THE POSITION OF THE CHILD IN THE PEDAGOGICAL CONCEPTION OF JOHN DEWEY

Abstract

This work will be about the pedagogy of John Dewey, and more concretely, the position of the child in his theory. Firstly we are going to elaborate on the pedagogy of pragmatism, its historical, political and societal context (Liberal tradition of New England, societal and political circumstances in the USA) as well on the philosophical and scientific mood of the early twentieth century (Radical and progressive changes in the science of psychology, Darwinian theory of evolution, English empiricism, American pragmatic philosophers: William James and Charles Sanders Pierce). After giving the explanatory introduction of his philosophy and the historical and societal context he was working in, we are going to move on to his educational theories and shortly linger on the basic characteristic of his pedagogy (importance of experience and interaction, democracy, importance of instincts and habits). And finally we can elaborate on the main theme of the work: the Copernican revolution of Dewey and by that we mean, Dewey reversing the classical educational paradigm, instead of placing the teacher as the supreme “monad” (as was the practice through history, except Rousseau in his romantic writings), putting the child in the center of the educational process.
We are going to extrapolate this theory through five key concepts: the power of the instincts, learning by doing, mediatory role of the interest, and individuality as a token of the child’s personality and the child as a societal mover. Conclusion and critique come in the end.