The Enlightenment and Education: Reform, Pedagogy, and Public Learning

The opening of Rousseau’s Émile in 1762 caused the largest literary scandal in France since the revocation of the Edict of Nantes. The book was condemned by the Parlement of Paris on June 9, 1762; it was publicly burned two days later; Rousseau was forced to flee Montmorency in the middle of the night, mostly in the rain, and to take refuge in the Swiss canton of Neuchâtel. The book’s offenses were multiple: it rejected the doctrine of original sin, it questioned the authority of the Bible, and it proposed a method of raising children that, by the standards of the time, amounted to criminal neglect. Children, Rousseau argued, should be allowed to learn from direct experience rather than from books and formal instruction; they should be protected from the corrupting influences of society; they should be allowed to develop their natural faculties in a free and supportive environment. The argument sounded, to his contemporaries, like a brief for raising savages.

The book sold. It sold in multiple editions, in multiple languages, and to readers who were scandalized by it. The Empress Catherine the Great of Russia wrote Rousseau a fan letter, in French, comparing herself to his pupil Sophie. The Marquise de Pompadour read it. The reading public of the eighteenth century, which was larger and more literate than the reading public of any previous century, was hungry for new ideas about how to raise and to educate children. The Émile fed the hunger, and the book became one of the founding texts of modern pedagogy.

Education was, in fact, one of the central concerns of the Enlightenment. The thinkers of the eighteenth century believed that the improvement of the human condition required the systematic cultivation of the human faculties, and they developed a comprehensive theory of education that has had a lasting influence on the modern world. The Enlightenment commitment to public education, to the reform of the universities, to the development of the natural sciences, and to the cultivation of critical thinking has become a basic feature of the modern educational tradition.

The Enlightenment theory of education

The Enlightenment theory of education was based on several key principles.

The cultivation of reason

The most fundamental commitment of the Enlightenment was to the cultivation of reason. The thinkers of the eighteenth century believed that the proper development of human nature required the systematic cultivation of the rational faculties, and they developed a theory of education that was designed to develop the powers of observation, analysis, and judgment. The cultivation of reason was seen as a means to several ends. It was a means to the development of individual autonomy, since the proper use of reason allowed individuals to think for themselves and to make their own judgments about the world. It was a means to the improvement of social life, since the proper use of reason allowed individuals to participate effectively in the political and economic life of their communities. And it was a means to the improvement of the human condition, since the proper use of reason allowed human beings to develop the sciences, the technologies, and the institutions that would improve the quality of human life.

The importance of experience

The Enlightenment theorists of education emphasized the importance of experience in the development of the human faculties. Drawing on the empiricist tradition of Locke and his successors, they argued that the proper education of the individual required direct contact with the world, with the natural environment, and with the practical arts. The mere memorization of facts and doctrines, they believed, was not sufficient for the proper development of the human faculties; what was needed was the active engagement of the learner with the world of experience.

This emphasis on experience had important implications for the design of educational programs. The classroom was supplemented by the laboratory, the field trip, the museum, and the workshop. The study of books was supplemented by the study of nature, the study of society, and the study of the practical arts. The proper education of the individual required a balanced program of intellectual, moral, and practical development. The emphasis on experience was, in fact, one of the more successful innovations of the Enlightenment, and it is one of the features of modern education that has been most thoroughly internalized.

The importance of method

The Enlightenment theorists of education emphasized the importance of method in the development of the human faculties. Drawing on the methodological revolution of the Scientific Revolution, they argued that the proper education of the individual required the development of systematic methods of inquiry, and they developed a variety of methods for the cultivation of the powers of observation, analysis, and judgment.

The development of method was seen as essential for several reasons. It was essential for the proper use of reason, since the proper use of reason required the systematic application of the methods of inquiry. It was essential for the development of the sciences, since the proper development of the sciences required the systematic application of the methods of observation and experiment. And it was essential for the development of the practical arts, since the proper development of the practical arts required the systematic application of the methods of technical analysis and design.

The importance of public education

The Enlightenment theorists of education emphasized the importance of public education for the proper functioning of the political community. They argued that a free and responsible citizenry required a system of public education that would provide all citizens with the basic knowledge and skills that they needed to participate effectively in the political and economic life of their communities. The commitment to public education was an important feature of the Enlightenment theory of education, and it was a major contribution to the development of the modern system of public education. The American public school system, the French system of public education, the German system of public education, and the various other systems of public education that have been developed in the modern world draw on the central arguments of the Enlightenment commitment to public education.

The major educational thinkers

The Enlightenment theory of education was developed by a number of major thinkers. The following are the most important.

John Locke

John Locke (1632–1704) developed a comprehensive theory of education in his Some Thoughts Concerning Education (1693). Locke’s theory was based on the empiricist principle that the human mind was a “blank slate” and that all knowledge derived from experience. The proper education of the individual, for Locke, required the careful cultivation of the experiences to which the child was exposed, and the development of the rational faculties through the systematic training of the powers of observation, analysis, and judgment.

Locke’s theory of education was also notable for its commitment to the development of character. The proper education of the individual, he argued, required not only the development of the intellectual faculties, but also the development of the moral and emotional faculties. The child should be taught to be virtuous, to be courageous, to be self-disciplined, and to be considerate of others. Locke’s theory was influential in the eighteenth-century practice of education, especially in the education of the sons of the English gentry. The young gentleman should learn Latin and Greek, modern languages, mathematics, geography, history, and “the accomplishments” of dancing, music, and drawing. He should also learn to ride, to fence, and to manage his estate. Locke’s theory was, in fact, the curriculum of the English gentry for the next century, and the curriculum has left a substantial mark on the modern educational tradition.

Jean-Jacques Rousseau

Rousseau (1712–1778) developed one of the most influential theories of education in his Émile, or On Education (1762). The book is a kind of philosophical novel that follows the education of a single child, Émile, from birth to adulthood. Rousseau’s central idea is that education should follow the natural development of the child, and that the child should be allowed to learn from direct experience rather than from books and formal instruction. The theory was a reaction against the Lockean theory, which Rousseau regarded as too concerned with the social and moral characteristics of the adult and not concerned enough with the natural development of the child.

Rousseau’s theory of education was based on a complex account of human nature. The proper development of the child, he argued, required the protection of the natural goodness of the child from the corrupting influences of society. The child should be allowed to develop his natural faculties in a free and supportive environment, and he should be introduced to the various forms of knowledge and skill at the appropriate stages of his development. The famous passage on the education of Émile — “Let him know nothing because you have told him, nothing because you have taught him, but because he has learned it himself” — is the founding text of the modern emphasis on the active learner.

Rousseau’s Émile was controversial from the moment of its publication. The Parlement of Paris condemned it for its religious skepticism, and the Archbishop of Paris condemned it for its religious errors. The book was burned, and Rousseau was forced to flee France. The book was also widely read, and it has had a profound influence on the subsequent development of the theory and practice of education. Pestalozzi, Froebel, and the various other nineteenth-century reformers of primary education all drew on Rousseau’s arguments. The Montessori method, with its emphasis on the natural development of the child and the prepared environment, is a direct descendant of the Rousseauian program.

The Encyclopedists

The Encyclopédie included extensive coverage of educational topics, and the encyclopedists developed a systematic theory of education that was based on the principles of reason, experience, and method. The entries on education, pedagogy, and the various branches of knowledge were an important source of the dissemination of the new educational ideas, and the Encyclopédie was an important factor in the development of the modern educational tradition.

The most important educational contribution of the Encyclopédie was its emphasis on the practical arts and on the natural sciences. The encyclopedists argued that the proper education of the individual required not only the study of the classical languages and the humanities, but also the study of the practical arts, the natural sciences, and the various forms of useful knowledge. The argument was, in the eighteenth century, a controversial one. The defenders of the classical curriculum held that the proper education of the gentleman required the study of the languages and the literatures of Greece and Rome, and that the practical arts were beneath the dignity of the educated class. The encyclopedists held that the proper education of the citizen required knowledge of the world in which the citizen was to live and work, and that the practical arts were the foundation of that knowledge. The argument was settled, in the long run, in favor of the encyclopedists. The modern curriculum — natural sciences, modern languages, history, mathematics, with the classical languages in retreat — is a descendant of the encyclopedist position.

The German Reformers

The German Enlightenment produced a remarkable tradition of educational reform. The major figures of this tradition were:

August Hermann Francke (1663–1727), the founder of the Francke Foundations in Halle, a system of schools that combined the cultivation of piety with the development of practical skills and useful knowledge. The Francke Foundations were, in the early eighteenth century, one of the most impressive educational experiments in Europe, and they were widely imitated in the German states and beyond. The Foundations were important not only for what they taught but also for what they demonstrated: that a system of mass education could be organized, that the system could be made financially self-supporting, and that the students could be taught to read, to write, to do arithmetic, and to have a serious understanding of the Christian religion.

Christian Wolff (1679–1754), the systematic philosopher whose methods of teaching and his conception of the proper organization of knowledge had an important influence on the German university tradition. Wolff was famous for his method — every concept clearly defined, every proposition clearly argued, every conclusion clearly drawn — and the method became the standard of the German university.

Johann Bernhard Basedow (1724–1790), the founder of the Philanthropinum in Dessau, a school that was designed to realize the educational ideas of the Enlightenment. Basedow was influenced by Rousseau, and the Philanthropinum was an attempt to put Rousseauian principles into practice. The school emphasized the study of modern languages, natural science, and physical education, and it de-emphasized the classical languages and religious instruction. The school was a great success for a few years, and it was widely imitated. Basedow was, however, a difficult man, and the school declined in his later years.

Immanuel Kant (1724–1804), whose essays on pedagogy and his Critique of Pure Reason developed a comprehensive theory of education that was based on the principles of critical thinking, the cultivation of the rational faculties, and the development of moral autonomy. Kant’s lectures on pedagogy, published posthumously, were the most systematic statement of the German Enlightenment theory of education, and they were an important source of the subsequent development of the theory in the German tradition.

The reform of the universities

The Enlightenment had a profound influence on the reform of the universities. The traditional university curriculum, based on the medieval trivium and quadrivium and on the authority of Aristotle as interpreted by Thomas Aquinas, was gradually replaced by a new curriculum that emphasized the modern languages, the natural sciences, and the new philosophy.

The German universities

The German universities were the leaders of the educational reform. The University of Halle, founded in 1694, was the first major German university to adopt the new philosophy, and it became a model for the reform of the other German universities. The University of Göttingen, founded in 1734, became the leading German university in the second half of the eighteenth century, and it was an important center of the new natural sciences, modern history, and the new philosophy.

The German university tradition was, in the long run, the most successful expression of the Enlightenment theory of education. The combination of teaching and research, the seminar as a pedagogical method, the laboratory as a research environment, the professorship as a research position, and the doctorate as a research degree — all of these features of the modern research university were developed in the German Enlightenment. The German model was, in turn, the model for the American research university in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, and the American research university is, in turn, the model for the contemporary global model of the research university. The chain of influence is one of the more remarkable in the history of education.

The Scottish universities

The Scottish universities were also important centers of educational reform. The University of Edinburgh, the University of Glasgow, and the other Scottish universities were reorganized in the eighteenth century to emphasize the new natural sciences, modern philosophy, and the practical arts. The Scottish university tradition produced some of the most important thinkers of the Scottish Enlightenment, including David Hume, Adam Smith, Adam Ferguson, and Thomas Reid. The Scottish tradition was, in its intellectual seriousness and in its combination of high theory with practical concern, one of the most impressive in eighteenth-century Europe.

The American colleges

The American colleges were also important centers of educational reform. Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Columbia, the College of William and Mary, the College of Philadelphia (later the University of Pennsylvania), and the other American colleges taught the new natural sciences, the new philosophy, and the modern languages, and they produced a generation of American leaders who were deeply influenced by the Enlightenment. The American colleges were, in this sense, one of the most successful exports of the European Enlightenment, and the American Enlightenment is, in important respects, a product of the American college system.

The development of public education

The Enlightenment commitment to public education was an important contribution to the development of the modern system of public education. The major developments were:

The American public school system

The American public school system was a product of the Enlightenment commitment to public education. The common school movement of the early nineteenth century, led by Horace Mann in Massachusetts and Henry Barnard in Connecticut, established a system of free, universal, and non-sectarian public education that became a model for the rest of the country and for the rest of the world. Mann is the most important figure in the American public school tradition, and his twelve annual reports to the Massachusetts Board of Education (1837–1848) are the founding documents of the American system. The system was not, of course, perfectly realized. The gap between the aspiration of universal education and the actual practice — the underfunding of schools serving poor and minority communities, the de facto segregation of black and white children — has been one of the persistent failures of the American system. The gap is real. The aspiration is still worth holding onto.

The French system of public education

The French Revolution established a system of public education that was designed to replace the old ecclesiastical schools and to provide a secular education for all citizens. The system was developed further under Napoleon, with the establishment of the lycées and the grandes écoles, and it became a model for the European nation-states. The French system was, in its centralized organization and in its commitment to secular education, one of the most distinctive in Europe. The system has been modified substantially in the last two centuries, but the basic framework — a national system of public education, organized by the central state, and committed to the secular values of the Republic — is still the framework of the contemporary French system.

The German system of public education

The German states developed a system of public education that combined the general education provided by the primary schools with the specialized education provided by the gymnasiums and the universities. The German system was an important model for the development of public education in other countries, and it was, in particular, the model for the American high school movement of the late nineteenth century.

The legacy

The Enlightenment theory of education has had a profound and lasting influence on the development of modern education. The basic principles of the Enlightenment — the commitment to the cultivation of reason, the importance of experience, the development of method, the commitment to public education — have become the basic principles of the modern educational tradition.

The contemporary challenges to the Enlightenment theory of education are different from those faced by the Enlightenment theorists. The contemporary challenges include the proper role of technology in education, the proper response to the increasing diversity of the student population, the proper balance between the development of the cognitive and the non-cognitive faculties, the proper relationship between general education and specialized training, and the proper response to the various social, economic, and political problems that affect contemporary educational institutions. The basic questions — about what education is for, about what knowledge is most worth teaching, about how to balance the development of the individual with the development of the citizen — are the same questions. The terms have changed. The questions have not. The defenders and the critics of the Enlightenment theory are still arguing about them, and the argument is one of the more useful ones in contemporary public life.