Educational Philosophy by John Dewey

John Dewey(1859-1952), the American Philosopher, psychologist and a great teacher, was born at Vermount in New England in 1859. His father was a shopkeeper. He was brought up in rural environment. The experiences which he gathered in his early life at his father’s shop greatly moulded and shaped his educational thoughts and practices. He graduated from the University of Vermount in 1879. He got his Ph. D in 1892. In 1896 he founded his “Laboratory School”. This school brought him worldwide fame.

Dewey revolted against the existing and traditional aims of education such as moral aim, disciplinary aim and the informative aim. He said the schools should strive to elevate the aims of public and social experience, vocational and practical usefulness and individual development.

Dewey’s Philosophy of Education: Psychological and sociological Factors

Dewey defined education as the “development of all those capacities in the individual which will enable him to control his environment and fulfill his possibilities”. It is a process that beings with the very birth of the child and goes on throughout the whole life. It is a process which has two sides- one psychological and the other sociological. Of these, the psychological is the basis.

A. The psychological Factor: 

The educational doctrines of John Dewey are rooted chiefly in a psychology different from the old one. Dewey has given new explanation of the child psychology. He has emphasized the social aspects of education, but he has approached its problems psychologically. In explaining his theories of education he recognized the individual differences and took into consideration the interests and impulses of the child.

To him, mind was not a fixed entity and he considered it as an organism. The older view considered mind as a fixed entity and was full of some faculties such as memory, imagination, judgment, perception. Each faculty was regarded as a distinct compartment. The child was regarded as a little man with his fixed faculties. Dewey discarded this faculty theory of psychology and considered mind as an organic whole. The faculty theory did not consider any order of development of the mind and accordingly it framed the curriculum for adult child.

Education according to psychology of the child

1. Dewey recognized the individual differences in children. Environment or betterment of the individual is only possible in social setting. Every individual has a social-self.
2. The nature of child is dynamic. The child should be regarded as the core of the whole educational process. He says “education must being with a psychological insight into the child’s capacities, interests and habits”.

According to Dewey the impulses of the child are four kinds

• The social impulse of communication or conversation.
• The constructing impulse to make things.
• The impulse to investigate into things.
• The impulse of artistic or creative expression

In framing the curriculum of the school all these four impulses should be taken into consideration.

B. Sociological Factor: 

An individual is a part and parcel of the society. Individuality can only be developed in and through society which provides the opportunities for such development. Though Dewey starts with psychological basis child’s instincts and innate powers---the sociological side is not neglected by him.

The social medium is educative because it affects every fiber of one’s character and mind, enlarges vocabulary, develops language, and cultivates social manners. At birth the child's capabilities are underdeveloped. They are developed with the child's increasing participation in social relations and activities. In the beginning, the activities of the child are self-centered. Therefore, he must be helped to realize the ends and purposes of the society. This idea of socialization is Dewey’s educational contribution of the highest importance.

Dewey’s Educational Theories and Aims of Education

Dewey’s educational theories are based on his philosophical and psychological ideas stated above. Till the end of the l9th century the educational world was dominated by the religiously motivated moral aim, the disciplinary aim and the informational aim. Dewey discarded all these aims of education. He puts forward his aims of education in the light of the rapid social and economic changes in the world, particularly in America. The main aims of education as advocated by Dewey are given below:-

1. Social Efficiency: According  to  Dewey  the  development  of social  efficiency  is  one of  the  aims of education.  To him, the school is a social institution.  The school should be organized in such a way that the activities of the outer world are reflected. Education takes place with the participation of the individual in social activities and relationships with his fellow human beings. Dewey holds that education is a necessary for health living in the society; Education is a necessity for healthy living in the society. Education  bridges  the  gulf  between the  innate  nature  of the  child  and  the  social  needs  and  demands. It gives him social conscious.
2. Education is life: Dewey emphasizes that education is not a preparation for life, it is life itself. The child lives in the present. As the child lives in the present, the educative process will be naturally based on the present need and interests of the child. The school is a miniature society facing problems similar to those faced in life. The basic purpose of the school is to train pupils in co-operative living. Since the pupils are to live in a democratic society they should help to organize one and live in it. The pupils confronting social problems shall create their own social order by solving the problems. The school should thus identify itself with social and democratic life.
3. Education is Experience: Dewey favored an education by, of and for experience. Every new experience is education. An old experience is replaced by a new experience. The human race has gained express in its struggle to meet the needs of life. The democratic way of life gives opportunity for making effort. The growing child selects and re-organizes his cultural heritage according to his own needs in a changing and new world.
4. Education should combine theory and practice: The aim of education, according to Dewey, should be to create a balance between theoretical and practical activities. He has stressed equal importance to both action and thought. The theory and practice can be combined in the school through occupations. By occupations, Dewey meant various activities like wood-work, cookery etc. which we have in social life. Active self-expression takes place through the hand, eyes, observation, planning and reflection. These give a new orientation to the whole personality of the child.

Dewey’s others aim of education
Some other aims of education is to be given below:-

1. To the function of education as preparation for life, if it refers to life now and the immediate future.
2. To ensure adequate preparation for immediate life.
3. To self-realization of the individual.
4. Powers and potentialities to be developed not according to any absolute standard nut according to pupil’s own capacities and opportunities.
5. Education protects, sustains and directs growth.

Dewey’s Ideal School

Dewey set up a model school to experiment his cherished ideas of education and to bring  the  school into close touch with real  life in the  University of Chicago in 1896. The function of is ideal school is to be given below

1. To Dewey the school is an essential social and psychological institution.
2. The school is not a place where as dry knowledge is imparted.
3. The  school  is  a place where  the  child  learns  by  his  own  personal  experience.
4. Considering school as a psychological necessity.
5. Moral as well as occupational skills are acquitted by living and acting in real situation.
6. The school will try to develop a social consciousness in the child.
7. The school is to be representative of the society outside it. 
8. The school will be a place where moral education is provided.
9. The school must enable the child to be aware of himself of the society.

Dewey outlined a definition scheme of elementary education at three stages,

1. The play period from 4 to 8. 
2. Period of spontaneous attention from 8 to 12.
3. Period of reflective attention from 12 ownward

The place of Teachers in Dewey’s scheme: Discipline

Dewey gives an important place to the teacher. The function of the teacher is to be shown in below:

1. Teacher is a social servant.
2. To maintain a proper social order and to see that the children grow in a social atmosphere.
3. To guide the young through the complexity of life.
4. To help the children so that they can adjust successfully with the contemporary condition of life.
5. Freedom has to be regulated and organized.
6. To simply guide the child on the basis richer experience and wider wisdom. 
7. Students should be trained to maintain discipline of their own accord.
8. To provide the right type of physical environment.

Thus according to Dewey the main purpose of school discipline is the cultivation in the pupils of social attitudes, interests and habits and ideas of conduct through the conjoint activities of the school which has been organized as a community.

Dewey’s Conception of the Curriculum

Dewey had no faith in the traditional curriculum as it cannot fulfill the aim of education set forth by him. He did not believe in the faculty theory of psychology which divides the mind into different compartments such as memory, imagination, perception, judgment etc.

The traditional curriculum does not take into account the child's nature and so he has discarded it. To Dewey, it is the child's own activities around which the school subjects should be organized, not around subjects like science, literature, history, geography etc. Dewey’s curriculum includes the “occupations” and “associations” which serve the needs of man. Social experiences should form the main factors of the curriculum.

Thus the curriculum in the primary school should be organized according to the fourfold interests of the child in conversation, inquiry, construction and artistic expression. Dewey’s curriculum is based on the actual experiences, interests and impulses of the child. According to Dewey the curriculum should consist of "educative experiences and problem”. Dewey has proposed an integrated curriculum and followed the principle of correlation in the organization of subjects. Dewey’s scheme of curriculum also included aesthetic, religious and moral education.

Dewey’s Methods of Teaching

Dewey’s methods of teaching consist of three processes

1. Continuance of psychological order in the curriculum.
2. Retention of problem or project method.
3. Extension of social opportunity.

In the project and problem method, which Dewey advocated, the child’s interests and purposes are the most important things. In this method Dewey laid down the following five steps as essential: 

1. The  pupil  should  have  a genuine situation of experiences.
2. A genuine problem should arise from this situation and should stimulate the thinking of the child. 
3. The child should obtain information or make observation needed to deal with the problem.
4. The suggested solution should occur to him.
5. He should have an opportunity to test ideas by application.

Dewey’s Conception of Democracy in Education

According to Dewey, democracy means “equality opportunity for everyone; it means the emancipation of the mind as an individual organism to do its own work”. It means freedom of thought as well as action.

Dewey wants that education should reflect democratic rights. They should have some say in matters of school organization, selection of text books, methodology of teaching etc. the school authorities should not dictate in these matters.

A democratic system of education aims at the development of individuality without obstacles form outside. This development means self-directed development. In a democratic system of education the children will be trained to think, to act, to develop qualities of initiative, independence and of an intelligent citizen. Discipline in a democratic system of education will be free and through self-government in the school.

Dewey’s Contribution to Education

Dewey was an educational thinker and organizer par excellence. He was a great philosopher, psychologist and educationist. His influence is far-reaching. He has contributed immensely to every aspect of education in America as well as outside. His motto was change for the better. He was more for practice than theory, more for experimentation than speculation, more for action than thoughts. We are grateful to Dewey for his lasting service to education. He was the pioneer of the “activity movement” in education.

The fusion of psychological and sociological aspects of education is the greatest contribution that Dewey made to educational thought.