JOHN DEWEY: BIOGRAPHY, THEORIES AND CONTRIBUTIONS - PSYCHOLOGY - 2024

John Dewey (1859-1952) was an American philosopher, psychologist and pedagogue considered the most relevant philosopher in his country during the first half of the 20th century. He was one of the founders of the philosophy of pragmatism and one of the most representative figure of progressive pedagogy in his country.

The philosopher was one of the characters that most influenced the development of pedagogical progressivism, being quite original, insightful and very influential in the United States. Furthermore, he is one of the coolest educators of contemporary times.

She dedicated herself to defending equality for women and promoting teacher unionism. It also promoted aid to intellectuals who had been exiled from their countries as a result of the totalitarian regimes that haunted them.

Dewey was billed as a man of action, who advocated the unification of thought and action, of theory and practice. Proof of this is that he was an important piece in the educational reforms and a promoter of different pedagogical methods in the different universities where he worked.

Biography

Birth and first studies

Dewey was born in the city of Burlington, located in the United States, on October 20, 1859, where he was born into a family of settlers of humble origin.

In 1879 he graduated in Arts from the University of Vermont. After graduation he served as a school teacher in Pennsylvania.

In 1881, Dewey decided to continue his university studies. So he moved to Baltimore, Michigan, where he enrolled at John Hopkins University. There he began his studies in the philosophy department.

Dewey was influenced by the Hegelian atmosphere of the university campus. So much so, that Hegel's mark on his life is reflected in three of his features. The first was his taste for logical schematization.

The second was his interest in social and psychological issues. And the third was the attribution of a common root to the objective and the subjective, as well as to man and nature. By 1884, Dewey obtained his doctorate thanks to a thesis on the philosopher Immanuel Kant.

Work experience

After obtaining his doctorate, Dewey began his career as a professor at the University of Michigan, where he taught between 1884 and 1888, and was also the director of the philosophy department.

Dewey met his first wife while still living in Michigan. Her name was Alice Chipman and she had been one of his students, who came to college after spending years teaching at various Michigan schools. Alice was one of the great influences on Dewey's orientation toward the formation of pedagogical ideas.

Image of John Dewey from 1902. Eva Watson-Schütze / Public domain

After marrying Alice, Dewey became interested in public education. In fact, he was one of the founding members of the Michigan Doctors Club, also serving as its administrator. From this position, he was in charge of fostering cooperation between secondary school teachers and state higher education teachers.

Subsequently, Dewey served as a professor at the University of Minnesota and the University of Chicago. This opportunity came when William Rainey Harper, the president of said university, invited him to be part of the new institution. Dewey agreed, but insisted that he be given the leadership of a new department of pedagogy.

In this way Dewey managed to create an "experimental school", where he could put his ideas to the test. The pedagogue spent 10 years at the University of Chicago, from 1894 to 1904, and it was there that he developed the principles that based his philosophy on educational models.

When Dewey left the University of Chicago, he went to Columbia University, where he served as a professor from 1904 to 1931 when his retirement as professor emeritus came in 1931.

Between 1900 and 1904, Dewey also took over teaching the Pedagogy course at New York University. The university was launching its School of Pedagogy, reason why Dewey was one of the first professors of the school.

He died in New York on June 1, 1952.

Dewey's pedagogical approach

Underwood & Underwood / Public domain

Dewey became interested in educational theory and practice since he was in Chicago. It was in the experimental school that he created in that same university when he began to contrast the educational principles.

The pedagogue conceived the school as a space for the production and reflection of relevant experiences of social life. It was this, according to him, which allowed the development of full citizenship.

John Dewey believed that what was offered in the educational system of his time was not enough to provide adequate preparation, which was adjusted to life in a democratic society.

That is why the so-called "experimental method" of his pedagogy was based on an education that marked the relevance of factors such as individual skill, initiative and entrepreneurship.

All this to the detriment of the acquisition of scientific knowledge. In fact, his vision of education had a great influence on the changes that American pedagogy underwent in the early 20th century.

Approach between curriculum and student

Many scholars place Dewey's pedagogical approach somewhere in the middle between conservative pedagogy that focused on the curriculum and pedagogy that focused on the student. And, although Dewey focused the pedagogy on the child and his interests, he also highlighted the need to relate these interests to the social content defined in the school curriculum.

This means that although individual skill must be valued, these characteristics are not an end in themselves, but must serve as enablers of actions and experiences. And in this case the role of the teacher would be to exploit such abilities.

To understand Dewey's pedagogical ideas, it is essential to take into account the instrumentalist position on which his philosophical thought was based. According to his approach, thought is basically a tool that allows people to act on reality, while being nourished by it.

This means that knowledge is nothing more than the result of people's experiences with the world. In short, knowledge is simply a thought that first passes through action.

Ideas about learning and teaching

Hu Shih and his teacher John Dewey. Source: Collected Writings of Hu Shih, Volume 11

Dewey argued that learning, both for children and adults, was achieved through confrontation with problematic situations. And that these situations appeared as a consequence of the person's own interests. It is concluded then that to learn it is mandatory to have experiences in the world.

Regarding the role of the teacher, Dewey stated that this was the one who should be in charge of creating stimulating environments for the student. By doing so, the teacher could develop and guide the students' ability to act. This should be so because for Dewey students are active subjects.

Although he defended student-centered pedagogy, he understood that it was the teacher who had to do the work of connecting the contents present in the curriculum with the interests of each of the students.

For Dewey knowledge could not be transmitted repetitively, nor could it be imposed from outside. He said that this blind imposition of the contents made the student lose the possibility of understanding the processes that were carried out to achieve the construction of that knowledge.

Student role and impulses

One of Dewey's most relevant postulates about education was precisely the role that students had in learning. The pedagogue claimed that children could not be considered as clean, passive blackboards on which teachers could write lessons. It could not be this way because when the child arrived in the classroom, he was already socially active. In this case the objective of education should be to guide.

Dewey pointed out that at the beginning of schooling, the child carries four innate impulses:

- The first is to communicate

- The second is to build

- The third is to inquire

- The fourth is to express yourself.

On the other hand, he also talked about the fact that children bring with them interests and activities from their home, as well as the environment in which they live. The teacher's task is then to use these resources to guide the child's activities towards positive results.

Democracy and education

David Dubinsky greets John Dewey on his 90th birthday, October 20, 1949. Kheel Center / CC BY (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)

The book Democracy and Education, published by Dewey in 1976, has been one of the most relevant works of pedagogy in the 20th century. The author revealed in this book the political and moral issues that were implicit in the educational discourses of the time.

Dewey argues that the educational system of a democracy should be characterized by the existing commitment between educational centers and the promotion of cultural content, as well as organizational modalities.

The educational system contributes to the formation of people committed to both the values ​​and the democratic models of society. For this reason, Dewey states in this work that education is also a form of political action, since it forces people to reflect on and value the different social, economic, political, cultural and moral dimensions of the society in which they live.

The importance of this book in the world of pedagogy is in all the issues that the author addresses in it. Dewey not only reflects on issues related to the purpose of education or social function, but also on issues related to teaching methods, the importance of cultural content, educational values, social aspects, among many others.

In this work, the North American author also highlights an important question about the dimension of the child's learning in school. Dewey firmly believed that people achieve fulfillment by putting their talents to use, all with the goal of doing good in the community.

Based on this idea, he considered that in any society, the main function of education should be to help children develop a “character”, that is, a set of skills or virtues that will allow them to achieve their goals in the near future.

Schools in America

Dewey believed that schools in America were not up to this task. The problem was that the educational system used very "individualistic" methods of teaching. This type of method is clearly seen when all students are asked to read the same books simultaneously.

With this individualistic system there is no room for each child to express their own social impulses and rather they are forced to all recite practically the same lessons in chorus.

Dewey considered that this method atrophied these impulses of the boy, reason why the teacher did not have the opportunity to take advantage of the true capacities of the student. Instead of stimulating them, this social spirit is replaced by the exaltation of individualistic behaviors that reinforce fear, rivalry, emulation and, above all, judgments of superiority and inferiority.

The latter is especially harmful for the child, since it causes the weakest to gradually lose their sense of capacity. Furthermore, the situation forces them to accept a position of inferiority.

In contrast, the strongest are capable of achieving "glory", but not precisely because they have more merits, but because they are stronger. Dewey's approach pointed to the need to create favorable conditions in the classroom that could foster the social spirit of children.

Notable works

In addition to Democracy and Education, Dewey produced other publications throughout his long professional career. Some of the most prominent are:

- Psychology (1886)

- Studies in Logical Theory (1903)

- Experience and Objective Idealism (1907)

- Experience and Nature (1925)

- Logic: Theory of Inquiry (1938)

- Problems of Men (1946)

Recognitions

Stamp in tribute to the American philosopher. USPS / Public domain

Dewey's work was highly valued in life and numerous awards or distinctions received. Some of those that could be highlighted are:

- He has been Doctor "honoris causa" by the Universities of Oslo (1946), Pennsylvania (1946), Yale (1951) and Rome (1951).

- He was alma mater by the University of Vermont and Johns Hopkins University.

- There are numerous schools or learning academies named after him. Among others in New York, Wisconsin, Denver, Ohio, Michigan or Massachusetts.

Legacy

The legacy of Dewey's work has been to leave open an approach for critical reflection on educational models. In addition, its postulates are a must-read for those who want to engage with the social problems present in school institutions.

For many scholars, the problem of education today continues to be rooted in what Dewey said, that the problem with most schools is that they do not aim to transform society, but only to reproduce it.