ABSTRACT
European and American educators have generally interpreted their occupational past as an outgrowth of the Enlightenment. From this perspective, the history of education is a story of moving from ignorance toward rational and humane practice. Comenius, Rousseau, Locke, Pestalozzi, Mann, Dewey, and Montessori are noteworthy because they “advanced” the cause of education. One of the English documents currently influencing the way people view their past and present appeared in 1962. With the unlikely title The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, this book is now a classic. It popularized the use of paradigm, a word that has become part of everyday language for many college-educated people. Kuhn finished his doctorate in physics, but his interest had already shifted to the history and philosophy of science.
