John Calvin’s Impact on Education

John Calvin (1509–1564) is widely reputed as one of the most influential figures in Christianity in the last 1,000 years, and few historical figures are as closely tied with one city as Calvin is with Geneva. However, there has been scant writing pertaining to his influence on education. Against the backdrop of the Protestant Reformation and the political positioning Geneva had to do to maintain its sovereignty, Calvin set out to systematize and organize education in that Swiss city. Through his establishment of the Collège du Genève in 1559 and the subsequent diaspora of students from his academy, Calvin’s impact on education stretches across disciplines and across the Atlantic Ocean. Calvin’s personal educational background and his experiences while exiled from Geneva were instrumental in shaping his personal beliefs regarding education and thus the functions of his academy. Calvin’s insights on education helped bring European education out of the Middle Ages and establish core theological and educational principles for all schools to follow.