John Dewey( 1859-1952) was an American philosopher and educator whose writing and teachings have had profound influences on education within the U.S. Model/Theory Dewey's philosophy of education, instrumentalism (also called pragmatic), focused on learning-by-doing rather than rote learning and dogmatic instruction, the current practice of his day. Dewey believed that it was the aim of progressive education to take part in correcting unfair privilege and unfair deprivation, not to perpetuate them, "And where adult education is not welcomed, it must play a subversive role." (Dewey, 1916). Dewey had a major influence on schools to become more active and involved with community problems. Dewey (1949, p.47) emphasized the importance of making "each one of our schools an embryonic community life, active with types of occupation that reflect the life of the larger society and permeated with the spirit of art, history and science."
John Dewey trusted in people's ability to understand and take charge of their lives for learning. This theory was much in line with Dewey influence on schools which adopted a problem-oriented approach relying on the learners' needs to determine the curriculum and on the learner's own experiences to create possible solutions. Other theorists that supported Deweys' philosophy include: Myles Horton, founder of Highlander Folk School, committed himself to working with the poor Appalachian, whose poverty excluded them from full participation in civic life. Paulo Friere, Brazilian adult educator, also believed in people's abilities to take charge of their lives.
Terms/Contributions Dewey often stated that "Education is life-not a mere preparation for an unknown kind of future living… The whole of life is learning; therefore education can have no ending. This new venture is called adult education--- not because it is confined to adults but because adulthood, maturity defines it limits." Dewey also had strong thoughts about adult educator's practice of Voluntary Action. Dewey promoted the concept that voluntary organizations provide areas for civic service, social participation and self-enlightenment.
Dewey equated volunteerism with strong citizenship and strong citizenship with a strong democracy. John Dewey taught us to become aware of dichotomies; from that it is a small step to also beware over rigid, too sharp classifications in any matter related to human nature and human affairs.
Major Publications
His most popular works in education include:
- My Pedagogic Creed (1987) - The School and Society (1900)
- Child and the Curriculum (1902)
- How we Think (1910)
- Democracy and Education: An Introduction to the Philosophy of Education (1916)
- How we Think: A Restatement of the Relation of Reflective Thinking to The Educative Process (1933)
- Experience and Education (1938)