In this article, progressive education in New Zealand is examined across three eras. The "revered past" (1870s-1960s) focuses the influence of progressive ideas on the early childhood movement from the establishment of the first kindergarten in 1889 and on the schooling sector from the 1930s to the 1960s. The "contested present" (1970s-2011) examines the attack on progressive education in schools in line with economic downturn from the 1970s onwards and contrasts this with the strengthening of the early childhood movement in the 1990s. The "uncertain future" (2012- ) looks at how current government policy is continuing to marginalise progressive ideals in favour of market-led educational decision-making but how educators are reclaiming the progressive space with the support of the wider community.