Democracy and Political Education. On the Occasion of the 150th Anniversary of John Dewey’s Birth (1859–1952). Introduction (original) (raw)
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, a four-day conference to mark the centenary of the publication of John Dewey's Democracy and Education was held in Homerton College, Cambridge University, jointly sponsored by the college, the Faculty of Education, the Philosophy of Education Society of Great Britain and the History of Education Society of the UK. Four years in the planning, it proved to be an ambitious project which captured and encouraged a renewed interest in Dewey and his work. While rightfully celebrating his significance in the history and philosophy of education, the conference also focused on Dewey's broader reach in current interdisciplinary study, as well as his extensive influence on professional educators and the practice of education within and beyond schools. The call for papers exceeded expectations, with submissions from across the world. After double blind review, just over 100 papers from 25 countries were selected. PESGB's financial support was instrumental in making attendance affordable, particularly for international delegates. The intention was to integrate theory and practice throughout and, as well as traditional parallel sessions, the conference distinctively featured practitioners and students. UK and Spanish schools demonstrated Philosophy for Children as a basis for student dialogue, and an international school network showed how it was engaging with research to promote democracy. Delegates also had opportunities to experience the Alexander Technique (developed by a lifelong friend of Dewey's and which he practised himself); to enjoy displays cocreated and hosted by the Faculty Library and to visit the newly opened and research-active University of Cambridge Primary School. Strong keynotes and panel sessions by educational philosophers, historians, practitioners and journalists were streamed and shared online. Given the diversity of themes, disciplines and backgrounds, the sense of rapport and community during the conference was remarkable, opening a space in which Dewey's humane and progressive values were shared. Key to this was the character and scope of Dewey and his work: he was an interdisciplinary polymath, whose texts encompass different disciplines and contexts. This suite of papers offers a glimpse of the diverse philosophical
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In the literature on citizenship education, frequent references are made to Dewey. However, educationalists do not always interpret him correctly. To provide some counterbalance, I explain Dewey's views on education and democracy. I base this, not only on 'Democracy and Education', but also on 17 articles that Dewey wrote after 'Democracy and Education', and on his 'Ethics' and two earlier works, frequently cited by educationalists: 'Ethical Principles Underlying Education' and 'School and Society'. According to Dewey, democracy and education are two sides of the same coin. Both involve and foster self-determination, self-development and participating in the common good, enlightened by intelligent understanding and scientific spirit. At the present, it is customary to define democratic citizenship education primarily in terms of social and moral learning, sometimes as though it can be distinguished from academic learning, as something extra besides learning subject matter. When such an approach is attributed to Dewey, as it often is, this is unwarranted.
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about the problems of democracy today? To answer the first question requires assuming a critical position towards our common philosophical past. The second question assumes a critical impasse between the old and new Dewey, and also the necessity to come back, in a reflexive way, to the origins from time to time. It means trying to break the distance but, at the same time, having to assume that a certain tension between past and present problems can never entirely be loosened. The hermeneutical question is thus bound to the practical interest of the common good. The answer to the third question demands not only a critical relationship to our shared past, but above all a compromise with the future: the task before us. And seeing the democracy as the task before us is exactly the clue that allows identifying the master key to Dewey's thought, old and new: making of democratic experience.