SUMMARY

We pass through research from su6jective on personal

experience to oSjective validity and universal applicability.

-Robert R. Rusk
 SUMMARY
The inadequacy and irrelevance of our existing educational system with the
life of human beings has bought about an era of disillusionment in the youth. The
children are educated to store into memory the symbols, concepts, ideas, theories,
which have been developed and organized by society and thus give only a
fragmentary view of life which brings about more of conflict and confusion in their
minds. An educational system based on parts of teaching can never gave us the
perception of the whole, ‘the truth’ and education based on techniques alone, can
never bring about creative understanding.
At such a time J. Krishnamurti came as a beacon-light for the whole
humanity, in order to awaken their sleeping psyche and make them alert to ‘what is’
and not to blindly pursue knowledge which being fragmentary will eventually lead
man to total extinction, but to be attentive towards this deep crisis of human
consciousness and human values.
J. Krishnamurti and John Dewey are not teachers in the conventional sense
but teachers with a difference who want to ‘awaken the sleeping psyche of man’. J.
Krishnamurti’s and Dewey’s educational philosophy are direct outcome of their
lives and they have given a practical shape to their educational philosophy. They
believes that present system of education is not capable to develop scientific
reflective thinking and light the fire of enquiry inside students. The same thing is for
Indian Education System. Man becomes merely a cog in the wheel of the social
system and cannot dare step out, due to fear and in capabilities. This blocks the
intelligence of the individual. The main purpose of education is to awaken the
intelligence and scientific thinking.
Both the scholars believe that along with the technological and intellectual
knowledge the individual should be helped to understand his own- self and life
without any external authority. For this the educator must give all his thought, care
and attention to create democratic atmosphere with love and affection here.
The present study is an attempt to make comprehensive and systematic,
investigation of J. Krishnamurti’s and John Dewey’s educational philosophy.

166
STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
The selected problem can be entitled as;
“RELEVANCE OF EDUCATIONAL THOUGHTS OF J. KRISHNAMURTI
AND JOHN DEWEY IN THE CONTEXT OF PRESENT INDIAN
EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM”
OPERATIONAL DEFINITIONS OF TERMS USED
Relevance: Here the word relevance is defined in the context of present study,
which means that if educational thoughts are useful in solving the contemporary
educational problems then we would say that these are relevant.
Indian Educational System: Indian educational system means the prevalent system
of education in India, which was established on the pattern of English system of
education during the British rule. After India become Independent, many reforms in
the system established by the British were incorporated but in its essential nature,
hardly any alteration in its basic structure could be brought about. Hence, here the
modem system of Indian education is defined as the prevalent system of education
based on western pattern and accepted at the national level as India’s system of
education.
Educational Thoughts: The philosophical thoughts/ideas given by eminent
educationists J. Krishnamurti and John Dewey regarding Indian educational system.
In context of present study, these thoughts could be incorporated for the solution of
contemporary educational problems.

OBJECTVIES OF THE STUDY

The objectives of the present study are as follows:
1. To study the philosophical thoughts of Indian educational philosopher J.
Krishnamaurti.
2. To study the philosophical thoughts of western educational philosopher John
Dewey.
3. To study the relevance of educational thoughts of J. Krishnamurti in the
context of Present Indian Educational System.
4. To study the relevance of educational thoughts of John Dewey in the context
of Present Indian Educational System.

167
METHODOLOGY OF THE STUDY
Methodology of the research depicts the general pattern for organizing the
procedure for gathering the data for investigation. In the present study philosophical,
historical and content analysis methods have been used and their description is given
as under:
Philosophical Method
The use of philosophical methods in the field of education is made with
reference to the study of educational thoughts and ideas of great thinkers. The
rationale of philosophical method is that the fundamental principles and thoughts of
great minds can be analysed and synthesized with a view to make them relevant to
the study of contemporary practice and procedure. It is the most effective local
operation, which explicates the meaning, drains the implications and explains the
ideological controversies.
In this study philosophical method has been largely adopted because it is a
theoretical research in which the educational philosophy of J. Krishnamurti along
with John Dewey has been critically examined, analysed and synthesized. The
philosophical method lays stress on:
1 The logical analysis of educational concepts.
2 Adequacy of the methodology of educational research and
3 Integration of concepts into a system.
It also studies the application of an educational theory to educational
practice. Research in the domain of philosophy deals with ontological (foundational)
and axiological (valuation) problems of educational theorising.
Mathur’s Views, “The theoretical model is at the highest conceptual level in
the sense that in this model only the theoretical aspect of the problem is studied. In
this modal rigid philosophical method of research is employed....... The analysis of
the theory must be done with utmost objectively. The investigator, whatever may be
his own ideology should not involve it in, while putting the theory to a logical

analysis”.
Philosophy is primarily concerned with the study of the ultimate basis or
foundation of a problem under inquiry. Every branch of knowledge has a
philosophical foundation or a metaphysical basis. Research, in the domain of

168
philosophy of education, deals with the metaphysical or meta-theoretical aspect of
an educational system.
Moore says, “Theories of education make recommendations based partly on
factual or supposedly factual assumptions, partly upon assumptions of value. These
assumptions may always be questioned, by appeals to criteria of a scientific, moral
or philosophical kind the various assumptions being amenable to criticism in these
different ways. It is because they can be so questioned that educational theories can
claim to be ranked as theories”.
In consequence, research of this type is of the highest academic importance
as it inquires into the fundamental issues involved in the problems of education.
Historical Method
Historical research attempts to establish facts so as to arrive at the
conclusions concerning the past events. This is usually accompanied by an
interpretation of these events and of their relevance to present circumstances and
what might happen in future. This study is historical in the sense that the educational
philosophy of the modem thinkers including that of J. Krishnamurti and John
Dewey are traced from various primary and secondary sources. The primary sources
consist of the works written by the thinkers themselves, their books, lectures
recorded in the books and pamphlets - published by them. In the case of J.
Krishnamurti and John Dewey the primary sources are their books and their lives.
Secondary sources are books, journals and pamphlets published by various authors,
biographers and the theosophical society etc. Internal and external methods of
criticism are employed in dealing with both primary and secondary sources. As John
Best has said,“ Historical research is the application of scientific method to the
description and analysis of past events and they must use logical inferences to
supplement what is probably an incomplete account”.
Content Analysis Method
This has been employed in order to analyse the documentary material into
formal and logical categories and to discover relationship between variables and
deduce some general conclusions.
In the theoretical model all the four activities enunciated by Franken (1970)
have been followed:

169
1 Carrying on a conceptual or meta-ethical inquiry asking about the meaning
or use of expressions such as ‘good’, ‘knowledge’, ‘teach’ etc. and about the
method of justifying various sorts of statements in which they occur.
2 Make and defend normative judgments about what the good life is, or what
activities or experiences are good, better and best.
3 Answer educational questions about he disposition to be fostered in
educating for the good life and the methods used in doing so.
4 Make and defend factual statement bearing on such questions.
5
IMPORTANCE OF THEORETICAL MODEL IN EDUCATIONAL
PHILOSOPHY
Educational theory, which consists of an application of the principles derived
from philosophy, psychology, sociology and history to the sphere of education is
necessary for informed and well founded educational practices.
The importance of theoretical models has been emphasized by Mathur in the
following lines:
“It is to be noted that the researches based on this model will ultimately be
able to present a coherent philosophy of education relevant to the modem times......
In our schools and colleges there is very little which may be called inspiring to our
students largely due to our neglect of the philosophical aspects of education, we start
teaching, educating, dispensing knowledge without raising the fundamental
questions of what is teaching? What is education? What do we understand by
knowledge in our cultural context? If we try to seek answer to these questions
inevitably we will have to follow the theoretical model. So far in our researches we
have not directed our attention towards these questions and thereby have neglected
the theoretical model”.
The theoretical model provides an insight into the aims and objectives of
education and gives a sense of meaning to the teachers, educational planners and
researchers and thus gives a purpose to the entire process of education. Osmond and
Craver wrote, “The major role of philosophy of education is not to devise some
system or school of thought, but to help develop the educators thinking capacities”.
Educational reforms always take place by the intuitive insights of great
philosophers in the world. Educational programmes become effective if they are
based on sound philosophy as philosophy gives a synoptic vision and an integrated

170
view. P.H. Hirst has rightly said that, “Education being a deliberate, purposeful
activity directed to the development of individuals, necessarily involves
considerations of value”.
Every theoretical system has a basic philosophy, foundation or metatheory.
The term ‘meta’ means ‘that which goes beyond’ hence meta theory means an aspect
which goes beyond theories. Thus meta theory refers to the theorization of the
highest order P.G. Smith maintained that “there are three dimensions for
philosophical thinking such as comprehensiveness, penetration and flexibility”.
In conventional terminology it may be called be philosophical foundation of
a theory. Thus a theory of education has a philosophical foundation. This study is an
attempt to study the philosophy of the great thinkers and educationists of our
country and USA, J. Krishnamurti and John Dewey, in order to form an educational
theory which could be integrated with the modem educational system of our
country.

SCOPE OF THE STUDY

The study has been limited to:
1. The educational thoughts of J. Krishnamurti and John Dewey with special
reference to their educational philosophies are being investigated through primary
and secondary sources.
2. The study has remained at the level of conceptualization alone. It has not
been dealt with empirical data, which is usually obtained through the tools of
research like interviews, questionnaire, tests etc.

DELIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY

The study is based on philosophical ideas and their critical examination in
the present Indian Education System. So the study is only confined to the
philosophical views of Indian Educational Philosopher J. Krishnamurti and western
educational philosopher John Dewey.

171
EDUCATIONAL THOUGHTS OF J. KRISHNAMURTI AND
JOHN DEWEY
Educational Thoughts of J. Krishnamurti
J. Krishnamurti has contributed significant ideas relating to education. J.
Krishnamurti has a totally new and fresh outlook on education as he was an original
thinker who ‘departed completely from the beaten track to search in regions yet
unexplored”.
Education for J. Krishnamurti means “understanding of life and the self, to
see the significance of life as a whole”. He is against ‘conventional education’ which
only helps the individual to fit in society as a cog in the wheel. It smothers the spirit
of inquiry in the individual and makes him pursue certain aims thereby setting the
mind in a groove. Thus the total intelligence of the individual is not actively working
as the individual is busy pursuing the set aims, mechanically.
Education according to J. Krishnamurti should help the individual to see life
as ‘it is’ in the ‘present moment’, with total attention and a ‘choice less awareness of
reality’. This is the only door to understanding of the self and life is a continuously
self-renewing process and only such a mind that can renew itself from moment to
moment can understand life for only then he is one with life.
In order to create such a mind, education should be given in a way as to
ignite the spirit of inquiry in the individual regarding his ‘own self, ‘life’ and the
‘total universe ’. The educator must encourage the pupil to go deep into the question
as to why he is being educated. The child should be educated not to get sucked into
the vast stream of society. Society that is full of corruption, ambition, competition,
envy, hatred, dogma, superstition and violence. He urges the pupils to question the
very roots of our society and culture and then move further to establish an entirely
new set of values in order to create a new civilization with an entirely new outlook
which will be the outcome of their total perception of life and the self.
When Krishnamurti talks about ‘right education’ it is not a matter of opinion
or evaluation but it denotes ‘total action’ in which all self interested motives cease.
He argues for ‘holistic approach’ to education instead of the conventional education
that is basically fragmented as it caters for only providing knowledge and neglects
other aspects of life.

172
 Krishnamurti identifies two vital movements in ones life. One is the
movement of knowledge - technology, computers and information of the physical
world. The other is the psychological movement of individual’s conflicts, opinions,
dogmas, beliefs, fears and sorrow. Krishnamurti seeks for harmony in these two
movements in one’s life as he feels to bring harmony between knowledge and
intelligence’ is the main function of education. The individual should know when to
rely of knowledge and when to drop all knowledge and be one with the universe.
In order to be one with the universe the individual should be educated to read
the book of the ‘self along with books of external knowledge. When the individual
goes deep into the indicate workings of his won mind i.e. pursuing his own mind
and thoughts, than he realizes that there is no ‘self. He then sees the false existence
of the ‘self or ‘ego’ hence drops it and then he is a part of the universe. This is only
possible when the individual goes deep in to his conditionings with the help of the
educators and seeing the false as false, drops his ‘self along with his superstitions,
dogmas, traditions, religions and ideals, that had conditioned his mind since
thousands of years. To read the book ‘self is real learning as Krishnamurti says,
“You are the world” and “in each one of us the whole of existence is gathered”.
There is a departure in Krishnamurti’s teachings from the traditional
approach to the relationship between the teacher and the taught, the Guru and
Shishya. The traditional approach is hierarchical, there is a teacher who knows and a
student who does not know and has to be taught. In Krishnamurti’s views the teacher
and the student should function at the same level - communicating through
questioning and counter questioning till the depths of the problems are exposed and
understanding is revealed, illuminating the minds of both. In school the relationship
between students and teachers should be very cordial and informal and the students
should have the freedom to ask any question from anywhere. Freedom is a state of
mind in which there is no fear of compulsion, no urge to be secure. It does not mean
doing whatever one wishes but to be free is to be intelligent and this intelligence
means to understand your own self and environment. It pertains to a mind that is not
occupied free observation is a movement of learning.
There should be no fear in the minds of the students for that matter no
ambitions and hence no competitions should be encouraged in schools. Students
should set their own pace of learning. There should be no rewards or punishments
given to students. If they have any problem of discipline it should be amicably
173
talked over between the teacher and the students. No prizes, ranks marks or
certificates should be given in schools so that the students do not work through
extrinsic motivations but academic excellence should be achieved by them through
motivating them intrinsically. Students should learn history, geography or science
for the sake of knowledge and out of curiosity but not to gain more marks than the
rest.
In order to achieve a harmonious development of the individual along with
academic excellence, great emphasis should be given to a wide range of activities
like art and craft, dance and music, dramatics and debates, sports, yoga, swimming,
gardening, athletics, work experience in rural centers, diary farms, and agricultural
farms etc. In this way the physical mental, intellectual, emotional and aesthetical
development can take place in the students.
Unlike the conventional system of education where the teachers are either
giving precepts and instructions or reading from the books, Krishnamurti felt that
since ‘education is flowering in goodness and intelligence’ the schools must cater
for the right type of environment in which are ‘awakening of the intelligence’ of the
pupil can take place.
According him schools should be established in the lap of the nature. So that
students can understand and interact with the nature and get a peaceful education.
The ultimate aim of education is to achieve a true ‘religious mind’, a religious mind,
not in the conventional sense, but by a ‘religious mind’ Krishnamurti means a mind
that is completely alone. Such a mind has been through the falseness of dogmas,
beliefs and divisions brought about by organized religions. Not being nationalistic
and not being conditioned by its environment the religious mind has no horizons, no
limits. It is explosive, new, young and innocent. The innocent mind is extra
ordinarily pliable, subtle, and it has no anchor. It is only such a mind that can
experience ‘Truth’ - that which is not measurable, such a mind is creative. This
mind is free from the past and hence can come upon the timeless or eternal. Only a
mind which is exposed to his own freedom can experience the ‘mutation of his brain
cells’. Only a mind that is free can be overflowing with love and goodness even in
the most adverse circumstances. Such is the religious mind that also contains a
scientific mind and only that mind can explode in the present, giving birth to a new
culture and society.

174
Relevancy Regarding Some Key Aspects of Contemporary Educational System
Krishnamurti is the iconoclastic thinker of our country. His teachings on life’s
problems have revolutionized the contemporary thoughts without referring to
tradition good or bad. He has given his ideas on morals, religions, culture, sex,
politics, education etc. In the context of contemporary educational system, his view
is that a new vision of education can make religious mind and scientific mind line
together provided the deeper meaning of both the concepts is understood and he
claims that education along can materialize this happy wedlock.. His ideas have had
a great impact on contemporary educational system as:
I. On Aims of Education: Krishanmurti realized that the aims and function of
education is to create human beings who are integrated and therefore
intelligent. Intelligence is not mere information, it is not derived from books,
nor does it consist of clever self-defensive response and aggressive
assertions. Intelligence is the capacity to perceive the essential, the ‘what is’;
and to awaken this capacity, in oneself and other is education. According to
him, the purpose of education is to cultivate right relationship not only
between individuals, but also between individual and society for the
development of an integrated and peaceful society, which is the need of hour.
II. On Teacher and Taught: A teacher must give all his thought, all his care
and affection to the creating of right environment and to the development of
understanding, so that when child grows into maturity he will be capable of
dealing intelligently with the human problems. According to him if the
teacher is of the right kind, he will not depend on a method, but will study
each individual pupil to take care of the individual difference existing
between them especially in today’s complex world where education is the
fundamental right of children.
III. On School: The aim of Krishnamurti’s school is not to provide the children
knowledge but to make the child understand that knowledge is not the end of
life which will ultimately helps in removal of wrong dilemma of today’s
educational pattern.
IV. On Curriculum: Krishnamurti does not rule out the necessity of academic
excellence for without the study of sciences, languages, arithmetic and social
sciences the child will not be able to gain knowledge. Music, Arts and dance,

175
 which are given special emphasis for, they help in the emotional
development of the pupils. In this way the goal of all round development of
the child can be attained.
V. On Methods: In Krishnamurti’s view no particular method is sufficient in
today’s educational pattern. However he suggested a variety of methods like
self-study, project method, observation method, dialogues, questioning
which are very useful in context of 21st century.

Educational Thoughts of John Dewey

Every man is bom with certain capacities and powers and education is the
development of all those capacities in the individual which will enable him to
control his environment and fulfill his responsibilities. Education is a social
necessity. It is the necessity of life. All education proceeds by the participation of
the individual in the social consciousness of the race. He believes that collective
work enables the child to understand the aim and purpose of work and gives him
necessary methods and ability to do that work. Education, for Dewey, is not
preparation for life, but life itself. Education is growth.
According to Dewey, education is a bi-polar process, one is psychological
and the other sociological. He recognized the individual differences and took into
consideration the impulse and interests of the child when he expounded his theories
of education. These capacities and instincts should be brought it exercise in the
social situations. He said that the purpose of education was to give the young, the
things they need, in order to develop in an orderly sequential way, to be members of
a society. He emphasized learning by doing. He gave much importance to activity.
According to John Dewey, the educative process would be haphazard without
insight in to the psychological structure and activity of the individual. The purpose
of education is to create harmony between the individual and social development.
According to Dewey, education is a process of reconstruction of experience,
giving it a more socialized value through the medium of increased social efficiency.
This experience comes through interaction with one another. He says that every
experience should do something to prepare a person for later experiences of a deeper
and more expensive nature. A full-integrated personality on the other hand exists
only when experiences are integrated with one another.

176
 According to Dewey, the aim of education is the development of reflective,
creative, responsible thought and social efficiency. Education must be imparted
according to the individual needs of the child. The aim of education should be to
serve to secure a balance interaction of the practical and theoretical attitudes. The
other aim of education is that it should train the individual for specific adult life.
Dewey agreed that ‘self realization’ is an important aim of education. Expression
and cultivation of individuality, free activity, learning through experience,
acquisition of skills and techniques, making use of most of the opportunities of
present life, and acquaintance with a changing world are the aim of education.
The project method translates the idea of education through occupations into
a form suitable for the ordinary school. The project method is that method of
teaching which encourages a maximum amount of purposeful activity on the part of
the pupils.
The problem comes first and learning in incidental to its successful solution.
Principles, skills and methods are acquired by the pupil as the experiences the need
for them According to Dewey, interests are the signs and symptoms of growing
power. Accordingly, the constant and careful observation of interests is of utmost
importance to the education. He believed that learning proceeds from concrete to the
general. Uniform methods cannot possible produce uniform results in education ,
hence the methods should be individualized.
A Deweyan teacher should be concerned with his pupils’ impulses and
interests rather than the inculcation of knowledge. His function is to guide the young
through the complexities of life. For this, the teacher should provide them
opportunities to learn in the natural way.
Dewey believed in giving the child great freedom, but the teacher has to
regulate it. Since he is ahead of his pupils in experience, he should survey the social
heritage and look to a more distant purpose than his pupil. The teacher must ensure
that the individual and the group should not only move in harmony both acquiring
the best and the most positive habit of democratic co-operation, but also towards the
highest intellectual pursuits and the fullest aesthetic experience. Dewey did not want
any autocracy in the school. The teacher must know the individual differences
among the children.
The teacher should not consider himself superior to child. For Dewey, the
development of the child should be according to the social environment. The

177
teachers must be familiar with the social situation because that would enable him to
interpret properly, the child’s activities and transfer them into social channels. The
teacher should not impose faiths or try to from rigid habits in the child, but he
should select the proper influences for the child and assist him in responding to
them.
The teachers should try to understand the child sympathetically. The teacher
should become a permanent student of education he should have an excess to supply
of information and understanding.
According to Dewey, the organization of the study and the methods of
teaching for each phase of the child, must be such that the process of learning will
satisfy the needs, enrich the qualities and nurture the powers of the individual. So,
Dewey did not believe in a curriculum based on fixed knowledge. According to him,
it must be flexible. It should grow out of pupils’?, interests, impulses and
experiences. It should, therefore, consists of activities and projects leading to
reconstruction of experience. The primary root of all educative activity is in the
instinctive and impulsive attitudes and activities of the child and not in the
presentation and application of external material.
Since the main hypothesis of Dewey was ‘Itself, he advocated the
introduction of adult occupations and associations, which serve the needs of man, as
the core around which the entire curriculum should be built. To help the child, there
should be a continuity between the school activities and the basic aspects of the out-
of-school world. The school should also represent, in the pattern of its life, the
values and qualities of human relations that promote growth. Thus, According to
John Dewey, the school curriculum must be organized around the child’s activities
and not subject.
The curriculum must be planned with reference to placing essentials first and
refinements second. The second not begin with the 3 R’s. but with the activities that
the child has seen at home, the activities that constitute the great racial functions.
Aesthetic, moral and religious education was not omitted by Dewey from his
curriculum. He does not want to give religious and moral education through lessons
but by practical experience, purposeful activity and a curriculum comprising
standard factors of social life. According to Dewey, a religion can be realized only
through Science. Without Science, religion is bound to become formal, hypocritical
and a mass of dogmas.
178
 According to John Dewey, children are individuals whose freedom should be
respected. The new education emphasizes the freedom of the learner and aims at
greater attention to distinctive individual needs and characteristics. Hence, they are
provided by a great degree of freedom of action and discussion.
According to him if, in a school, children are given opportunities of working
according to their aptitudes and interests, there will be no problem of discipline. For
Dewey, the standard for discipline is not how silent a classroom is or how few and
uniform the kinds of tools and materials that are being used, but the amount of
quality work done by the individuals and the group emphasized on individual
freedom and social control. Control of the individuals without the violation of
freedom, according to him is the primary source of social control. It requires
planning ahead. Instead of establishing rigid discipline, the teacher must observe,
plan, and encourage. Weakness in control, found in progressive schools arises
because of the lack of sufficiently thought out planning in advance. So, the teacher
should arrange conditions that are conducive to community activity and to
organization which exercises control over individual impulses by the mere fact that
all are engaged in communal projects.
According to Dewey, the ideal aim of education is creation of power of self
control. Self discipline and group discipline develop through the will of the pupils
themselves. Progressive schools aim at unwanted amount of co-operation of pupils
with one another, and of pupils with teachers. According to Dewey, through the
functioning of will in the achievement of self control and the application of social
values, children will themselves develop morally in a s social environment through
natural activities.
According to John Dewey, “Values are as unstable as the forms of clouds.
They keep on changing from time to time and reality is still in the process of
making. Ideal ends are remotely connected with immediate and urgent conditions.
Man naturally devote themselves to the present conditions than the remote”.
There are not fixed values for all times. Even truths are man-made products.
There is nothing like an absolute truth. Values of democracy are of great importance
to John Dewey. According to Dewey, it is only through democracy that an
individual can realize the maximum development of his personality. The general aim
of education, according to Dewey, is the creation of new values. The educator
should educate the individuals to develop values for himself. For the creation of new
179
values, activity and experience are important. Education should provide physical,
intellectual, moral and aesthetic activities as the media for the creation of values.

Relevancy Regarding Some Key Aspects of Contemporary Educational System

Dewey was an original thinker and a practical teacher. He stands today in the
front of the educators of the world. Dewey gave a practical shape on the various
ideas of education and a progressive outlook to education. His ideas have had a great
impact on contemporary educational system as:
I. On Aims of Education: Dewey’s one of the important aims of education is
the teaching of democratic values. He insisted on developing social and
democratic qualities in the child. These aims of education have been
accepted as valid in the contemporary school system.
II. On Educational Methods: The greatest impact of Dewey’s ideas is seen on
the methods of education in more recent times. He emphasized the place of
motivation, interest in learning, learning by living, learning by doing,
learning by experience etc. Dewey’s most important methods of teaching like
project method, activity method and problem influenced in the modem
teaching techniques.
III. On Curriculum: the important impacts of Dewey’s ideas on curriculum are
given to the introduction of broad based, life centered, child centered,
community centered and correlate curriculum. Importance is attached to
manual skill subjects and vocational subjects in the modem curriculum.
Moreover due place has been given to various kinds of games and sports.
IV. On Discipline: Dewey’s concept of free discipline, self-discipline and social
discipline attracted the attraction of the modem educationists.
V. Creation of Experimental Schools: he established an experimental or
laboratory school. But, today there are many experimental institutions and
research institutes in different places for trying various theories in the field of
education.

CONCLUSION
In this globalized era, education system has undergone a sea change. To
maintain a harmonious balance between education and advancement, it has become

180
essential to look into the educational philosophies of great thinkers who have always
guided our education with their precious thoughts. With this view, the investigator
concludes that the educational thoughts of J. Krishnamurti and John Dewey are
relevant in contemporary Indian educational system. Though both the philosophers
differ at some points like aims of education, but if we take a thorough look at their
philosophies, it proves a great utility in today’s exam oriented education system.
For example, J. Krishnamurti’s concept of peace education is very useful in today’s
context as peace is the main concern of present society. He also suggests that
cultural and religious values can be inculcated in the students through education. On
the other hand, John Dewey is in favour of democratic system of education, which is
necessary for the development of democratic outlook in educated youth of the
country. Also in the global world in which biological, psychological, social and
environmental phenomena, all are inter-dependent, it is the holistic and pragmatic
approach of education supported by J. Krishnamurti and John Dewey respectively,
which can be used as a means for the development of global harmony and universal
brotherhood.

EDUCATIONAL IMPLICATIONS OF THE STUDY

1. The positive points of J. krishnamurti and John Dewey’s educational
philosophies which are appropriate to the contemporary educational
system can be compiled in the form of text books. In order to get these
books prescribed, it is very important to have a text book committee,
consisting of textbook experts of apex bodies like N.C.E.R.T. along with
methodology experts and the persons who are well informed about
Krishnamurti’s and John Dewey’s educational philosophy.
2. A comprehensive plan should be drawn for monitoring and evaluation of
the implementations and recommendations made.
3. Orientation courses regarding prescription and awareness of these text
books based on educational philosophy of these educationists can be
organized through proper channel..
4. To implement their book and philosophy in B.Ed. colleges and at M.Ed.
level, we can first hold seminar, conferences and then from a study group
that can work out the finer details in workshops for educating the

181
 educators at the university level. Then they can educate the future teacher
educators by the ‘In service training’ programmes.
5. A lot of research work should be taken up regarding the implementation
of their philosophy across the borders of our country as well. To start
with, we can have it in the schools abroad and the foreigners, who are
devoted to Krishnamurti’s and Dewey’s philosophy can be given
adequate support.
6. Inter school and inter college debates and declamation contests may be
held on J. Krishnamurti and John Dewey’s educational philosophy.
These can be conducted at the district, state, university and National
level.
7. Essay competitions can also be encouraged on the educational
philosophy of J. Krishnamurti and John Dewey in the same manner.
8. Television, radio, newspapers and magazines can help a great deal, in
spreading the knowledge of Krishnamurti and John Dewey’s thought.
9. Video and audio tapes of Krishnamurti and Dewey talks can be played
during morning assembly, house activities in schools, colleges and
concerned university departments also.

SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER STUDY

1. A comparative study of J. Krishnamurti’s and John Dewey’s schools of
thoughts can be taken up vis a vis curriculum and discipline.
2. An analytical study can be conducted regarding the impact of J.
Krishnamurti’s and John Dewey’s teachings on students’ personality
development in general and moral development in particular.
3. A detail investigation and comparison of the educational thoughts of the
J. Krishanmurti with other western educational thinkers can be made.
4. A study can be conducted regarding the thoughts of J. Krishanmurti in
relevance to peace education.
5. An investigation can be conducted on the contribution of J. Krishanmurti
and other Indian Philosopher regarding value inculcation in students.
6. A comparative study of educational philosophy of John Dewey with
other Indian Philosophers can be conducted.

182