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Beginning in the 1870s, and continuing through World War I (1914–1918), the progressive education movement sought to develop educational innovations in methods and curriculum. These were aimed at social reform and relieving some of the problems of the urban poor in an industrial society. Reacting against the rigidly academic, classical, and college-preparatory schooling of the nineteenth century, progressives advocated a curriculum that would be relevant and meaningful to the lives of the majority of students. The emphasis was on socialization, education of the whole child, and working from the interests of individual students....
