Review How Philosophical contributions of John Dewey could be used for Education

John Dewey (1859-1952) was a Psychologist, Philosopher and known as father of educational philosophy and well known American educational reformer. His thoughts on education, art logic and ethics have influenced movements around the world. He was one of the founders of functional psychology and also serious representative of progressive education and liberalism. A large amount of educationists are arguing that he is the most influential thinker on education in the twentieth century. Education for children in Deweys time was teacher centered, absolute control by teacher and learning was from text and teacher lecture. At the same time, students are expected to repeat information either orally or in written form. He totally rejected this type of authoritarian teaching methods. However, Dewey believed that curriculum should be based on students interests and should involve them in active experiences; active curriculum should be integrated rather than divided in to subject matter segments; teachers are responsible for achieving the goals of the school, but the specific topics to be studied to meet those goals, cannot be determined in advance because they should be of the interest of the children. His educational theories were permitted by his primary ethical value of democracy. He explained that the regarding education in a democracy as a tool enabling the citizen to integrate his or her culture and vocation usefully. To accomplish these aims, Dewey said radical reform was needed on both pedagogical methods and curricula. Dewey believed that learning was active and schooling was unnecessarily long and restrictive. He believed that students should be actively involved in real life tasks and challenges. Deweys education philosophy helped forward the progressive education moment, and spawned the development of experimental education programs and experiments. Progressive education moment is based on the idea that humans learn best in real life activities with people. This model rejects the methods involving memorization and recitation and provides more active and engaging experiences for learners.