The Two Faces of Deweyan Pragmatism: Inductionism versus Social Constructivism (original) (raw)

John Dewey A Pioneer in Educational Philosophy

John Dewey (1859 -1952) has made, arguably, the most significant contribution to the development of educational thinking in the twentieth century. He was an American psychologist, philosopher, educator, social critic and political activist. Dewey's philosophical pragmatism, concern with interaction, reflection and experience, and interest in community and democracy, were brought together to form a highly suggestive educative form. John Dewey is often misrepresented -and wrongly associated with child-centered education. In many respects his work cannot be easily slotted into any one of the curriculum traditions that have dominated north American and UK schooling traditions over the last century.

John Dewey and His Philosophy of Education

Journal of Education and Educational Development, 2016

This review paper on John Dewey, the pioneering educationist of the 20th century, discusses his educational thoughts, and writings, which gave a new direction to education at the turn of the century. Dewey’s contributions are immense and overwhelming in the fields of education, politics, humanism, logic, and aesthetics. This discussion will focus on Dewey and his philosophy related to educational approaches, pedagogical issues, and the linkages that he made between education, democracy, experience, and society. At the heart of his educational thought is the child. Dewey’s idea on humanism springs from his democratic bent and his quest for freedom, equity, and the value of child’s experiences.

John Dewey's Philosophy of Education

2023

This paper on John Dewey, a leading educator of the twentieth century, examines his pedagogical ideas and works, which helped to shape teaching-learning practice. In the areas of education, politics, humanism, logic, and aesthetics, Dewey's contributions are enormous and overpowering. This paper will center on Dewey's educational theory, pedagogical concerns, and the connections he established between education, democracy, experience, and society. The child is at the center of his educational philosophy. Dewey's concept of humanism stems from his democratic leanings and search for liberty, justice, and the worth of a child's experience.

Education after Dewey by Paul Fairfield

Chapter 1 establishes educational philosophy-and particularly Dewey's educational philosophy-as a critical resource for contemporary educational reform. Beginning with a brief history of Dewey's criticisms of both childcentered progressives and curriculum-focused traditionalists, Fairfield asserts that Dewey remains relevant to what he characterizes as today's outworn educational debates, specifically, over "oppositions of student-centered or curriculumcentered education, critical thinking or factual knowledge, [or] active or passive learning" (38). He dismisses scientistic approaches to educational research and practice, contending that these flawed models of scientific and economic rationality already dominate school learning. He also critiques the proposals of Allan Bloom and E.D. Hirsch. These educational conservatives rightly argue that schools fail to adequately acculturate young people, but they misconceive acculturation as the accumulation of information or as a process of normalization. Instead, as Dewey's educational philosophy makes clear, learning itself is

The Resurgence of Dewey: Are His Educational Ideas Still Relevant?

Journal of Curriculum Studies, 2000

Describing his pedagogical beliefs over a century ago, John Dewey o ers a powerful statement about the critical role of education in society. He writes (Dewey 1975: 94) that`the community' s duty to education . . . is its paramount moral duty . . . through education society can formulate its own purposes, can organize its own means and resources, and thus shape itself with de® niteness and economy in the direction in which it wishes to move' . Dewey grants education a central role in constructing and shaping society. T his is an important and profound idea, yet one that has rarely been at the forefront of educational thinking. In the rhetoric that surrounds educational reform, we hear much talk of increasingly rigorous academic standards, more sophisticated and frequent assessments, and heightened security and discipline. While surely these are important, like so many school reform e orts, we approach them in fragmented and piecemeal ways. T hey remain disconnected from a larger vision of education' s social and moral purpose and, hence, our e orts in these areas are often shallow. Dewey' s approach to education o ers us something di erent. Out of his rich collection of writings emerges a comprehensive, thoughtful, and coherent philosophy of education ; one that attends fundamentally tò why' questions (e.g. Why set up schools, curricula, and classrooms in

Can Dewey, Skinner and Piaget Co-Exist?

The twentieth century is often viewed as a virtual battleground between behavioral and cognitive psychology. In terms of educational practices, the battle appears to have been won by constructivism, a theoretical framework that perceives knowledge as being the result of interaction between the knower and his or her environment. This philosophy of education acknowledges the contributions that behaviorism has made to the field of education; however, it embraces a constructivist theory of learning combined with a pragmatic social orientation that seeks positive social change. An examination of the contrast between behaviorism and constructivism in the literature leads to the conclusion that the dispositions promulgated by the Richard W. Riley College of Education and Leadership are best attained within a constructivist theoretical framework.

John Dewey, New Education, and Social Control in the Classroom

This case study investigates John Dewey's role in debates on the topic of New Education and Progressive Education schools. It deals about William H. Kilpatrick's learning by projects method, Gertrude Hartman's learning by activities method, and the late-1920s and early-1930s Activity Program. In his writings between 1902 and 1938, Dewey advised to walk the middle path between teacher-centered education and child-or student-centered education. Surprisingly enough, his Experience and Education holds a hidden message, which promotes the so-called Alexander Technique as a means of achieving the " ideal aim of education, " that is, the " creation of power of self-control " (Dewey, 1938, p. 75).

Accomplishing Modernity: Dewey's Inquiry, Childhood and Philosophy

Education and Culture, 2012

Against the backdrop of two remarks by Martha Nussbaum on Dewey and Socratic education (which can be connected with a statement by Matthew Lipman about his going beyond Dewey in a Deweyan way), the paper explores what seems to be a sort of ambivalence in Dewey's educational device. On the one hand, by recognizing children as inquirers and the attitude of childhood as "very near to the attitude of the scientific mind", Dewey infringes on the modern (Cartesian-Kantian) pattern which separates childhood knowledge and reflective thinking. Such a move represents a more radical Copernican revolution in comparison with the Kantian one and a way of accomplishing modernity in that, by reformulating the relationships between experience and thinking, it allows Dewey to recognize the child as an epistemic agent and at the same time as a pivot of the educational process. On the other hand, despite this valorisation of children's epistemic powers and despite his emphasis on philosophy as a general theory of education, Dewey failed to mobilise philosophical inquiry as a way of educating children for thinking. In the final part of the paper some possible explanations are advanced about why in Dewey philosophy does not take on the educational role that it will have in Lipman.

A Pragmatistic Holistic Reading of Dewey's Philosophy of Education

Pasajes, UNAM, 2021

Though there are plenty of excellent works that introduce Dewey’s philosophy of education, this paper presents Dewey’s philosophy of education in a rather novel way: we call it a ‘holistic reading’, meaning that our reading of Dewey’s philosophy of education is not only selective of the specific works Dewey wrote about the topic, but is understood under the light of his most important ideas that vertebrate his whole philosophical approach. We think and defend that the leading insight of his philosophy is his particular branch of pragmatism, and hence a holistic approach to Dewey’s philosophy of education will be a pragmatist holistic reading. The outcome of such reading is a more powerful and insightful connection across all of his ideas, as well as a very fertile proposal for educational research. Our proposal aims to show the relevance of Dewey’s work for contemporary educational and social challenges.