ABSTRACT
This chapter elaborates on the theory behind Dewey's ideas, and reports the findings. In the early nineteenth century, Friedrich Froebel, who had been heavily influenced by the earlier Realists, developed a set of educational principles that can be easily seen in contemporary progressive education programmes. The virtual absence of the stream of educational philosophy from Socrates to Dewey in these classrooms raises important questions about its failure to endure. The schools profile conformed to the larger universe of public schools in Los Angeles. The average sampled school enrolled nearly 2,000 students, and classes included social studies, science, maths, music, and English. About half of the schools were in urban Los Angeles, while the other half were located in suburbs. Nearly two thirds of the schools were receiver schools, meaning that students were bused to them to achieve racial balance. The chapter concludes with a discussion of the implications of these findings for improving educational policy and teaching.
