The Oswego Movement In American Education

The Oswego Movement is an American educational reform movement developed in the mid-19th-century when American public schools and teacher training schools were rapidly established and became popular. It was under this context that the reform of Oswego school education was initiated, which marked the application of Pestalozzi's pedagogy in American schools. Since then and for nearly half a century, the Oswego Movement and its rationale and practice had become a blueprint for American public schools as well as for teacher education. Its significant role and legacy are still felt today not only in America but also worldwide.In the 1850s, a short time after the primary education system was built, the Oswego Board of Education recommended all the Oswego schools to follow Pestalozzi principles and methods. This triggered various innovative pedagogies put into practice, such as teaching principles, subject matter, teaching methods and etc. Alongside this, initial teacher training was then put on agenda in the 1860s with attempts to prepare teachers better undertaking the reform and the Oswego education. The Oswego Board of Education also wanted the Oswego State Teacher Training School to employ vidual /object teaching principles and methods in practice. In addition, the Oswego State Normal and Training School put emphasis on the high admission requirement for the student recruitment, the differentiation in the course design and innovative teaching practice and etc. It is evident that the reform in Oswego State Normal and Training School corresponded well with the reform taking place in Oswego schools, and thus informed the work with one another and complemented each other. The Oswego Movement is believed to have accelerated the progress of the Pestalozzian Movement in America and helped bring it to its climax. Or in other words, the 19th century Oswego Movement is considered as an integral part of the Pestalozzian Movement in America. However, due to its limitation and dilemma increasingly exposed with vidual/object methods, the Oswego Movement was short lived and challenged by other educational thoughts and movements later on.Looking back at the Oswego Movement in American Education over one hundred years ago, one may find that Pestalozzi's pedagogy is still prevailing and the Pestalozzian Movement in America has still continued to exert its impact upon the school practice across contries, and from the Chinese perspective, it is hoped the findings from this research will serve as a useful reference for possible curriculum and policy improvements that might take place in future.