Historical Perspectives and Influences on Education - Building on Working Definitions for Creativity, Innovation, Teaching and Learning

The article by Christou (2013), reflecting on the progressive educational reform brought about by Duncan McArthur during the 1930s, and Herbst’s (1999) article, which looks at the work of educational historians from the 1960s to the end of the 20^th century, offer interesting historical perspectives on education, regarding both teaching and learning, and the influences on creativity and innovation.

Christou’s (2013) article focused on the progressive educational reform that took place in Ontario during the 1930s. The reform, with aspects of meliorism, efficiency and child study, sought to move away from courses focused solely on subject matter to courses also focusing on other factors such as personality development and socialization, to give students options in regards to what they could study, and promote social responsibility. This reform resulted from the complexities and socio-economic crises facing Ontario at the time, and the acknowledgement that education was “a force for remedying ills and changing the future” (p. 682). With this in mind, I would like to extend my working definition for teaching to include that teaching needs to be reformed from time to time to reflect the needs and challenges faced in the classroom and by society. Regarding learning, the idea that learning can be self-directed should be added to my working definition. Also, the idea to promote social responsibility is an important example of the ability to acquire knowledge over values mentioned in my working definition for learning. Furthermore, the generating and implementation of the ideas behind the reform based on McArthur’s beliefs and the complexities and socio-economic crises facing Ontario at the time offer an important example of the intrinsic and extrinsic influences and motivations that factor into creativity and innovation.

Herbst’s (1999) work looked at the work and changing influence of educational historians, or revisionists, from the 1960s to the end of the century. This article raises 2 important points in regards to education. Firstly, there should be just as much concentration of attention to the history of private schools and institutions as there is to public schools and institutions. Secondly, there needs to be more focus on the pedagogies used across all institutions both in the past and present. The first point supports my working definitions for teaching and learning, as both can take place not just in traditional schools, but anywhere. With that said, I feel the need to amend my definitions to include the mention of private institutions, including informal tutoring, as they also play an important part in education. The second point not only demonstrates a need to know what is going on in the classrooms in both the past and the present, but also, in conjunction with the ideas for reform generated from Christou’s (2013) article, further support the need for reforms in education based on the needs and challenges faced in the classroom and by society. Furthermore, Herbst’s view of revisionists at the end of the last century, having little fresh input, repeating old mantras, and looking for new topics to fit their pre-set mold having caused truly creative and innovative scholarship to flee the scene (p. 739) supports the idea that creativity and innovation can be influenced and motivated by both internal and external factors, and provides another example to draw on to support my working definitions for both these terms.

Both articles raise important points about historical perspectives related to teaching, learning creativity and innovation, but also raise the following questions: For Christou, as the article focuses on progressive educational reform at a specific time and place in a western nation, how does it compare to other educational reforms that have taken place more recently in other western nations? For that matter, how does it compare to educational reforms in non-western/-Eurocentric nations with different cultures? For Herbst, how should educational historians go about considering anew their presence as academics in programs of professional education? Where would a study into the history of private schools and institutions, including informal tutoring, begin?

Christou, T. M. (2012). The complexity of intellectual currents: Duncan McArthur and Ontario’s progressivist curriculum reforms. Paedagogica Historica: International Journal of the History of Education, 49(5), 677-697. https://www-tandfonline-com.proxy.queensu.ca/doi/full/10.1080/00309230.2012.739181

Herbst, J. (1999). The history of education: State and the art at the turn of the century in Europe and North America. Paedegogia Historica: International Journal of the History of Education, 35(3), 737–-47. https://www-tandfonline-com.proxy.queensu.ca/doi/abs/10.1080/0030923990350308