This international collection of essays by leading authorities in literature and education presents the first comprehensive view of the impact of Romanticism on education over the course of the last two centuries. Romanticism’s reconception of self, nature, writing and the imagination forms a chapter of intellectual history that has led to a number of innovative programs in the schools. The book returns to the educational thinking of key figures from the time—Rousseau, Wordsworth, Mary Shelley and Coleridge—before charting their influence on such historical and contemporary developments as Montessori schools, art education, free schools and current writing programs. The contributors tend to challenge common assumptions concerning Romanticism and do not shy away from its darker side; their work encompasses both theoretical considerations of Romantic and post-modern conceptions of the self and practical concerns with Romanticism’s potential for the school curriculum. The Educational Legacy of Romanticism represents a multi-disciplinary inquiry into the continuing influence which cultural endeavours can have on the social practices of society.

John Willinsky is Pacific Press Professor of Literacy and Technology at the University of British Columbia. He is the author of Empire of Words: The Reign of the OED and a developer of Open Journals Systems software.

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"This stunning collection of essays opens new perspectives on a variety of romanticisms (particularly Rousseau's, Wordsworth's, Coleridge's, and Emerson's) and on their varied, sometimes problematic influence on educational thought.... For historians, for philosophers, for classroom practitioners this is a text that troubles, complicates, fascinates, and sheds light."

History of Education Quarterly, Winter 1991