John Dewey |
The Social Environment
A democracy is more than a
form of government; it is primarily a mode of associated living, of
conjoint communicated experience which kept men from perceiving the full import
of their activity. These more numerous and more varied points of contact
denote a greater diversity of stimuli to which an individual has to respond; they consequently put a premium
on variation in his action.
John Dewey
The social nature of education is key to John Dewey's philosophy. Societies renew themselves through
the education of their young and education itself is defined as a transformative
socialforce. It is seen as being "a fostering, a nurturing, a cultivating, process" and
related to "the conditions of growth."1 In this regard, Dewey's vision is closely akin to
the views of Plato and Confucius
For Dewey, as it is with Confucius, the education of children cannot be undertaken simply through
the transmission of beliefs, emotions or even knowledge. It needs to take place
instead place through the intermediary of the environment.
Dewey defines environment as "the sum total of conditions which are concerned
in the execution of the activity characteristic of a living being."the environment
consists of those conditions that promote or hinder, stimulate or inhibit,
the characteristic activities of a living being. In this model of the environment, Dewey
emphasizes the importance of conjoint activity where groups of individuals, orlikewise where
an individual may be involved with others in matters particular to her/himself.
Thus,"by doing his share in the associated activity, the individual appropriates the
purpose which actuates it, becomes familiar with its methods and subject matters, acquires
needed skill, and is saturated with its emotional spirit."
By the same token, Dewey emphasizes the fact that mental and emotional factors have as much
to do with the overtly social aspects of behavior as cooperative or hostile actions.
In complex societies, special environments need to be created for the education of the young
to nurture the capacities of chidlren. Dewey identifies three aspects of
those environments that address the education of chidren:
simpification and ordering of "the factors of the disposition" that a particular
society wishes to develop;
purification and idealization of existing social custom, and
the creation of "a wider and better balanced environment than that by which the young
would be likely, if left to themselves, to be influenced"
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1John Dewey. "Education as a Social Function."
Democracy and Education,1916.
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