CONTRIBUTION OF JOHN DEWEY TO EDUCATION 

INTRODUCTION:

         John Dewey was an American philosopher, psychologist, and educational reformer whose
thoughts have great influence in education and social reform. John Dewey, one of the greatest
American modern thinker's, theorist and educator. He was born in 1859 and died in 1952. Dewey
is best known for his writings on education. But he also has written about many other topics,
including experience, logic, ethics, inquiry, democracy, nature, and art. His ideas have been
influential in education and social reform. He was one of the early developers of pragmatism and
functional psychology. John Dewey's thoughts have influenced all realms of educational fields.

OBJECTIVES: 

I. Contribution and works of John Dewey in the field of education.

I. CONTRIBUTION AND WORKS OF DEWEY IN THE FIELD OF EDUCATION: 

John Dewey, the legendary educationist is remembered in the classroom everyday everywhere
due to his wonderful contributions to the field of education. His pragmatism and laboratory
schools are the examples of his greatest contribution. Dewey is the most important single force in
the progressive educational movement. Building on various reforms he had been initiated and
formed a new philosophy of learning and logic of thinking. The followings are some of John
Dewey ideas about education and society.

A) Education and Democracy

           John Dewey considered two principal elements to be fundamental in strengthening

democracy, namely schools and civil society. According to Dewey, it is not enough to extend the
voting rights. It is of paramount importance to form public opinion through education as well.
The aim is to ensure effective communication among citizens, experts, and politicians. The latter
must be accountable for the policies they adopt.

         John Dewey argued that education and learning are social and interactive processes, and
thus the school itself is a social institution through which social reform can and should take
place. Thus, Dewey makes a strong case for the importance of education not only as a place to
gain content knowledge, but also as a place to learn how to live. In his eyes, the purpose of
education should not revolve around the acquisition of a pre-determined set of skills, but rather
the realization of one's full potential and the ability to use those skills for the greater good in
society. In addition to helping students realize their full potential, Dewey goes on to
acknowledge that education and schooling are instrumental in creating social change and reform.

B) John Dewey and Education:

           Along with Jean Piaget, John Dewey was one of the first major contemporaries to develop
a clear idea of what constructivism consists of. He was concerned with the learner. He wanted to
shed light on the learner as an important agent in the learning process. He had precise insights
regarding how education should take place within the classroom.
According to Dewey there are two major conflicting schools of thought regarding educational
pedagogy.

 The first is centered on the "curriculum" and focuses almost solely on the subject matter
to be taught. Dewey argues that the principal weakness in this methodology is the
inactivity of the student; within this particular framework, the child is simply the
immature being who is to be matured; he is the superficial being who is to be deepened.
 The second is "learner-centered". He argues that in order for education to be most
effective, content must be presented in a way that allows the student to relate the
information to prior experiences, thus deepening the connection with this new
knowledge.

          In addition to Dewey's ideas about how the learning process should take place, He also
reevaluated the role that the teacher should play within that process. According to Dewey, the
teacher should not be the sage on stage anymore. The role of the teacher should be that of
facilitator and guide. The teacher becomes a partner in the learning process, guiding students to
independently discover meaning within the subject area.

C) John Dewey's Philosophy of Education:

        Dewey defines 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 begins
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.

The main aims of education as advocated by Dewey are:-

1. Education leads towards Social efficiency:

           John Dewey says what nutrition and reproduction are to be considered as physiological
life, education is to social life. Man is essentially a social being, citizen, growing and thinking in
the vast complex of interest and relations. Through education he is developing reasoning in
social relations, cultivating social virtues and thus becoming socially efficient. At the same time
he is developing social awareness. Social efficiency includes economic and cultural efficiency.
In this regard the term given by the Dewey is socialization of an individual. Dewey the
development of social efficiency is one of the aims of education. To him school is a social
institution. The school should be organized in such a way that the activities of the outer world are
reflected.

2. Education is life and life is education:

        Life is a byproduct of activities and education is born out of these activities. Child lives in
the present. The future is meaningless to child. School being an extension of home provides life
experience to the child. Dewey emphasizes that education is not a preparation for life, it is life
itself. The child lives in the present. The future is meaningless to him. Hence it is absurd to
expect him to do things for some future preparation.

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 he gained
experience in its struggle to meet the needs of life. This ' struggle for existence ' is a continuous
process.

4. Education should combine theory & practice:

           The aim of education, according to Dewey should be create a balance between theoretical
and practical activities. He has stressed equal importance to both action and thought. These two
should go hand in hand.

5. Education is a process of growth:

          John Dewey words are, Growth, Unlimited and illimitable. Thus, growth must be wise and
economical and directed towards a desired end. The aim of education is more education and the
end of growth is more growth. The aim of education is more education and the end of growth is
more growth. What the child learn in the class is growth.

6. Experience as the base of philosophy:

       Dewey says that education is the process of reconstruction and reconstitution of experience
giving it a more socialized value through the medium of increased efficiency. Every generation
inherits experiences from its past generation and these experiences are modifying according to
the developing situations. With their own experience and participation individuals reconstruct
new experiences ensemble the changing circumstances and problems of life. The individual has
to face old as well as new situations and problems from time to time. Thus experience is
reorganized. The role of education is to create conditions for promotion of continuity of
experiences.

Dewey on School Curriculum of Education:

 Dewey advocates that broader curricular programs are needed and emphasis should be
placed in the total development of the person as being equally important as the
intellectual and the academic.
 The teacher is a guide and director he steers the boat, but the energy that people it must
come from those who are learning. The more a teacher is aware of the past experience of
students of their hopes, desires, chief interests the better will be.
 The teacher is engaged not simply in the training of individuals but in the formation of
the proper social life. In this way the teacher always is the prophet of the true God.
       Dewey’s curriculum is not mere scheme of studies, not a list of subjects. It is an entire range
of activities and experiences. For him subjects are only summaries and recapitulation of human
activities. He does not recommend any readymade curriculum. He rather wants the curriculum to
grow out of the student’s impulses, interest and experiences. Curriculum should consist of
educative experiences and problems. Only those experiences are educative which pay due regard
to the natural inclinations of the child in the context of social, political and economic conditions
of the society.

 Sciences
 Social Sciences
 Occupational Education
 Craft Education

Aesthetic, moral and religious education was not omitted by Dewey in the curriculum. He does
not want to give such education through lessons but by practical experience.
“A religion can be realized itself only through science, without science, religion is bound to be
forma, hypocritical and a mass of dogmas.”

Dewey's Method of Teaching and Learning:

          John Dewey is quite against the traditional methods of teaching. He emphasizes direct
experience as the basis of all methods. To him knowledge should arise from concrete and
meaningful situations. Concrete and meaningful situations should provide knowledge to the
learner. Learning if it is to be moral and sound, must come as a result of the normal experiences
of the child. Dewey considers mind as a product of activity and develops through activity.
Dewey believes that all true efforts come from a deep and natural interest in the task. If such an
interest is absent, it is necessary to arouse it, because an artificial kindling of interest will be
functionally bad. Dewey has declared that all learning which comes from artificial stimulation is
morally wrong. Hence Dewey doctrine of natural interest, efforts and motivation.

          Dewey advocated a number of methods of teaching and learning. Dewey recommended

projects to be used as teaching techniques.

• Project Method
• Activity Method

Project method: is a democratic way of learning in which cooperation and citizenship are foster.
This method stresses on self-effort in place of memorizing. Moreover there is also correlation of
activities and subjects. Since activities centered around real life problems. This procedure gives
interest to students. All learning must come as the product of experimentation. Dewey started his
experimental school as laboratory school. He wanted to test everything. His experimental method
is in tune there. Direct experience is the surest basis of all methods of instruction. The main
function of the school is to provide an environment and improvise activities for learning through
the use of their senses. It is belief that learning can be effective when it is based on the interest of
the children. Interest can be aroused when children are provided activities which have a genuine
appeal for them. Dewey emphasized
 • Self-education,
• Self-learning,
• Play-way technique
• Motivation

Activity Method: In this method learning comes indirectly in response to action, the situations
which arouse activities furnished the natural conditions for the growth of knowledge. The first
approach in any subject in any school, if thought is to be arouse and not words acquired should
be as un-scholastic as possible. In the teaching process it is to be kept in mind that knowledge of
subjects is given through natural activities. The subjects too should be correlated. He wants that
every subject should be correlated with the natural activities. Activities of children as
recommended by Dewey are:

• Carpentry
• Leather work
• Spinning
• Cooking
• Weaving

         Dewey's method of teaching is based on his pragmatic philosophy. He is of the opinion that
direct experience is the basis of all method. Knowledge takes place from concrete and
meaningful situations. Hence knowledge should come from spontaneous activities of the
children. Dewey's method of teaching are based on the principles of learning by doing activities
in connection with the life of the child.

          The project or problem method which Dewey advocated, the child's interests and purposes
are the most important things. For his problem or project 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
problems.
(4) The suggested solution(s) should occur to him.
(5) He should have an opportunity to test his ideas by application.

Dewey's contribution to educational thought and practice

(1) Dewey's social theory of education coupled with the logic of experimental method has
been very influential in the development of modern education practices.
(2) The greatest change has been in the recognition of the worth of the expense of the
child. The child is no longer regarded as a passive subject meant for the imposition of
external information but is considered an active living being those interests have to be
stimulated by participation in socially significant experience.
(3) Dewey has been one of the significant leaders who have tried to introduce a more
 human touch in the processes of education.
(4) He has been a powerful influence in interpreting the school as a commonly for the
realization of the significance of the immediate experiences and present opportunities of
the child if he is to be a contributor to the march of the social process.
(5) His insistence on activities of diverse kinds in school is also another aspect of his social
theory of education.
(6) The pragmatic method of instrumentality experimentation reacts against all kinds of
mysticism, transcendentalism and absolutism.
(7) The supreme contribution of Dewey to a philosophy of education is the theory of
scientific democratic humanism.
(8) Dewey is quite right in pleading for the wide use of the experimental method of science
in education.

Discipline:

      In the opinion of Dewey, Children are individuals whose freedom should be respected. The
new education emphasizes the freedom of the learner and aims at greater attention to distinctive
individual needs. Hence they are provided by a great degree of freedom of action and discussion.
According to him if, in a school, children are given opportunities of working as per there interest,
there will be no problem of discipline. Standard for discipline is not how silent a classroom is or
how few and uniform the kinds of tools and material that are being used, but the mount of quality
work by the individuals and the group. He stress on the view of individual freedom and social
control. The ideal aim of education is creation of the power of self-control. Self-discipline and
group-discipline develop through the will of the students themselves. According to Dewey,
through the functioning of will in the achievement of self-control and the application of social
values, children will themselves develop morally in the social environment through the natural
activities.

Concept of Values:

           In the opinion of Dewey, “Values are as unstable as the forms of clouds. They keep on
changing from time to time and reality is still in the process of making. Ideal end are remotely
connected with immediate and urgent conditions. Man naturally devotes themselves to the
present conditions than the remote. There are no fixed values for all times. Even truths are
manmade product. There is nothing like an absolute truth. Whatever fulfills, man, purposes and
desires and develops his life, is true. Truth is that which gives satisfactory results when put into
practice. Values of democracy are of great importance to John Dewey. According to Him, it is
only through democracy that an individual can realize maximum development of his personality.
The aim of education is the creation of new values. The educator should educate the individuals
to develop values for themselves. For the creation of new values, activity and experience are
important. Education should provide physical, intellectual, moral and aesthetic activities as the
media for the creation of values.

SUMMARY:
           The tradition of John Dewey has observed along with the contribution and works of
authors in the field of education. Dewey’s Pragmatism, in spirit it is naturalistic, in method it is
scientific and practical, in purpose it is social and human. It strongly believe in the reality of
change over permanence, the relativity of values, the social and biological nature of man, the
importance of democracy as a way of life, the value of critical intelligence in all human
conduction, social virtues are of great importance to John Dewey. In the end Dewey’s
philosophy variously termed as experimentalism, functionalism, instrumentalism,
operationalism, progressivism, practicalism and above all pragmatism

REFERENCES:

1. Aggarwal. J.C. (1972). Educational Philosophers and thinkers. New Delhi: Arya Book depot.
2. Arulsamy. S. (2014).Contemporary India in Education. Hyderabad: Neel kamal Publications.
3. Dash. B.N (2004). Contemporary India in Education. New Delhi: Neelkamal Publications Pvt.
Limited.
4. Meenakshisundaram (2011). Contemporary India in Education. Dindigul: Kaviyamala
Publishers