美國進步主義時期教育的理論與實踐方面，百家爭鳴，結果是以兒童為中心的社 會進步主義與以效率為重點的行政進步主義同時存在美國的社會中。因為都市的人口激增， 使得大又有效率的想法存在於當時，教育方面也不可避免的借用工商業的法人組織方式促進 行政效率，並將行政權集中於專家及其所領導的人員。因此，行政進步主義之聲勢有凌駕於 社會的進步主義之趨勢。行政進步主義者企求由訓練有素的行政人員以科學的的方法來管理 學校體系。 在該時期，經過菁英份子的努力，行政的集中化獲得成功。但是，促成集中化的力量不只是 來自高階層、或所謂的菁英，集中化的完成也需各種不同宗教和種族的勞工階級的支持。教 育方面，雖受傳統的地區校委會成員、非專業的教育行政人員、重各方民意的有力人士與教 師團體的反對，但由於時勢所趨，這一行政的集中化運動終於獲得普遍的接受。

　　　　　Schools served different and possibly contradictory purposes. These ambiguities are nowhere more evident than in the several different thrusts of American education during the Progressive Era. Social progressives emphasized the necessity to make the schools creative,democratic, and humane environments for learning about life in its totality. Adminstrative progressives sought primarily efficiency and economy in education. Administrative progressives generally possessed power to implement their goals. They, then, molded the schools into willing servants of the emerging corporate-technological state. The centralization movement embodied a quest for technically trained administrators and scientifically run school systems. During the Progressive Era there emerged a nationwide, interlocking directorate of progressive university presidents, superintendents and lay allies from the business and professional elites in the major cities of the U.S.A. Also, many of the native-born Protestant working class sided with elitist reformers on the issue of centralization and supplied much of the leadership for that effort. However, this system was opposed by diverse groups such as lay men in the ward school board and teachers.