Getting it Wrong from the Beginning: Our Progressivist Inheritance from Herbert Spencer, John Dewey, and Jean Piaget is a 2002 book by Kieran Egan that criticizes the traditional progressivist foundations of modern education in the Western world, especially in North America.

[1] Egan primarily focuses on the ideas of Herbert Spencer, John Dewey, and Jean Piaget, which he calls the most influential sources of contemporary progressivist educational philosophy.

[1] Kieran Egan states in his introduction: "I want to make the case here that most of the beliefs most of the people hold about education today are wrong in fairly fundamental ways.

[2][3] Egan's proposed solutions are developed further in his other publications, notably The Educated Mind: How Cognitive Tools Shape Our Understanding.

[5] John Lewis considers Egan's claim of an almost universal influence of Spencer among educators, including Dewey, to be a "straw man" and "somewhat specious".