The Reformation broke with medieval pedagogy that limited education to the privileged aristocrats. It transformed education throughout the lands. Colleges and seminaries were built, and schools were supported by the church and were tuition free. According to some historians, the advancement of public education through the Reformation was one of the most rapid growing institutions that Europe has ever witnessed.

As a principle of the biblical worldview established in Geneva, the Academy oriented itself for the sake of Christian influence in all areas of life. Departments of law and medicine would soon follow. For better or for worse, education fosters cultural and political advancement. John Calvin viewed education as a ministry to society at large and in more than one way this approach revolutionized education's role in cultivating culture.