Democracy and Education by John Dewey

With a Critical Introduction by Patricia H. Hinchey

John Dewey, Patricia H. Hinchey

• Publisher: Myers Education Press
• Year: 2018
• ISBN:
  9781975500221
• Topic: Education
• Subtopic: Education Theory & Practice

Some hundred years after John Dewey worked to illuminate what it means to educate and how public education serves as the bedrock of democracy, his seminal Democracy and Education speaks urgently not only to critical contemporary educational issues but to contemporary political issues as well. As mania for testing forces a steadily narrowing curriculum, Dewey explains why democracy cannot "flourish" if "the chief influences in selecting subject matter of instruction are utilitarian ends narrowly conceived for the masses." As such utilitarian subject matter is increasingly placed online, isolating individual students and their electronic screens, he insists that education happens not through direct instruction but "indirectly by means of the environment" where members of a community engage in meaningful tasks. As the American population appears increasingly subject to rhetorical manipulation and ideological extremism, Dewey imagines the possibility of education cultivating "habits of mind which secure social changes without introducing disorder." Insightful and inspiring, Dewey's classic reintroduces readers to educational and political possibilities hard to remember as political and corporate forces to work reshape American public schools in the service of global profit rather than democratic life.Myers Education Press's Timely Classics in Education offer readers the opportunity to return to the original works of giants whose influence on education have persisted through the years. Critical introductions to each work offer information on the context of the original work as well as insights into current relevance. For readers unfamiliar with each text, the introductions provide entrée to the work; for experienced readers, the series offers an opportunity to return to original works untainted by the distortions of decades of interpretation. Unlike poorly produced facsimile editions, Timely Classics are high-quality products. They can be adopted for use in many types of education classes. Perfect for courses in: Social Foundations of Education, Political and Social Foundations of Education, Foundations of American Education, Foundations of Education, Introduction to Education Theory and Policy, Philosophy and Education, History of American Education, and The Philosophy of John Dewey.

Contents

Introduction BY PATRICIA H. HINCHEY

I.	Education as a Necessity of Life 1.Renewal of Life by Transmission 2.Education and Communication 3.The Place of Formal Education Summary
II.	Education as a Social Function 1.The Nature and Meaning of Environment 2.The Social Environment 3.The Social Medium as Educative 4.The School as a Special Environment Summary
III.	Education as Direction 1.The Environment as Directive 2.Modes of Social Direction 3.Imitation and Social Psychology 4.Some Applications to Education Summary
IV.	Education as Growth 1.The Conditions of Growth 2.Habits as Expressions of Growth 3.The Educational Bearings of the Conception of Development Summary
V.	Preparation, Unfolding, and Formal Discipline 1.Education as Preparation 2.Education as Unfolding 3.Education as Training of Faculties Summary
VI.	Education as Conservative and Progressive 1.Education as Formation 2.Education as Recapitulation and Retrospection 3.Education as Reconstruction Summary
VII.	The Democratic Conception in Education 1.The Implications of Human Association 2.The Democratic Ideal 3.The Platonic Educational Philosophy 4.The “Individualistic” Ideal of the Eighteenth Century 5.Education as National and as Social Summary
VIII.	Aims...