The Purpose of Education by John Dewey

Febe Theodora

A. INTRODUCTION

This paper will be analyzing is John Dewey’s (1859-1952) thoughts and philosophy

in the educational field. It’s a fact that until this day, he is still one of the most influential

figures who made a revolution on viewing education as an impactful tool. Even though his

concern was mostly on the children in primary age, he has established such a firm point of
view on democracy that is still relevant today. Dewey stated that the method of teaching

determines the purpose of teaching. As teaching and learning are pedagogical; therefore,

the teaching and learning activities should be planned effectively (Dewey, 1916). Teachers

must design teaching and learning sessions that help students connect to the material.

Teachers must consider the need and development of the students. Before digging deeper

into Dewey’s philosophy and the influence on education, it is important to be able to

explain what Dewey considered to be the purpose of education. This discussion will look

at three important aspects of John Dewey’s contribution to education. These aspects are:

- What Dewey considered to be the purpose(s) of education

- Three principles of Dewey’s philosophy and their influence on education

- How these principles align with the principles of an IB education

B. THE PURPOSE OF EDUCATION

Looking at the context, Dewey started his contribution to education with his strong

feeling that people have a responsibility to make the world a better place to live in through
education and social reform (Gutek, 2014). According to John Dewey the purpose of
 education has always been to give the young what they need to develop well and contribute

positively in society (1934). Dewey’s view on education is that it gives the students a

chance to live and to live is to adjust themselves to society. It gives the opportunity for the

students to gain experience that is valuable to be able to think critically, be productive and

be morally upright in society. He also considers that experience is the basis of education:

experience is both the tool and the purpose of education

C. DEWEY’S PHILOSOPHY AND THE INFLUENCE

1. Experience

It was around 1980 when Dewey started his move as an education reformer.

There were experiments done in schools at that time. These researchers established

progressive teachings that rejected traditional, fixed curriculum but

enhanced experiential learning, focusing on students’ interests, and relevancy.

Nonetheless, However, Dewey was critical about these progressive schools on the

reasons that freedom alone only was not a solution; education and

learning activities must be based on a clear theory of experience. Citing JJ

Rousseau, Dewey stated that too much putting concern on interest and freedom of

children was just as complicated as the traditional education implementation

(Mintz, n.d.). Dewey believes that not all experiences are positive and educative.

There are also experiences that result in stopping and impairing growth in the

direction of increasing the quality of the next greater and richer experience in

positive knowledge (Wasitohadi, 2010). There are 3 qualities for experience to

be considered as educative experience: (1) covers the physical, intellectual, and

moral growth, (2) there is an interaction of the reality and the students. According

to Dewey, the traditional education style tends to forget the subjective/internal

conditions of students, while progressive education tends to forget the real/external
 conditions of students. As a result, in both cases, education is not maximally done

based on both the experience of the students in the socio-cultural context or the

real conditions of the community.

2. Democracy

The educational environment is the best society and society is a democratic

society, because every opportunity to work is in it (Dewey, 1916). A school is a

place for students to learn to live in a democratic society, while the teacher is a

participant who participates in guiding the teaching and learning process, and not
as someone who has full authority to decide everything. Students and teachers

together must be free to determine and arrange the classroom rules and settings in

agreement or actively sharing thoughts in the discussion. And through school, the

students will learn the discipline to grow in life together with others from one's own

experience, not an external rule given to them.

3. Learning process

According to Dewey, the subject studied is in the form of: method and the

methodologies include curriculum which contains proven experiences that can

be modified and can be molded by interests and needs of students, and the method

is learning by doing which focused on student activity (Dewey, 1916). The

existence of students in a group that interact creates an opportunity to grow, while

the teacher supervises and guides the student's learning experience, without

interfering with the interests and student needs.

D. JOHN DEWEY’S PHILOSOPHY AND IB EDUCATION

“The aim of all IB programmes is to develop internationally minded people who,

recognize their common humanity (Dewey’s principle: experience) and shared

guardianship of the planet, help to create a better and more peaceful world (Education
purpose according to Dewey)” (IBO, 2013). It’s clear that through further analysis that the

mission statement and learner profile of IB education are related to some of the principles

of John Dewey towards education. IB education intends to develop inquiring and

knowledgeable students aiming to nurture its student’s curiosity and develop skills for

inquiry and research (IBO, 2013). This is directly associated with Dewey’s view of

experience and the learning process. He believes that to adapt and be productive in a

dynamic society, students should be willing to find out and be curious about the

environments through their experience. Nonetheless, the emphasis of progressive

education based on Dewey’s perspective should not just be about freedom and nature

nurturing learning but it should include a guide to reach the most level of the achieved goal

of the learning – the purpose of education. IB Education is one of these great guides.
References

Dewey, J. (1916). Democracy and education. Teddington: Echo Library. Teddington: Echo

Library.

Gutek, G. (2014). Philosophical, ideological, and theoretical perspectives on education (2nd

Ed.). New York: Pearson.

ibo.org. (2021, 6 234). IB Learner Profile. Retrieved from ibo.org:

https://www.ibo.org/contentassets/fd82f70643ef4086b7d3f292cc214962/learner-profile-

en.pdf

Mintz, A. (2021, 6 23). What is the purpose of education? Dewey’s challenge to his

contemporaries. Retrieved from

https://www.academia.edu/23693775/What_is_the_Purpose_of_Education_Deweys_chal

lenge_to_his_contemporaries

Wasitohadi. (2010). Education in the perspective of John Dewey. 7-8.