摘要
John Dewey (1859-1952) was a famous American philosopher and the leadingproponent of American pragmatism of education. He has shaped the educationaltheory with his ideas throughout the twentieth century. John Dewey's pragmatictheory of education challenged the traditional systems of thought and education. Itwas a reaction against both idealism and realism, two systems that had beenpopularin the mneteenth century. The traditional theories were occupied with speculationabout permanent, etemal, and self-sufficient being. According to the doctrines of animmutable good and fixed order of being, speculative philosophers were concernedwith describing metaphysical systems of immutable and necessary truths andprinciples that lay beyond human experience. In contrast, John Dewey's theory soughtto replace absolute and immutable doctrines with experimental inquiry. It argued thatthe scientific method was the method of experimental and social intelligence. He putforward a problem-solving method or a "complete act of thought" consisting of fivesteps----the scientific method broadly conceived. Dewey emphasized a changing andevolutionary universe where the human situation was not to transcend experience butrather to use it to solve human problems. In the reconstriction of experience, theoryand practice were fused and used in ongoing hunian activity. Dewey's method ofvaluation was designed to unify aims, means, and ends. His attention to social actionand education gave his theory a decidedly practical orientation.For Dewey, education was a social activity and the school was a social agencythat helped shape human character and behavior. The necessity of having a discourseon education as a social establishinent may be a tacit tribute to the impact of thepragmatic theory on educational thought. The end of education was growth.Pragmatist educators preferred flexible educational methods that could be used invarious ways. The proper method of education was experimental, flexible,open-ended, and oriented toward developing the individual's capacity to think and toparticipate intelligently in social life. In Dewey's problem-centered school, teachingand leaming were active and interactive enterprises, the ends and the means ofeducation were reciprocal and mutually reinforeing. The teacher. as a resource person,Stuided rather than directed leaming. In Dewey's learning situation, the starting pointof any activity was the learrier's felt needs. The curriculum was composed of bothprocess and content, it was not fixed or an end in itself in sum, the core of Dewey'seducational theory could be sumniarized as three points education is a necessity oflife; education is growth, education is the reconstruction of experience.educational behavior and the vocationorientation of education. In educationalpractice, the experimental method Pragmatism advocated seemed more effective inearly education of children and vocational education, but there was a sense in whichthe experimental method was arbitrarily applied at least tosome situations by thepragmatic theory. The Ainerican school curriculum suffered from a lack of clarityregarding goals and rigorous standard of academic achievement. The too muchemphasis on experience and activity in curricula helped students to develop theiroperation skills and creative capability, but neglected their academic achievement. Itdegraded the criterion of knowledge and intelligence and consequently weakened thefoundations of knowledge and intelligence. That is what Ainerican people now worrya lot in the high-tech age. However, no matter what criticism John Dewey was given,we could never understate the contributions Dewey's pragmatic theory of educationmade to education. He developed and applied the open-ended pragmatic theory toeducation and helped.to open the process of schooling to change and innovation.From Dewey's educational theory came the emphasis on experience, activity, andproblem-solving that helped to reshape our thinking about education. At present,China is experiencing educational reform and there is a great sigmficance to studyDewey's theory. We can leam something from it.The present thesis proposes to study John Dewey's pragmatic theory ofeducation against the historical background from the close ofthe nineteenth century tothe first two decades of the twentieth century in the United States. By using themethod of qualitative study, this thesis examines the theoretical bases, thecharacteristics and contents of Johii Dewey's pragmatic theory of education, and theimpacts of his theory on Anerican education. The brief critique on Dewey's theory isgiven from its strengihs and wealcnesses. I hope this perspective will contribute to abetter understanding of Johii Dewey's pragmatic theory of education.
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