John Dewey and Our Educational Prospect

A Critical Engagement with Dewey's Democracy and Education

Edited by David T. Hansen

Subjects: Curriculum
Paperback : 9780791469224, 205 pages, November 2006
Hardcover : 9780791469217, 205 pages, November 2006

Alternative formats available from:

Table of contents

Preface
David T. Hansen, Teachers College, Columbia University

 1. Introduction: Reading Democracy and Education
David T. Hansen, Teachers College, Columbia University

 2. "Of all affairs, communication is the most wonderful": The Communicative Turn in Dewey's Democracy and Education
Gert Biesta, Exeter University

 3. Curriculum Matters
Reba N. Page, University of California, Riverside

 4. Socialization, Social Efficiency, and Social Control: Putting Pragmatism to Work
Larry A. Hickman, The Center for Dewey Studies, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale

 5. Growth and Perfectionism? Dewey after Emerson and Cavell
Naoko Saito, Kyoto University

 6. Rediscovering the Student in Democracy and Education
Gary Fenstermacher, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor

 7. Dewey's Reconstruction of the Curriculum: From Occupations to Disciplined Knowledge
Herbert M. Kliebard, University of Wisconsin, Madison

 8. A Teacher Educator Looks at Democracy and Education
Sharon Feiman-Nemser, Brandeis University

 9. Dewey's Philosophy of Life
 Elizabeth Minnich, Association of American Colleges and Universities

10. Dewey's Book of the Moral Self
David T. Hansen, Teachers College, Columbia University

List of Contributors

The first book-length study of Dewey’s extraordinary text.

Description

2007 CHOICE Outstanding Academic Title

These original essays focus on John Dewey's Democracy and Education, a book widely regarded as one of the greatest works ever written in the history of educational thought. The contributors address Dewey's still powerful argument that education is not a preparation for life, but rather constitutes a fundamental aspect of the very experience of living. The authors examine Dewey's central themes, including the dynamics of human communication, the nature of growth, the relation between democracy and education, and the importance of recognizing student agency. They link their analyses with contemporary educational concerns and problems, offering ideas about what the curriculum for children and youth should be, how to prepare teachers for the profession, what pedagogical approaches make the most sense given societal trends, and how to reconstruct the purposes of school. This first book-length study of Dewey's extraordinary text attests to the continued power in his work and to the diverse audience of educators to whom he has long appealed.

David T. Hansen is Professor and Director of the Program in Philosophy and Education at Teachers College, Columbia University. His books include Exploring the Moral Heart of Teaching: Toward a Teacher's Creed.