Progressive Era for Distant

Education was a high priority in the Progressive Era, as American high schools and colleges expanded greatly. For men who were older or were too busy with family responsibilities, night schools were opened, such as the YMCA school in Boston that became Northeastern University. Outside the big cities, private correspondence schools offered a flexible, narrowly focused solution. In 1916 efficiency

YMCA school in Boston, liberary

Northeastern University in Boston

was enhanced by the formation of the National Association of Corporation Schools.

Universities around the world used correspondence courses in the first half of the 20th century, especially to reach rural students. Australia with its vast distances was especially active; the University of Queensland established its Department of Correspondence Studies in 1911. The International Conference for Correspondence

University of Queensland

Education held its first meeting in 1938.

University of Queensland now

The goal was to provide individualized education for students, at low cost, by using a pedagogy of testing, recording, classification, and differentiation.