Child-Centred and Progressive Education MCQ Quiz - Objective Question with Answer for Child-Centred and Progressive Education - Download Free PDF

Progressive Theory of Education: It is defined as change or movement in the direction of the end; and, conversely, movement in any other direction toward any other end is regressive.

Key Points

• This theory stated education through experience or experiment or solving problems.
• It emphasized the value and importance of experience, experiment, purposeful learning, freedom, etc. 
• The problem-solving method is based upon the progressive theory. This theory stresses that students should test ideas through active experimentation.
• Learning is rooted in the questions of learners that arise through experiencing the world.

Additional Information

Hence, we conclude that the Problem-solving teaching method is based on progressive theory.

The learner-centred approach of teaching puts learners in the centre and gives primacy to children's experiences and needs.

• It strongly believes that when children are given the freedom to work at their own pace, they develop the ability to assimilate the concepts efficiently.

Key Points

Characteristics of the learner-centred approach:

• It stresses the importance of enquiry, observation and investigation.
• It takes into account learner's capabilities, capacities and learning styles.
• It uses methods like experiential learning, problem-solving, concept mapping and creative writing.
• It emphasises to provide ample opportunities to the children to foster their own strategy of learning to perform a task.
• In this method, teachers facilitate students as a facilitator by providing with proper environment and materials to learn at their own pace.
• Students work in flexible, cooperative groupings to solve problems and analyze texts to demonstrate an understanding of a task.

Hence, it could be concluded that the sentence 'It emphasises transmitting knowledge to the learner by the teacher' is not correct about the learner-centred approach.

Additional Information

Progressive education advocates that young learners should be given the freedom to learn according to their preferences and likes

Important Points

•  Based on the belief that education should primarily serve the needs of children and focus on understanding, action, and experience rather than rote knowledge and memorization.
• Children with special needs are taught along with other children while making special provisions for their needs.
• Special education is individualized education for children with special needs. Special education means, “Specially designed instruction, to meet the unique needs of a child with special needs including instructions conducted in the classrooms. 
• A free and democratic atmosphere should be provided in the classroom for the proper development of an individual. 

Hence, children with special needs do not have to always study in a separate institution In fact, most of them can learn quite well in general classes of a school. 

Thus from the above-mentioned points, it is clear that in a progressive set-up children with special needs are taught along with other children while making special provisions for their needs. 

Child-centered education focuses on tailoring the learning process to the needs, interests, and abilities of each child. It emphasizes active engagement, creativity, and critical thinking, rather than passive reception of information. 

Key Points

•  Considering individual differences is crucial because it acknowledges that each child learns differently and at their own pace, allowing teachers to adapt methods accordingly.
• Encouraging active participation invites children to be involved in their learning through discussions, hands-on activities, and problem-solving, which deepens understanding and motivation. These strategies make learning more relevant and effective.
• Emphasizing memorization of facts and relying on teacher-centered lectures focus on rote learning and passive listening, which are contrary to the principles of child-centered education. Such methods limit student engagement and do not foster critical thinking or creativity.

Hence, the correct answer is (i) and (iii).

Progressive education prioritizes student-centered learning, where the emphasis is on understanding, critical thinking, and the development of skills over time. In this approach, assessment is not just a tool to measure what has been learned but a part of the learning process itself. 

Key Points

• Ongoing and adapted to support student learning reflects the essence of assessment in a progressive classroom. This approach, often called formative assessment, is continuous and flexible, allowing the teacher to modify instruction based on students’ needs and responses.
• It includes observations, discussions, student reflections, and other informal methods that provide real-time feedback.
• Such assessments help students become active participants in their learning by setting goals, identifying misunderstandings, and celebrating progress. In a progressive environment, this type of responsive and supportive assessment fosters deeper engagement and a stronger understanding of concepts.

Hint

•  Focusing only on final results and rankings reduces assessment to a competitive exercise, which contradicts the progressive focus on individual growth and learning processes.
• Fixed assessments conducted only at the end of the term do not provide timely feedback and fail to inform instruction throughout the learning journey.
• Assessments based strictly on standardized testing overlook individual learning differences and often emphasize rote memorization, which is not aligned with the principles of progressive education.

Hence, the correct answer is ongoing and adapted to support student learning.

Progressive Theory of Education: It is defined as change or movement in the direction of the end; and, conversely, movement in any other direction toward any other end is regressive.

Key Points

• This theory stated education through experience or experiment or solving problems.
• It emphasized the value and importance of experience, experiment, purposeful learning, freedom, etc. 
• The problem-solving method is based upon the progressive theory. This theory stresses that students should test ideas through active experimentation.
• Learning is rooted in the questions of learners that arise through experiencing the world.

Additional Information

Hence, we conclude that the Problem-solving teaching method is based on progressive theory.

John Dewey, an American philosopher has proposed the concept of 'Progressive Education' which emphasizes that learning takes place only through 'hands-on' approach so the students must interact with their environment to adapt and learn.

• A progressive classroom is a part of progressive education that believes in the capability and potential of every child.
• Progressive education emphasizes enhancing the skills and understanding of the learners by engaging with the content and experiences.

Key Points 

The characteristics of classroom environment of the progressive classroom:​

• Opportunities for construction of knowledge
• Involvement of children in decision making
• Creation of a fear-free learning environment
• Assessment of individual differences of learners
• Importance of inquiry, observation, and investigation
• Flexible and cooperative groupings to solve problems
• Use of methods like experiential learning, problem-solving, etc.

Hence, maintaining external discipline by the teacher is not an attitude of the progressive classroom.

Hint

• In this method, teachers facilitate students as a facilitator by providing them with the proper environment and materials to learn at their own pace.

Progressive education is an educational philosophy and approach that emphasizes student-centered learning, active engagement, critical thinking, and holistic development.Key Points

• A progressive classroom is a learning environment where teachers are facilitators and learners are active participants in knowledge construction.
• This means that teachers are not the sole source of knowledge, but rather they guide and support students as they learn.
• Students are encouraged to explore their own interests and to take ownership of their learning.
• Progressive education places a strong emphasis on tailoring education to the needs and interests of individual students and preparing them for active participation in a rapidly changing world.

Hence, we can conclude that a progressive classroom views teachers as facilitators and learners as active participants in knowledge construction.

A curriculum is all of the experiences that individual learners have in a program of education whose purpose is to achieve broad goals and related specific objectives.

• Progressive education refers to the education that values experiential learning. It focuses on learning by doing, hands-on experiences, critical thinking, problem-solving, etc.

Key Points

• Curricular goals in progressive education emphasize critical thinking as progressive education focused on developing critical thinking and problem-solving skills among the learners by enabling them to think or analyze the concepts beyond traditional ways.
• Critical thinking is a skill that focuses on the analysis, evaluation and synthesizing of various available facts through experience, reflection, reasoning, communication, and arguments that allow us to make the best decision that could be possible.
• As progressive education gives opportunities to the children to think critically and analyze, the children observe their surroundings i.e., their family, community, and society, and think upon the evils of society i.e., biases regarding gender, caste, religion, etc.

Hence, it is clear that curricular goals in progressive education emphasize critical thinking.

Education would be meaningful only then when it would be student/child-centred. Education is referred as child-centred education when it gives preference to child's needs, interests & aptitudes.

Key Points

• The child-centred approach always emphasises to provide ample opportunities to the children to foster their own strategy of learning and ways of thinking to perform a task or classroom activities.
• The active participation and involvement of children play a very vital role in learning and shaping the personality of a child.
• In this method, teachers facilitate students as a facilitator by providing with proper environment and materials to learn at their own pace.
• Students take leadership in the classroom, present their work, and facilitate groups.
• Students work in flexible, cooperative groupings to solve problems and analyze texts to demonstrate an understanding of a task.
• Students are assessed for process, group work, and product.

Hence, it could be concluded that education is referred as child-centred education when it gives preference to child's needs, interests & aptitudes.

Additional Information

John Dewey, an American philosopher has proposed the concept of 'Progressive Education' which emphasizes that learning takes place only through 'hands-on' approach so the students must interact with their environment to adapt and learn.

• A progressive classroom is a part of progressive education that believes in the capability and potential of every child.
• Progressive education emphasizes enhancing the skills and understanding of the learners by engaging with the contents and experiences.

Key Points

Assessment strategies used in a progressive classroom:

Creation of student portfolios:

• A portfolio is a tool for assessing a variety of skills not usually testable in a single setting of the traditional written paper and pencil tests.
• It assesses team-based activities, social projects, and peer-related behavior and provides an insight into a child’s emotional, social and psychological development.

Self-assessment and peer assessment:

• Self and peer-assessment are becoming central aspects of student-centered assessment processes in education. 
• Peer and self-assessment, where students assess each other and themselves, can encourage students to take greater responsibility for their learning.

Use of reflective journals by teachers:

• In a reflective journal, teachers put their thoughts, ideas, feelings, and reflections. After observing what is actually happening in the classroom and school, teachers keep notes.
• Through these notes, the teacher makes different reflections, which provide them with a critical analysis of what they do in class and help them discover alternative steps to develop reflective practice.

Hence, it could be concluded that reliance on norm-referenced assessment only would NOT be used as an assessment strategy in a progressive classroom.

Hint 

• Norm-Referenced is the traditional class-based assignment of numerals to the attribute being measured. 
• It is an attempt to interpret the test results in terms of the performance of a certain group. This group is a norms group because it serves as a referent of the norm for making the judgment. 

At primary stage covers the children of class I-V. At this stage, the child is very curious to learn new things. In this age group, children are not able to comprehend the learning.  Therefore, at the primary stage when children have to learn basic concepts they should be taught through play and activities arid not through the 'chalk and talk' method. 

Learner-Centered Instruction at the primary stage: There are demands for learner-centered methods so that learning is meaningful to learners.

• It should basically have a child-centered approach involving the interaction of children. The activities .should be interesting, relevant, based on the daily life experiences of the child.
• The age. mental level. aptitude, interest, and abilities of the child should be the main criteria for selecting the activities.
• It should enhance the natural curiosity of the child; It should help the child in developing attitudes and qualities such as self-confidence, the spirit of inquiry, initiative, courage to ask questions. 
• It should encourage the child to think of solutions to problems in higher day-to-day life.
• It should develop the desired skills in children; It should help a child to develop logical thinking; It should help a child to take an active interest and participate in solving some simple problems in a limited way.

Hence, we can conclude that Instruction at the primary stage needs to be Student-centered.

John Dewey, an American philosopher has proposed the concept of 'Progressive Education' which emphasizes that learning takes place only through 'hands-on' approach so the students must interact with their environment to adapt and learn.

Belief in the capability and potential of every child is central to the concept of progressive education as it promotes: 

• emphasizes to enhance skills and understanding of the learners by engaging with the contents and experiences.
• promotes 'learning by doing' to make children self-reliant and productive to use their knowledge and talents effectively.
• ensures the active participation of students by working in a group and applying practical knowledge to complete an activity.

Hence, it could be concluded that belief in the capability and potential of every child is central to the concept of progressive education.

Additional Information

'Progressive Education' Promotes:

• Critical thinking
• Problem-solving skills
• Active engagement of students
• Development of social and communicative skills

Good (1973) defined education as “a general overall plan of the content or specific materials of instruction that the school should offer the student by way of qualifying him for certification”.

Key Points

• A child-centered curriculum considers children as individuals who learn differently from adults.
• Father of child-centric education: Jean Rousseau is known as the father of early childhood education. Rousseau's theory of education highlighted the significance of expression to create a well-adjusted, freethinking child.

Important Points

• Objectives:
  • The main objective of child-centered Education is to enable the child to learn through permanent experience.
  • The course and subjects should be experience-oriented to meet the need of the child.
  • The child is the center of the whole education process.

Hence, we can conclude that Rousseau is known as the father of child-centric education.

John Dewey has been one of the most influential educational thinkers of modern times. His educational philosophy has been referred to as Pragmatism, Experimentalism, Functionalism, Instrumentalism, Operationalism, Practicalism, and Progressivism.

• Dewey has proposed the concept of 'Progressive Education' which emphasizes that learning takes place through 'hands-on' approach so the students must interact with their environment to adapt and learn.
• Dewey had a specific idea regarding how education should take place within the classroom. He criticized the undue importance given to the curriculum, which leads to the inactivity of the student in the entire process of learning.

Key PointsProgressive Education:

• In Progressive Education, students thrive in an environment where they are allowed to experience and interact with the curriculum, and all students avail the opportunity to take part in their own learning.
• Content is presented in a way that allows the student to relate the information to prior experiences, thus deepening the connection with this new knowledge. Dewey advocated for an
• the educational structure that strikes a balance between delivering knowledge while also taking into account the interests and experiences of the student.
• Progressive Education is a continuous process of adjustment, having as its aim at every stage an added capacity of growth.’ He advocated the importance of education not only as a place to gain content knowledge, but also as a place to learn how to live.
• The experience of the child occupies the central place in this method of learning; ‘all learning must come as a by-product of actions’ child learns through participation in various activities.

Hence, it could be concluded that the above-mentioned phenomenon could be attributed to progressive education.

Additional Information

• Inclusive Education means education for all children in school as It refers to the inclusion of all children in the education system, regardless of their differences and disabilities.
• Integrated education: It emphasizes the placement of children with disabilities in mainstream schools. The school system remains rigid and as a result, very few children with disabilities are able to cope with the demands of such a rigid system. 
• Special education: It is instruction designed for students with disabilities or gifts and talents, who also have special learning needs. Some of these students have difficulties in formal institutions so they need special education provisions to function in their classrooms.