Traditional

Progressive

Education should be reasonably authoritarian and hierarchical

Education must be egalitarian

The curriculum should be subject-centred

It must be child-centred and relevant

Emphasis should be on content

Emphasis must be on skills

(Book) knowledge and accuracy are essential

Experience, experiment and understanding are more important

Rationality and the consideration of factual evidence should predominate

Creativity and feelings are more important than facts

Recognition of right and wrong

Right and wrong depend on one’s point of view

There should be a product

It is the process that matters

The product, or knowledge of content, should be objectively tested or measured

Criteria provide a framework for subjective assessment or tasks based on skills

Competition is welcomed

Co-operation must take precedence

Choice between different curricula and/or different types of school is essential to maximise individual strengths

Entitlement for all replaces choice and differentiation; equal opportunities can be used to construct equality of result