Dewey’s Educational Heritage: The Influence of Pestalozzi Randall Colvin & Kelley M. King, University of North Texas Introduction Swiss educator Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi (1746–1827) is one of the most influential educational thinkers of the nineteenth century, exerting influence both internationally and in the U.S. Pestalozzi gained credibility with educators because of practical experience with and firsthand knowledge of schools and education. Abroad the Swiss educator’s work influenced both the Prussian school system and pedagogical reformers Johann Herbart (1776–1841) and Friedrich Froebel (1782–1852). In the U.S. Pestalozzi’s writings nurtured the work of early common-school movement leaders Horace Mann (1796–1859) and Henry Barnard (1811–1900). As Nakosteen observes (in his preface to Barlow, 1977), “Pestalozzi is unique in the fact that he tried out his educational doctrines experimentally in the Institutes which he built and financed” (p. 1). His experimental nature, not unlike that of Dewey, the prominent pedagogical reformer who followed Pestalozzi by about a century, is reflected in Pestalozzi espousing the benefits of a virtual “laboratory school,” although he did not use the Deweyan term. Despite earning renown for his pedagogical influence during the nineteenth century, little scholarship explores Pestalozzi’s influence on educational thinkers who followed him. While it is no secret Dewey (1859–1952) was influenced by Pestalozzi, it is nevertheless difficult to find scholarly work that directly explores this connection. To remedy this lack, we trace some of the Pestalozzian ideas present in and critical to Dewey’s educational thought. Pestalozzi and Dewey’s work commonly endures through direct and indirect influences, particularly how educators through the years have sought pedagogically to engage students. We argue select themes of these educational thinkers—relating school to life, the idea of school as a community, the pedagogical power of concrete things and experiences, “universal” education, and student interest as a pedagogical building block—continue to hold promise to help a new generation of teachers better connect with students. As not all readers may be familiar with Pestalozzi’s educational ideas and career, Journal of Philosophy & History of Education vol. 68, no. 1, 2018, pp. 45–54