Dewey's pedagogical principles: school as life itself, no subject with educational value on its own, and education for all citizens¶

Theory · All theories
Evidence · no claims cited

Description¶

The article presents a set of Deweyan pedagogical principles against which it evaluates the Turkish education project. According to these principles, "school should not be a preparation for life but life itself"; no lesson or subject can attribute educational value on its own; education has intrinsic rather than instrumental value; and the education system should be democratically localized with autonomous schools. The article uses this framework as the reference point for its balance-sheet assessment of Turkish modernization.

Design Implications¶

Context¶

Requirements¶

• The framework is applied as a philosophical lens for evaluating education systems' alignment with libertarian and democratic values

Constraints¶

• The article notes Dewey in Turkey was discovered late, often misunderstood and misintroduced, and seen only as an education philosopher

Target Learners¶

• all citizens, per Dewey's democratic requirement of education for all

Target Learning Objectives¶

• democratic citizenship and the intrinsic value of education

Claims¶

Related Theories¶

• Mead's social conception of education recognizing both the child and society
• Pragmatism and Progressivism (Educational Philosophy)
• Dewey's moral deliberation as dramatic rehearsal of competing possible lines of action

Examples¶

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Key Sources¶

• Özsoy, S. (2009). "Turkish Modernization," Democracy, and Education: An Analysis from Dewey's Perspective. Educational Sciences: Theory & Practice, 9(4). https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ867373