1. Karna Bahadur Chongbang
MPhil in Education
13th Batch

2. John Dewey,
an American Educational Philosopher

3. Educational philosophy of Dewey
“Education is a social process.
Education is growth.
Education is not preparation
for life; Education is life
itself.”
John Dewey

4. Positions of the prevalent Philosophies
Zais(1976) has classified the prevalent philosophical
positions into three divisions:
Other-worldly philosophies: religious philosophies,
Idealism etc.
Earth –centered philosophies: realism, materialism,
naturalism, positivism etc.
Man-centered philosophies: pragmatism, existentialism,
post-modernism etc.

5. A Brief Biography of John Dewey
Born on Oct. 20, 1859, Burlington, Vermont, United
States, died in 1952, New York.
Academic career development: graduation from the
University of Vermont in 1879, Ph. D. in Philosophy
from Johns Hopkins University in 1884.
Professional career: high school teacher in Oil City
and at a private elementary school in Vermont,
an assistant professor at the University of
Michigan(1886-1888), a professor at Minnesota
University(1888-1894),University of Chicago(1894-
1904), Columbia University(1904-1952) the president of
the American Psychological Association(APA) (1899),
president of the American Philosophical
Association(1905)

6. Cont….
Father of educational philosophy
Recognized as founder of philosophical movement
of Pragmatism
A leader of progressive education movement
A founder of functional psychology

7. Metaphysics of Dewey’s philosophy
Generic traits of natural existence
Naturalistic metaphysics
Empirical basis
A change in inter-dynamics of organism and
environment relationship
Perceptual world

8. Ontology of Dewey’s Philosophy
Reality is in the realm of everyday personal
experience.
None of us have had an identical set of life
experiences.
Reality is somewhat different for all of us.

9. Epistemology of Dewey’s
philosophy
Knowing(process of construction) rather than
knowledge(product)
Knowledge is the result of successful inquiry,
whereas Knowing consists in using one’s
intelligence in given inquiries. Intelligence is
stabilized knowledge which can be utilized in
other inquiries(Boyles,2006).

10. Axiology of Dewey’s Philosophy
Relativity of value
Values are situational.
Values are relative to time, place and circumstance.

11. Dewey’s philosophy and educational theory
Pragmatism
(Educational Philosophy)
Progressivism
(Educational Theory)

12. Difference between philosophy
and theory

13. Interpretive perspective towards
philosophy, theory and practice
“The philosophical is the easiest approach, the
theoretical is more difficult and more useful, and the
practical is the most difficult and the most useful of
all.
There can be philosophical knowledge — very general
ideas; there can be theoretical knowledge — when you
calculate things; and there can be practical knowledge
— when you can observe and make experiments.
Philosophical is thinking, theoretical is talking, and
practical is doing, the practical is the most important.”
Ouspensky(n.d.)

14. Cont…
Pragmatism
Founded by Charles S. Peirce(1839-1914), William
James(1842-1910) and John Dewey(1859-1952)
The term ‘pragmatic’ coined and used by Peirce but
linked pragmatism with education by Dewey.
Fundamental principles of pragmatism
 No ultimate value, formation of value during the
course of activity
Emphasis on experiment in life for practical
implication
Emphasis on the principle of practical utility
Reality always in the making process

15. Cont……
 Changing nature of truth
 Truth is constructed from experience
 Knowledge is tentative
 Emphasis on social and democratic values
 Opposition to fixed ideas and values
 Inductive logic
 Importance of activity
 Faith in present life
 Opposition to social customs and traditions
 Faith in pluralism
 Faith in flexibility
 School as community
 Education is life but not preparation for life

16. Cont…
Progressivism
 Progressivism is an educational theory rooted in
pragmatism philosophy.
 Schools are laboratory for pedagogical reform and
experimentation.
 Established a laboratory school at University of Chicago in
1903 to practice educational/pedagogical theories
 Opposes to the traditional education/school practices like
(i) authoritarian teachers, (ii)book based
instruction,(iii)passive memorization of factual
information,(iv)the isolation of schools from society, and
(v) using physical and psychological coercion to class room
management.

17. Basic Elements of progressive
Education
Two elements of progressive education that detached
progressive education from traditional formal
education.
 Respect for diversity i.e. own abilities, interests,
ideas, needs and cultural identities(child centered).
 Critical, socially engaged intelligence i. e.
participation in community (social re-
constructivist).

18. Progressive education
Emphasis on learning by doing – hands-on projects, experiential
learning
Integration of entrepreneurship in to education
Strong emphasis on problem solving and critical thinking
Group work and development of social skills
Understanding and action as the goals of learning as opposed to
rote knowledge
Collaborative and cooperative learning projects
Education for social responsibility and democracy
Highly personalized education accounting for each individual's
personal goals
Integration of community service and service learning projects into
the daily curriculum
De-emphasis on textbooks in favor of varied learning resources
Emphasis on lifelong learning and social skills
Assessment by evaluation of child’s projects and productions

19. Difference between traditional and
pragmatic/progressive education
Traditional education Progressive education
School is preparation of life.
Learners are absorbers of
information and authority.
Teachers are sources of
information and authority.
Parents are outsiders and
uninvolved.
Community is separate from
school, except for funding.
School is a part of life.
Learners are active
participants, problem
solvers and planners.
Teachers are facilitators,
guides who foster
thinking.
Parents are primary
teachers, goal setters and
planners.
Community is an
extension of the class
room.

20. Cont...
Traditional education Progressive education
Knowledge is a
product.
Learning is linear, with
factual accumulation
and skill mastery.
Knowledge is absorbed
through lectures,
worksheets and texts.
Curriculum is
predetermined
Knowledge is process.
Learning is spiral with
depth breadth as goals.
Knowledge is
constructed through
play, direct experience
and social interaction
No predetermined
curriculum

21. Educational Philosophical
approaches to the current world
Applied philosophy
Process philosophy
Anti-foundationalist philosophy
Analytical philosophy

22. Reflection
Education, student and society are tripartite.
Present life is the most important, the contents of the
learning have to emphasize present utility.
Learning is the process of reorganization and
reconstruction of experiences.
Big philosophies and theories like pragmatism and
progressivism are the guiding principles for the
educational professionals to judge, monitor, and lead
their professional attitude and confidence.
Dewey has paved pragmatic philosophical ground to
enjoy a practical life through practical education.

23. References
Anonymous(2002). A brief overview of progressive education.
Retrieved from http://www.uvm.edu/-
dewey/articles/proged.html
Anonymous(2012). Differece between traditional and progressive
education. Independent schools. Retrieved from
http://www.wingraschool.org/who/progressive.htm
Boyles , D.R.(2006). Dewey’s epistemology: an argument for
warranted assertions, knowing, and meaningful classroom
practice. Educational policy studies faculty publications.
Retrieved from http://www. scholarworks.gsu.edu/epsfacpub/7
Ouspensky, P.D.(n.d.). Lecture 32- philosophy, theory and
practice. Retrieved from
http://www.ardue.org.uk/university/system/lect32.html
Zais, R.S.(1967). Curriculum: principles and foundations .
London: Harper and Row publication, publishers.

24. Post presentation
Suggestions
Comments
Queries
Integration

25. Thank you very much