John Dewey’s Laboratory School

Michael Knoll has been a high school teacher and principal at German progressive boarding schools, a research fellow, visiting scholar, and interim professor at German, Swiss, and American universities. His primary areas of scholarship are the history of curriculum, instruction, and school administration with the focus on progressive education in the United States and Germany. His most recent book is Beyond Rhetoric: New Perspectives on John Dewey’s Pedagogy.

• Part I The Foundation and Rise of the Laboratory School, 1894–1898.- 1. Future Vision—A School Experiment in the Making.- 2. Precarious Undertaking—The Establishment of the University Primary School.- 3. Vital Necessity—The Reconstruction of the University Elementary School.- Part II High Tide and the Pitfalls of Practice, 1898–1901.- 4. At last—The Stabilization of the Laboratory School.- 5. Reaching the Peak—Image Promotion and Public Response.- 6. Teachers and Students—Structural Frictions.- 7. Demanding Task—Putting Theory into Practice.- Part III The Fall and Dissolution of the Laboratory School, 1901–1904.- 8. The Challenge—Francis Parker ante portas.- 9. Mounting Problems—The Beginning of the End.- 10. The Final Year—Dubious Decisions.- Part IV The Evaluation of the Experiment.- 11. Dewey as Administrator—The Democrat as Autocrat.- 12. Dewey as Pedagogue—The Pragmatist as Idealist.- 13. Afterlife—The School’s Impact and Dewey’s Influence.