Ellen Key deplored the conventionality and alienation of state schools.
