ANALYSIS OF JOHN DEWEY 2
Abstract
The purpose of this paper is to analyze and discuss the educational methodologies of philosopher
John Dewey. John Dewey was a 19th-20th century pragmatist, educator, progressivist, and
philosopher who had strong criticisms of traditional education. Dewey’s philosophy of education
strived to create democracy in education, and this idea influenced progressive educational views
and methodologies greatly. John Dewey’s influence impacted the world of education in a critical
way. Christians have the responsibility to utilize the views from philosophers such as John
Dewey but to also incorporate a philosophy of education that is built on scripture and the truths
of Jesus.
Keywords: John Dewey, educational methodologies, Christian philosophy, pragmatism,
progressivism
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An Analysis of John Dewey’s Educational Methodologies
John Dewey was a late nineteenth-twentieth century philosopher whose ideas of
education was formed from the social, political, scientific, and technological changes occurring
in the United States during the twentieth century (Ornstein et al., 2016). Dewey’s views favored
pragmatic ideas, integrating elements of evolution and relativity theories. Dewey’s pragmatic
philosophy heavily influenced progressivism, and he believed that activities that required group
cooperation increased students’ social intelligence (Ornstein et al., 2016). John Dewey’s
philosophy of education and methodologies has heavily influenced the way education is
perceived, in both positive and negative manners. Looking at Dewey’s methodologies through a
biblical worldview, it is crucial that educators analyze and incorporate pragmatic and progressive
ideas that support scripture and glorify the Lord.
Summary and Historical Context
John Dewey was born during the year 1859 in Burlington, Vermont and graduated from
the University of Vermont in 1879. He studied and began to form his progressive education
theories by reviewing and adopting the ideas of Fröbel and Francis Parker. Francis Parker was
the most famous American philosopher of progressive education and was the principal of Cook
County Normal School where Dewey’s children were enrolled in 1894 (Do, 2022). In 1896,
Dewey founded his Laboratory School at the University of Chicago. He used the school as an
experimental setting, calling it a “miniature society” and an “embryonic community.” The
purpose of the school was to test classroom practices and educational ideas in a space where
children could work collaboratively to solve problems. Dewey arranged the curriculum in
activities that developed students’ sensory and physical coordination, allowed students to do
things based on their interests, and encouraged students to test their ideas (Ornstein et al., 2016).
ANALYSIS OF JOHN DEWEY 4
Moving forward, Dewey’s experimentalist philosophy of using the scientific method to
solve problems influenced the main learning method at the Laboratory School. Dewey thought
that the scientific method was the best way for students to learn how to think reflectively and
direct their experiences in ways that strengthen their personal and social growth (Ornstein et al.,
2016). Dewey then developed a method called “The Complete Act of Thought.” This method is a
sequence of five steps: “encountering a “problematic situation” that contains something new or
different from past experience and that blocks ongoing activity, locating and defining the specific
new or different feature that is causing the problem, reflecting on past experience and
researching the problem to find information to use in solving it, reflecting on the problem and
constructing possible solutions to solve it, and finally, testing the possible solution that is most
likely to solve the problem to determine if it works” (Ornstein et al., 2016, p 4.7). Dewey
believed that education was a social process in which children learn to share and participate in
group life (Ornstein et al., 2016). John Dewey focuses heavily on the intellectual adaptations of
humans and strives to do justice for the critical and reflective phase of human experience
(Stroud, 2011).
John Dewey developed a curriculum for education that involves three levels of learning
activities and processes. The first level in Dewey’s curriculum is “making and doing,” and this
level engages students to participate in projects, explore their environment, and act on their
ideas. These types of activities allow students to develop their motor and sensory skills while
socializing and collaborating with others in a group (Ornstein et al., 2016). The second level of
Dewey’s curriculum is “history and geography,” and this level allows students to view space and
time through a wider lens. The third and final level of Dewey’s curriculum is “science,” and this
level introduces students to various sciences such as biology, chemistry, and social science. This
ANALYSIS OF JOHN DEWEY 5
level allows students to see how to use these subjects to solve problems. These three levels of
curriculum allow students to carefully observe the environment, plan actions, and reflect on the
consequences of actions (Ornstein et al., 2016). Dewey added his own personal aspect to
pragmatism; experimentalism. His ideas of humans being biological, social, and verbal creatures
were influenced by Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution. His entire idea of education and
developed curriculum was based on the fact that humans live together in an environment and
gain experiences that aid them in problem solving and personal growth (Ornstein et al., 2016).
Critical Analysis
When viewing John Dewey’s philosophy of education, his concepts and ideas are
essential for learning. Students must learn how to reflect and utilize their experiences to enhance
personal and social growth. Pragmatism focuses on epistemology, the idea of how humans
construct their knowledge in an ever-changing world rather than on metaphysical constants
(Ornstein et al., 2016). John Dewey added experimentalism to his version of pragmatism in
education. Students are to utilize their experiences to analyze their environments in order to
understand how to react. Pragmatism rejects any of the idealist and realist points of views
because any claim to truth is a tentative declaration that is able to be tested and revised as more
research is collected (Ornstein et al., 2016). This idea of pragmatism rejects the biblical
worldview because there is one definite truth, and this truth cannot be altered.
A biblical worldview teaches people that God created the world and everything that exists
inside of it, the Bible is the inspired Word of God revealed to mankind, and the savior of the
world came down in the human body of Jesus Christ and died for the sins of the world in order
for every person to have eternal life in Heaven with God and His son (Wayne, 2023). A biblical
worldview is summed up in this one verse; “For this is how God loved the world: He gave his
ANALYSIS OF JOHN DEWEY 6
one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life”
(John 3:15, NLT, 2008). Truth is absolute, unlike the views of pragmatism. This truth can only be
understood when submission to the Lord happens (Wayne, 2023). “Jesus told him, “I am the way,
the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me” (John 14:6, NLT,
2008).
Christians are continuously entering the world of education as public school educators. It
is important to incorporate research and the philosophies of those such as John Dewey, but it is
significantly more crucial for Christian educators to develop a philosophy of education that has a
biblical foundation (Bartlett, 2007). Christian educators cannot explicitly teach the Word of God,
but they can demonstrate the love of Christ through their actions. The idea of incorporating the
love of Jesus inside the classroom is a non-negotiable aspect to education for Christians.
Conclusion
John Dewey was a pragmatic philosopher who believed that traditional education cannot
be repeated. He believed that educators needed to experiment and use the classroom as a
laboratory to test how they teach to determine if learners are understanding and growing. Dewey
developed a curriculum with three levels and a five-step method that allows students to utilize
their experiences to guide their ability to problem solve (Ornstein et al., 2016). Although Dewey
had many ideas that benefited education, his ideas of truth completely rejected the biblical
worldview. Christian educators have an obligation to incorporate Christ into the classroom in a
way that promotes a biblical worldview. Students have to adapt to an ever-changing world;
however, the idea that truth is tentative is very wrong. There is one truth in the world that is
constant, and that truth is that Jesus died on the cross to save the world from their sins, and
whoever shall believe in him will live eternally with Him in heaven.
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References
Bartlett, J. C. (2007). A Christian philosophy of education of a public school educator. Christian
Perspectives in Education, 1(1).
Do, T. (2022). Progressive education: Views from John Dewey’s education philosophy. Wisdom,
4(3), 22–31. https://doi.org/10.24234/wisdom.v4i3.907
NLT Study Bible. (2008). Tyndale House Publishers.
Ornstein, A. C., Levine, D. U., Gutek, G., & Vocke, D. E. (2016). Foundations of Education
(13th ed.). Cengage Learning.
Stroud, S. R. (2011). John Dewey and the Artful Life: Pragmatism, Aesthetics, and Morality (1st
ed.). Pennsylvania State University Press.
Wayne, I. (2023). What is a Biblical Worldview. Christian Worldview.
https://christianworldview.net/
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