At the end of 19, pragmatism education thought appeared in the United States. Dewey, an American philosopher and educator, is its advocate and the most important representative.
Dewey tried to apply pragmatic philosophy to educational theory and design a blueprint for the reform of American school education. In his educational works, pragmatic philosophy and educational theory are integrated.
Dewey said that if philosophy is regarded as a process that inevitably affects people's behavior and education is regarded as a tendency to shape people's rationality and emotion, then we can give philosophy a most profound definition, that is, "philosophy is the general theory of education."
Main significance:
1, Dewey's pragmatic education theory comprehensively and deeply discusses many problems related to education, which is the largest and most complete educational theory system in modern western countries and also creates a precedent for the future education system.
2. In Dewey's educational theory, we try to get rid of the either-or metaphysical thinking mode and try to unify the "dilemma" problems in education as much as possible, such as child-oriented and social-oriented, teacher-centered and child-centered, activity curriculum and subject curriculum, personal experience and group experience, scientific logic and psychological logic.
Dewey believes that school is society, and Wei advocates that education is the transformation of life, growth and experience. In an undemocratic and unequal society, education is only the purpose imposed on the educated by external forces, while in a democratic society, we should pursue the theory of aimlessness.