Dewey

Bulletin of the Transilvania University of Braşov

Series VII: Social Sciences • Law • Vol. 4 (53) No. 2 - 2011

JOHN DEWEY AND PROGRESSIVISM IN

AMERICAN EDUCATION

Lucian RADU

1

Abstract: This paper is focused on Progressivism, as a reaction against the American traditional school in order to accomplish the purpose of

connecting education to the realities imposed by the rapid changes of the

American society. Progressivism was developed by John Dewey’s pedagogic

theory, being based on Pragmatism, a specific American philosophy, and on

instrumentalism, one of its variants to which John Dewey conferred its

climax. Experience represented the core concept of his philosophy. After

revising this philosophical current, the paper will deal with John Dewey’s

pedagogic theory insisting on the method of solving problems as a general

method of instruction. The importance of the two schools (Dalton Plan and

Winnetka), both based on the progressive theory, will be highlighted.

Progressivism opened a new era in American Education based on an active

education, which took into account the students’ individualities, stimulating

teachers’ creativity and focusing on a practice based education.

Key words: progressivism, pragmatism, instrumentalism, active school.

1 Faculty of Letters, Transilvania University of Braşov.

1. Introduction

Progressivism is a constituent part of

New Education, based on pragmatism, and

it constituted a revolution in American

education, with an outstanding specificity.

It is an educational current of American

origin, and all the other orientations that

have been profiled in the second half of the

century (humanism, social meliorism, and

social efficiency) have emerged as

reactions reported to it.

Progressivism, an educational movement

that occurred at the beginning of the

twentieth century as a reaction to the

traditional school in the United States of

America, sought to establish an

educational system adjusted to the pace of

the American societal development.

It was based on John Dewey's

educational theory, having as a starting

point the pragmatism, a specific American

philosophical current and its variant,

instrumentalism, to which John Dewey

conferred the widest expression.

Dewey’s work is one ‘of the most

profound and comprehensive theoretical

syntheses developed in this century’ [7].

He made major contributions in almost

all areas of the spirit: in philosophy

(pragmatism), in pedagogy (progressivism),

in logic (instrumentalism), in psychology

(functionalism), in aesthetics (aesthetic

naturalism), in axiology (empiric

congnitivism), and so on. Dewey was

inspired by his predecessors C.S. Peirce

and W. James. The rigor of Peirce’s

rational realism influenced Dewey greatly,

while from W. James he took the ‘doctrine

of radical empiricism and the thrills of

aspiration to the universal’ [7]. The

fundamental coordinates of Dewey’s work

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are Darwinism (the transition principle)

and Hegelianism (the dialect principle).

These have generated an original

conception which, as we mentioned, Viorel

Nicolescu called ’transactional naturalism’.

Although in From Absolutism to

Experimentalism (his intellectual

biography), Dewey declares a detachment

from Hegelianism, he acknowledges in

Hegel ‘a permanent presence’ in his

thinking:

‘The synthesis made by Hegel between

the subject and object, between matter and

spirit, between divine and human, was not

a simple intellectual formula; it operated

as a huge relief, as a liberation’ [3].

As for Darwinism, the changes induced

by it impose a new logic: ‘When Darwin

said about species such as Galileo said

about the Earth, ‘et pur si muove’, he

promoted genetic and experimental ideas

to the rank of real organon of formulating

questions and finding explanations’ [5].

In fact, Dewey’s philosophy is nothing

but ‘the penetration of the scientific ideas

in American philosophic thinking; the

exclusion of fixity of species from nature;

the inclusion of man and intelligence in

nature; adopting a new biological vision

upon intelligence’ [8]. Furthermore,

Morton White would notice in Origin of

Dewey’s Instrumentalism, that the latter

became a pragmatist, an idealist who

assimilated the results of modern biology,

psychology and social sciences.

As a leading representative of

pragmatism and its variant,

instrumentalism, John Dewey was about to

conclude that his primary vocation was

philosophy.

Considering the significance of the

epistemological side that characterizes his

philosophy, we often find it in the reference

works as naturalist-instrumentalism’.

Viorel Nicolescu, in the introductory

study to Foundations for a Science of

Education, believes that, although

‘naturalist-instrumentalism’ grasps the

essential side of Dewey’s philosophy,

‘transactional naturalism is the most

adequate explanatory principle of the

philosophic system built by John Dewey’

[7]. Although the terms mentioned bear

some specific nuances, fundamental

features of pragmatism can be identified in

all.

2. Features of Pragmatism

Pragmatism ‘is a specifically American

philosophy, as western movies and big

cars are specifically American’ [10]. There

still exists a great paradox because, while

European philosophy has always looked at

American influences with reserve,

especially in this area, and has considered

pragmatism to be a philosophical concept

of American origins, American philosophy

claims to follow the European peculiarity

of this philosophical orientation.

Dewey specifies in this respect that

Santiago Charles Sanders Peirce, the

founder of pragmatism, not only borrowed

the term ‘pragmatic’ from Kant, but as the

latter sought ‘to establish the law of

practical reason in the a priori area,

Peirce also sought to interpret the

universal concepts in the area of

experience’ [7].

Above all, ‘experience’, a fundamental

and unifying concept is the core of

Pragmatism. Each experience is based on

the interaction between subject and object,

between self and its world and represents

only the result of the integration of human

being into the environment Experience

includes action and knowledge. The first

one acts on the environment modifying it

and the second means understanding the

connections within an object, which

determine its applicability in a given

situation. The process of knowing

develops when the human being is in a

problematic situation. The dual nature of

RADU, L.: John Dewey and Progressivism in American Education

87

man (biological and social), the changes

that prevail permanence are asserted by

Pragmatism; and, therefore, the relativity

of values and critical intelligence represent

an irrefutable value for human conduct.

John Dewey gives an illustrative definition

to his own philosophy, and by default, to

pragmatism considering that reality has a

practical character, expressed in the most

efficient way through the activity of

intelligence [3].

3. John Dewey’s progressive educational

theory

Based on the above mentioned

philosophical concept ‘progressivism’,

belonging to ‘new education’, is ‘a

Copernican revolution’ in pedagogy,

promoting ‘a child-centered school’.

The concept of experience is the basis of

Dewey’s theory of instruction, but his

pedagogic view is not only based on his

philosophical concept, but also on

the social, economic and cultural realities

of American society: American

democracy, industrial revolution, and

development of modern science.

In the American pedagogue’s opinion,

the educational process includes two

aspects: a psychological and a sociological

one. He considers the psychological aspect

to be fundamental and very important. The

learning capacity, which should continue

in adult life, without disappearing after

childhood, represents a very valuable

element which is developed in the concept

of permanent education. In John Dewey’s

view, growth is represented by the ability

of learning, forming habits and readjusting

activity to new conditions. In his

experimental school in Chicago, education

was focused on the child’s needs – Student

was learning by doing. The authentic

knowledge could be achieved only through

direct experience. Dewey combated the

idea that school prepared for life,

considering school as being life itself.

He claimed that a clear distinction

between content and method couldn’t be

made and that one couldn’t speak

separately about methods of teaching. The

prestigious American pedagogue is against

the idea that the personality of the teacher

should be subordinated to methods, forcing

him to stick to routine. Dewey does not

deny, however, the need for some targeting

methods. It is necessary to study the

activities that lead to success, as well as

those that lead to failure, and a general

method of instruction can be delineated.

This is how the method of solving

problems appeared. As it has been seen,

thinking is a prerequisite for acquiring

knowledge. This appears in problematic

situations as an effort of overcoming a

difficulty.

The problem-solving method:

1. In a first instance, an empirical situation is created to reproduce a

familiar situation, so that for the

child everything seems to be known.

2. As soon as he/she has started to work, obstacles that need to be

overcome appear. A problem which

stimulates thinking is created.

3. Data provided by past experience will be used in such situations.

4. Based on these elements, the student formulates hypotheses for solving

the problem.

5. The hypothesis considered to be the most adequate is chosen, and it will

be verified afterwards.

If this is confirmed, it will become an

instrument for solving future problems.

Using the method of solving problems,

Dewey stimulates learning through

discovery and discourages the

accumulation of what is transmitted by

others. The method solves in a way the

dispute between learning by effort and

learning stimulated by interest. Within the

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learning by effort, it is considered that

positive results are obtained only by force

of will, while, in the learning based on

interest, it has been demonstrated that

work without interest becomes a real

drudgery for students. The method

promotes the student’s intrinsic motivation

and spontaneous interest, and it provides

the conditions necessary for undertaking

an activity towards fulfilling that interest.

The student mobilizes his/her effort to

overcome the obstacles that may occur.

The educational system based on the

student’s freedom to choose amongst the

subjects of study is deduced by Dewey

from the theory of interest.

Dewey’s teaching theory opened the way

for an active educational system, which

has taken into account the particularities of

individual students, and has stimulated the

teacher’s creativity, giving school a

practical orientation.

4. The Progressive Schools

Two schools had a special significance

from progressive perspective, forming two

systems of organizing the educative

process: Dalton Plan and Winnetka. At

Dalton, emphasis is on individual study,

allowing the learner the freedom to

organize his/her time and to benefit from

teaching aids and laboratories. It is a

strictly individualized system in which

teaching methods are supplanted by the

individual’s effort for learning. Winnetka

system was based on individualized

education according to students’

inclinations and their creative capacity.

A number of great names in American

education have contributed to the

grounding of the theoretical basis of

progressivism: John L. Childs, G. Counts,

Boyd H. Bode, and William Heard

Kilpatrick.

Kilpatrick, for instance, was the initiator

of the project method, through which one

of Dewey’s fundamental ideas was put in

practice: learning by solving problems.

Kilpatrick established four types of

projects [9]:

� building projects, which were based on the achievement of a plan or of an

idea;

� consumer projects, which were to cultivate aesthetic taste through

literature and arts;

� problem-solving projects, as they were envisaged by J. Dewey;

� exercise projects, which led to the development of skills and abilities.

Lack of systematic knowledge leads to a

worse quality of training if the project

method is used exclusively.

The Progressivist school, especially in

the third decade, focused on two

fundamental theses from Dewey’s theory,

namely: the child and his interests are

placed in the centre of educational

activities and the rapid pace of social

change. In his work named Education for a

Changing Civilization, Kilpatrick claimed

that due to these rapid changes in society

we cannot have a clear image of the future,

and therefore we cannot formulate an

educational goal outside of its own

development. The emphasis on the two

ideas led to exaggerations in school

practice, which caused the reconsiderations

of some progressive theses and concepts.

Boyd Henry Bode, in his work Progressive

Education at the Crossroads, criticized the

anti-intellectualism of American schools, the

focus on local circumstances and on the

present, as well as the ambiguity of the

concept of growth [1].

Dewey himself comes with new

additions to his theory in Experience and

Education (1939). He draws attention to

the danger that could appear if the

emphasis on progressivism is concerned

only with the reaction against the

traditional school, without building a

theory of its own. If traditional school was

RADU, L.: John Dewey and Progressivism in American Education

89

based on imposing authority, the

progressive school dismissed any and all

authorities, did not study the past, and it

was rather concerned with the present

and the future, did not involve strict

planning, but rather occasional teaching,

the link between education and individual

experience being reaffirmed once more:

‘Education is a development through and

for experience’ [6]

We could conclude that the Progressivist

School has the following general

characteristics: its primary focus is on the

child’s interests; students are able to

choose amongst the subjects of study from

curriculum; information on the present and

the future has a special share; and, finally,

learning is attained by solving problems.

5. Reactions against J. Dewey’s Progressive Education

Although J. Dewey’s Progressive

Education was the dominant educational

orientation in the U.S. during the third and

fourth decades, reactions against it did not

delay to appear, and it became the subject

of severe criticism from some mainly

antiprogressivist orientations: perenniallism,

essentialism, and even from progressive

direction – social-reconstructionism.

Perenniallism considered that the

fundamental feature of the world is not

change, but permanence and that education

was to be carried out according to human

nature, and not by pursuing the adaptation

of the young generation to social realities.

The school was to promote the established,

permanent values that were found in the

great works of the famous authors from the

past and present.

Essentialists denied the role of school in

social engagement. The main purpose of

the school was to prepare youth

intellectually, by transmitting cultural

heritage. Training was done through

theoretical education, students being in

direct contact with fundamental values,

with what was essential and common for

humankind.

Reconstructionism criticized the

individual tendencies of Dewey’s theory

and the fact that the cultural contribution to

social changes was under-appreciated. It

did consider that school was to assume the

responsibility for building a social order in

the American democratic frame, a program

for general education, and a heuristically

oriented teaching technique.

6. Conclusions

Beyond these disputes that took place

between progressivism as a dominant

pedagogic orientation in the U.S. and

antiprogressivist trends, it should be noted

what Ion Gh. Stanciu admitted in his work,

School and Pedagogic Doctrines in the

Twentieth Century: that, as the

‘pedagogical theory promoted by John

Dewey was the subject of criticism coming

from various directions of the philosophy

of education, and the force and affirmation

of progressivism was decreasing, the

intensity of disputes was diminished as

well. American society itself has settled in

the meantime, exceeding the turmoil that

fueled the philosophical rivalry in

educational field` [11]. This does not mean

that these directions have not been

experienced during the following decades.

Essentialism and Perenniallism marked the

incipient stages of the traditional American

humanism. Reconstructionism constituted

the basis of social meliorism, and political

and business involvement organized

education on criteria of social efficiency.

Social efficient Education uses ‘modern

techniques of mathematical statistics in

experimental research, and in teaching, it

applies principles of programmed

instruction, with operational objectives, a.

clear teaching design’ [10], accountability

and standardized testing.

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