John Dewey: Educational Practice in the Service of Continuous Improvement of Society

Abstract

The philosopher, psychologist, prominent American educational reformer John Dewey considered education closely related to the democratization of society. This is best shown by his works, School and Society, Democracy and Education, etc. According to J. Dewey, education is based on experience, which means: to live, to act, to reconstruct situations, to intervene in things. It is adaptation, in order to overcome the obstacles that appeared constantly. For J. Dewey, education must be an ongoing practice that directs action toward the betterment of society, and science must be oriented to find the deep connection between the individual and society. He thought that the didactic process could not be isolated from society, should not be closed in the close teacher-student relationship, but should be extended from the individual to the social, and bring within him the whole society, with its tasks and rules. The goal should always be to achieve peaceful coexistence between classes. About these issues and about their actuality in our society consists the paper that we will present at this conference.