John Dewey – Purposes and Principles of Education

 

John Dewey – Purposes and Principles of Education

Author: Santosh Kumar Biswa, Sr. Teacher, Damphu CS, Tsirang, Bhutan

 

Rationale

The impact that John Dewey brought to Americans through the revolution in the education system is still echoed in the present world. He is believed to be the most influential pragmatist, educationist, and philosopher who led the foundation of a progressive movement in education across the United States by discarding religiously motivated education, disciplinary education, and informational education and brought out the concept of the rapid social and economic changes in the world of education (Shawal, n.d.). It is thought that John Dewey’s influential philosophy that extended became one of the most important guiding forces throughout the twentieth century whose inclinations towards the concept of socialization and secularism are significant in his work (Piedra, 2018). Thus, with the change in time, the purpose of education has evolved in response to societal needs and to the situation and requirements of the situation. (Salon, 2012). Today, Dewey's concepts of experiential education, democracy, humanism, and pragmatism have altered the shape of the modern education system. This write-up will discuss Dewey’s purposes of teaching, his principles and influences on education, and its relationships with today’s IB education.

Dewey’s consideration about the purpose of education:

In the words of Dewey, the ultimate aim of education is not simply about teaching the content for academic excellence in the classroom, but the creation of complete human beings through continued education for capacity building and mindful growth (Dewey, 1916/1980). Theobald stated in 2009 that Dewey is one of the best-known people and a great educational influence on education (Williams, 2017). Dewey thinks that the sole purpose of education should prepare individuals for immediate life through self-realization through the practical life of the learners are related to education (Shawal, n.d.). Moreover, his emphasis on equipping learners with critical thinking skills that are integrated as a constituent of the questioning, excelling mental habits, and eradicating false beliefs and illusory ideas bequeathed by society so that each learner can harness their natural ability (Popova, n.d.).

According to Dewey, education is one of the mediums that bridges the nature of the learner with the social needs, and education should enable them to be socially efficient and culturally sound to address the social tenor of society (Shawal, n.d.) because a person develops himself staying in a society and social skills is integral to a healthy social life and a child should be able to respect his skills and his culture. According to Avi I. Mintz, he stated, “If social efficiency progressives emphasized the utility of the individual for the good of the state, advocates of “culture” emphasized the development of individual personality (Mintz, n.d.). In line with the culture, individual personality plays a crucial role in developing one’s culture that ultimately contributes to the nation as a whole. Dewey pointed out that the very purpose of education is to create a realization of one’s ability to identify the pre-determined skills in hand (Talebi, 2015), and he took a stand by saying that democracy and social reform should be the by-product of education as it leads to the Upliftment of the democratic society in which all people will be treated with equality and can assist one another efficiently.

Principles of Dewey’s philosophy and their influence on education:

The truth about life is that we must experience the reality. From the educational point of view of Dewey, students are to interact with their to adapt and learn during the process (Jordan, n.d.). In line with the statement above, some of the principles of Dewey’s philosophy and their influence on education are as follows:

 

Education is a process of reconstruction of experiences

Dewey defines education as the reconstruction or reorganization of experience we gain from any sources that add meaning to the experience and ultimately boost our ability to direct the subsequent experience (Cam, 2020). Dewey tries to convey us to that education involves continuous growth by stating Education is a process of reconstruction of experiences because it tells us about how much we reconstructed ourselves through the means of education both through experience and capacity.

Education is not preparation for life; education is itself life

The concept of life with education is distinctly based on the concept put forward by Dewey. He stated that education is not the stepping stone for the preparation of life, but education itself is a life. To him, the aim of education should be to train learners in cooperative living to exist in the society meaningfully and it should enable every individual for the reconstruction of experience already gained for the promotion of socialized values (Shawal, n.d.).

Education is the process of growth

Dewey puts forward this concept of ‘Education is the process of growth’ with the idea of having an end in the education process, whereby he pointed out that instead of being an end of anything, having an end is essential because education never ends (Callan, 1983), and it is the continuous process. The term ‘growth’ refers to the continuity of intellectual growth from immaturity to adulthood, the desirable trait and growth are the cumulative process that an individual develops holistically in due course of time (Desforges, 2018).

Education is a process that has two sides, one individual and the other one sociological

According to Dewey’s concept, the educational process in life consists of two sides, one individual’s psychology and on the other hand sociological impacts. This process is interdependent, neither can they be subordinated nor neglected as an individual’s psychology provides him with the foundation of the learning process, whereas the other provides the scenario of the concepts, but should be backed by wise guidance from the school. Dewey stated that a student won’t be able to achieve their intended successful future until they are well aware of their future and for this to happen, they are to be provided with hands-on learning so that they excel in their capacity externally (Wikipedia, 2020). On the other hand, they are to be allowed to utilize their skills through the utilization of their psychological process.

How Dewey’s Principles align with the principles of an IB education:

Dewey’s theories influence many countries, and their principles align with the principles of the International Baccalaureate (IB) Education’s principle in many ways towards education. For instance, If we look at the mission statement of IB Education, “The International Baccalaureate aims to develop inquiring, knowledgeable and caring young people who help to create a better and more peaceful world through intercultural understanding and respect” (IBO, n.d.), it is evident that we can see Dewey’s principles in IB education system to produce inquiring and knowledgeable students through infusing curiosity skills in the area of inquiry learning and research. It is observed that the concept of humanity and a peaceful world is seen through the IB Learner profile Dewey’s influences are observed with the concept of the importance of being socially responsible and aware of his surroundings (IBO, n.d.). Similarly, John Dewey pointed out while arguing about the principle of culture, IB Education too wants their students to appreciate their history and culture by being open-minded. One of the common ideas of Dewey’s principles, “Humans are inherently good,” can be cropped with I.B. principles as well (JamesED, 2020). Thus, IB Education is widely aligned with Dewey’s principles and theories.   

 

Reference

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Piedra. A. M. (2018). The Tragedy of American Education- The role of John Dewey. Retrieved June 19, 2021, https://www.iwp.edu/articles/2018/02/01/the-tragedy-of-american-education-the-role-of-john-dewey/

Dewey, J. (1916/1980). Democracy and education: An introduction to philosophy of education. In J. A. Boydston (Ed.), The middle works: 1899–1924, volume 9, 1916 (pp. 1–370). Carbondale/Edwardsville, IL: Southern Illinois University Press.

Williams. M. K. (2017). John Dewey in the 21st Century. Retrieved June 19, 2021, https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1158258

Shawal. M. (n.d.). John Dewey’s View on Education. Retrieved June 19, 2021, https://www.yourarticlelibrary.com/education/john-deweys-view-on-education/69149

Shawal. M. (n.d.). 4 Main Aims of Education as Advocated by John Dewey. Retrieved June 19, 2021, https://www.yourarticlelibrary.com/education/4-main-aims-of-education-as-advocated-by-john-dewey/69151

Popova. M. (n.d.). John Dewey on the True Purpose of Education and How to Harness the Power of Our Natural Curiosity. Retrieved June 19, 2021,  https://www.brainpickings.org/2014/09/19/john-dewey-purpose-of-education/

Avi I Mintz. A. I. (n.d.). What is the Purpose of Education? Dewey's challenge to his contemporaries. Retrieved June 19, 2021, https://www.academia.edu/23693775/What_is_the_Purpose _of_Education_Deweys_challenge_to_his_contemporaries

Wikipedia. (2020). My Pedagogic Creed. Retrieved June 19, 2021, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/My_Pedagogic_Creed

Callan. E. (1983). Dewey’s conception of Education as Growth, The board of trustees of the university, Illinois. Desforges, R. (2018). What did John Dewey really mean by “growth”? Retrieved June 19, 2021, https://medium.com/@roxannedesforges/what-did-john-dewey-really-mean-by-growth-df3e975198d2

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