Defining education, Dewey says, “Education is development of all those

capacities in the individual which will enable him to control his

environment and fulfill his responsibilities.”

For John Dewey there are no eternal and absolute values. All values
change with time and space. Man is the creator of his own values. What
is true today may cease to be true tomorrow. Man’s life is a series of
experiments and purposeful action.

 “It may be noted that the fundamental start of pragmatism is

“change”. In this sense no truth is absolute and permanent. It is
always changing from time to time, from place to place and from
circumstance to circumstance.” (Adeleye, 2017, p. 2) (free access
here)
 “[Pragmatism] can be summarized by the phrase whatever works,
is likely true.” (Sharma, Devi & Kumari, 2018, p. 1549) 

“Everything is provisional, nothing ultimate. Knowledge is always a

means, never an end itself.” It is purely instrumental. Hence the title of
Dewey’s philosophy is “Instrumentalism”.

Then Dewey believes that knowledge and thinking are closely

associated with action. They are tentative plans of action. They have to
be tested by action and by knowing the result of their being acted
upon. He affirms, “The essence of pragmatic instrumentalism is to
conceive of both knowledge and practice as means of making good.

 According to William James ”Pragmatism is a temper of mind, an

attitude, it is also a theory of the nature of ideas and truths; and finally
it is theory about reality”
                               The term ‘Pragmatism’ is derived from Greek word
‘Pragma’ meaning activity or work done. Another group of thinkers,
however, believes that ‘Pragmatism’ is derived from ‘Pragmatikos’
meaning practicability or experimentation.
Principles of Pragmatism:
1. Principle Of Utility

Everything that students learn should have ‘utility’. This means that
everything should be useful to the student. A student doesn’t care for
learning abstract theoretical ideas that they will never apply to their
lives outside of school. Instead, a student want to learn things that are
relevant to their lives. By making things relevant and useful, students
will be more engaged and eager to learn.

2. Principle Of Interest

Curriculum content should also include the students’ interests. Dewey

(a key pragmatist theorist) argues that students have four interests:
conversation, investigation, construction and creative expression.

Therefore, teachers should focus on creating lessons that involve

talking with one another, investigating things through experimentation,
making things, and being creative.

3. Principle Of Experience

Pragmatists value experience over all else. Students can learn abstract
things all day, but unless they experience those things, they may never
truly learn. Teachers should therefore create a lot of project-based,
experimental and experiential lessons that help children ‘learn by
doing’.

4. Principle Of Integration
 Curriculum content is not separate. Mathematics, science and creative
arts are not three different lessons. Instead, the pragmatic teacher links
the curriculum content together through a process we call ‘integration’.
The teacher will show students how concepts from different subjects
are related to each other and encourage a holistic understanding of the
topics they are learning.

Aim of Education in Pragmatism:

1. Education should aim at continuous reconstruction and

reorganization of experiences.
2. Development of activity and experience based learning.
3. To develop social efficiency.
4. Harmonious development of individual.
5. Education perceive through activity and experience.
6. Creation of new values and continuous growth.

Discipline in Pragmatism:
Although pragmatism does not believe in external restraint and
discipline enforced by the superior authority of the teacher and the
award of punishments. But it advocates discipline based on the
principles of child activity and interest. It believes in engaging the
children in free as well as purposeful real activities of human life. In
short description include:

1. Freedom as an important element.

2. Promotes self discipline.
3. Condemned enforced discipline and advocates social discipline
based on child’s interest, activities and sense of social responsibilities.
4. Teacher guided for self discipline.
5. Social discipline by participating in school and society.
 Merits of Pragmatism:

1. Pragmatism introduced project method which indulges child in

various creative activities and also cater to his natural progress and
development.
2. It is basically a child centered teaching approach.
3. It emphasizes upon such type of activities which can be
performed by learning by doing method.
4. Similarly, it emphasizes the practical life of child. So, pragmatic
education prepares the child for future life in a very effective manner.
5. It develops in the child the love for democratic values as well as
social efficiency which bring harmonious adjustment and development
of personality.
6. Moreover, pragmatism has revolutionized the process of
education to very great extent.

Demerits of Pragmatism:

1. It opposes pre determined truth. That is why, according to it truth

changes according to aching in circumstance, time and place and is
created by the consequences of our actions and experiences.
2. Opposition of pre-determined ideas and values. Therefore
according to them ideals and values are manmade and changes
according to change in circumstances, time and place.
3. Indeed pragmatism denies the existence of spiritual values.
4. Also it opposes intellectualism. It believes that a man’s
intelligence are subservient to his innate tendencies. This only makes
him an animal.
5. It emphasizes only the present and future.
6. Difficulty in the construction of curriculum, because selecting a
project and construction of curriculum to gain all knowledge from life
experience is very difficult.
7. Unlike other philosophical doctrine it does not lay down any aims,
ideals and values of life to be pursued by human being. Hence it cannot
be termed as philosophy of life.