Herbart and Dewey are the masters of western educational thought, Herbart is the representative of traditional educational theory, and Dewey is the representative of modern educational theory. These two educational theories have both unity and opposition, which are embodied as follows:

(1) The Unity of Herbart's and Dewey's Educational Theories

Their understanding of philosophy, psychology and physiology is an important prerequisite for their educational theory and practice.

(2) Both Herbart and Dewey are very concerned about the basic problems of education, such as educational purpose, moral education, curriculum theory, teaching process, etc. Their educational theories are based on these main problems. However, due to their differences in philosophical epistemology and educational views, they have different emphases when discussing these issues, especially in understanding the purpose of education: Herbart believes that the first purpose of education is to develop people's various interests and make people's various abilities develop harmoniously; The highest purpose of education is to cultivate morality, cultivate five moral concepts of inner freedom, perfection, kindness, justice and fairness, and become an excellent citizen of Prussia. Dewey believes that promoting children's growth is the purpose of education, and social requirements and children's needs are not always opposite. Therefore, education is also the basic method of social progress and reform. The ideal person in Dewey's theory should have good citizen quality, master scientific thinking method, have good moral quality and have certain professional quality. Although the discussion and emphasis of the two are different, they both discuss the educational purpose from the perspective of personal development and social development.

(2) The opposition between Herbart and Dewey in educational theory.

(1) In moral education, Herbart pays more attention to the cultivation of personal ideas, while Dewey pays attention to the relationship between individuals and society.

(2) In terms of course content, Herbart advocates subject-specific courses, while Dewey emphasizes activity courses.

(3) In the teaching process, Herbart put forward the stage theory of teaching form, and Dewey emphasized the five-step teaching method.

④ From the standpoint of teachers and children, Herbart emphasized the leading role of teachers, while Dewey emphasized children's interest.

In the process of modern education and teaching, only according to the actual national conditions of various countries, the actual situation of schools and students, and considering the characteristics of different disciplines and courses themselves, can we flexibly choose courses and teaching models, truly promote the development of students and realize the ideal educational goals.