A Study Of Dewey’s Philosophy Of Education

The role of education in human society has been valued by theorists since ancient times.The fundamental concept of education is a fundamental issue related to people’s own cognition,development and perfection,as well as social progress and the establishment of a good national order.As a result,the purpose,value,method,and function of education have become the theoretical objects of exploration since the existence of educational activities,and the philosophy of education has thus emerged.From the perspective of the history of educational philosophy,there are many educational philosophers who have had a significant impact in the West,among which Plato,Rousseau,and Dewey are the three most outstanding representatives.Plato’s Republic,Rousseau’s Emile,and Dewey’s Democracy and Education are also considered three milestones in the history of Western education.Plato’s elite education has obvious class color,while Rousseau’s naturalistic education expresses distrust of modern civilization.Dewey is the true founder of modern educational thought,and his educational philosophy is a new thought after the great development of modern natural sciences,significant achievements in industrial civilization,and the great changes in the philosophical concept itself.Dewey’s reshaping of educational philosophy,theoretical construction,and advocacy for progressive education have deeply influenced the educational concepts and practices of many countries.Dewey regarded educational philosophy as the “most important aspect of philosophy” and opposed viewing it as only a branch of philosophy,emphasizing the consideration of educational issues in the context of philosophy as a whole.Influenced by Hegel,Dewey regarded the theory of constructing a “comprehensive systemic wholeness” as a vision that experiential naturalism can expect,hoping to introduce a new philosophical method through the “philosophical turn”,and education is the laboratory of this new philosophical method.In Dewey’s educational philosophy,there are no clear boundaries in many fields such as education,politics,morality,and aesthetics.A series of dualistic issues can be resolved within a unified theoretical perspective.Dewey believed that the origin and development of philosophy are the same process as the process of thinking about educational issues,and narrowly understood education as only related to training skills or imparting knowledge,tearing apart the internal unity between philosophy and education.This is the root cause of the binary opposition between knowledge and truth,mind and body,individual and society,and other forms.Dewey’s educational philosophy is a concentrated embodiment of the spirit of pragmatism.Dewey’s pragmatism has two unique elements: one is to adhere to a thorough empirical stance,viewing experience as a continuous and interactive process as a whole;Another approach is to focus on scientific experimental methods,understanding scientific exploration as a purposeful adaptation process to difficulties in specific contexts.Both of these elements highlight the core position and role of experience.On this basis,Dewey reshaped the close connection between education and social life practice,understanding interests,needs,habits,games,reflection,and the connection between life and learning as internal logical elements of the educational process.Dewey proposed highly innovative views such as “education is life”,“education is growth”,and “education is the transformation of experience”,breaking the traditional academic education concept and fundamentally changing people’s old beliefs about education and its essence.The fundamental concept of Dewey’s educational philosophy is the integration of education and experiential life,in which people,democratic society and community are integrated.The purpose of education is to cultivate what kind of citizens,build what kind of democratic society,and shape what kind of community.Dewey integrated the philosophy of pragmatism into his understanding and vision of education to change social life,developing the social ideal of generating a community into an educational philosophy,and using it to evaluate the educational value of educational goals and methods.Dewey’s educational philosophy provides us with a theoretical approach to consider the close connection between civic education and social habits,and outlines the possibility of establishing a political community.Conflicts that arise in politics can be resolved through education,which is an effective tool for promoting political progress.The elements of society are related to the concepts of personality and socialization,and the most fundamental is the affirmation of individual values and needs.Democratic education can effectively promote the realization of a more progressive society and establish an ideal political community.Dewey emphasized the importance of the education process for the mutual adaptation and integration of individuals and society,and demonstrated the importance and complexity of establishing a reasonable education system in the constantly developing modern society.The world today is facing serious challenges,from geopolitical conflicts,public health events to discussions on artificial intelligence,education must involve and address more complex and multifaceted realities.Dewey’s educational philosophy was born during the period of intense conflict and rapid development in modern society.His extensive and in-depth discussions and profound insights on education,as well as his reflections on human prosperity and peace,still have important theoretical value today.Dewey’s educational philosophy provides us with an important conceptual framework and ideological reference for understanding contemporary education and social development,which is also the reason why Dewey’s educational philosophy has been valued and studied again after a hundred years.This article will be divided into five chapters to conduct a detailed analysis and discussion of Dewey’s educational philosophy:The first chapter discusses how Dewey placed educational issues at the core of philosophical concerns in a broader philosophical context.Pragmatism,as a constructive theoretical tool,abandoned the pursuit of philosophical issues such as eternity,absoluteness and ultimate in traditional philosophy,and instead focused on“human issues”.Education began to play a role in testing and developing philosophy.This chapter analyzes the key ideas that influenced Dewey’s educational philosophy by by combing through the history of philosophy and educational thought: Hegelism,Darwin’s theory of evolution,and pragmatism.At the same time,this chapter discusses the relationship between Dewey’s pragmatic philosophy and educational philosophy,and believes that educational philosophy can be explained as the unique embodiment of his pragmatic philosophical concepts in education,which is also the theoretical basis for him to overcome educational traditions.Chapter Two discusses Dewey’s concept of experience and related educational philosophy viewpoints.Through the reconstruction of experiential naturalism,Dewey introduced experience into the entire field of social life,opening up a new perspective for the study of educational philosophy.The purpose of this chapter is to place Dewey’s educational philosophy within a broader concept of experience,in an attempt to resolve the differences between Dewey’s experience based education and traditional education.From the perspective of experiential naturalism,we can see what changes experiencebased education has brought to education.Correspondingly,Dewey pointed out that it is necessary to reform the purpose and method of education,and change the teaching content,indoctrination teaching methods,and passive learning methods that are separated from practical and cultural.Chapter Three focuses on Dewey’s educational philosophy,analyzing the connotations and significance of “education is life”,“education is growth”,and“education is the transformation of experience”.The purpose of education is the personal growth of individuals,and education should recognize this possibility.In teaching,consideration should be given to the abilities,needs,and past experiences of students,allowing for more flexibility and autonomy in the curriculum system.The teaching process will also be built around real-life needs and exploratory plans.Educational activities inevitably reflect certain value standards in order to generate experiences with educational value through the organization of contexts.In terms of educational methods,different educational approaches and the connection between education and social life were discussed.Chapter Four discusses the influence of Dewey’s democratic ideas on his educational philosophy.Democracy is a political system,but fundamentally a way of life.Dewey’s educational philosophy involves developing a democratic life that integrates into school education,with the most fundamental feature being the affirmation of individual values and needs.Dewey encourages students to experience and reflect on the constantly changing social life,which is considered to enhance children’s democratic literacy.This chapter compares Dewey in the historical context established by Plato and Rousseau,pointing out that Dewey provides a clear connection between civic education and social habits: a democratic society is the institutional environment in which education plays a role,and achieving social transformation is the greatest function of education.Dewey saw the interconnection between these themes and provided two fundamental opinions on the relationship between education and society,in order to achieve a more ideal society.Chapter Five discusses the contemporary significance of Dewey’s educational philosophy.After more than a century,Dewey’s educational philosophy is still exerting significant influence in contemporary educational theory and practice.The influence of Dewey’s educational philosophy lies not in his specific regulations on teaching content,but in the reshaping of educational concepts,the transformation and innovation of educational methods,and the exploration of teaching methods.Times are changing,and the world and content people experience are also constantly changing.The rise of artificial intelligence,the advent of the digital age,a series of public issues arising in the process of globalization,and even the emergence of global conflicts,are all vastly different from the situation faced by education a century ago.To a certain extent,Dewey’s educational philosophy not only faces the challenges of the times,but also provides a theoretical framework for thinking about contemporary educational issues.People are pleased to find that in Dewey’s educational philosophy,there still exists a useful theoretical perspective to examine various contemporary educational issues.