Deweys Vision for Education and Democracy: Fostering Equality through Curriculum and Classroom Engagement

Abstract

John Dewey Thinking and Ideas on Education and Democracy John Dewey ideas and thinking revolve around education and democracy. Unlike many people who believe that democracy becomes defined through exercising and enjoying their voting rights, among other political related exercises, Dewey believed that democracy calls for the existence of fully formed public opinion. Dewey argues that “In the first place, democracy is much broader than a special political form, a method of conducting government, of making laws and carrying on governmental administration by means of popular suffrage and elected officers” (Dewey, 1964). With such a stand on democracy, Dewey democratic thinking rests on a belief in man's equality and the social differentiation of men and women. Dewey argues the equality of man from the political point of view, whereby he believes that equalizing human beings would mean denial of human variety richness. What does such an argument imply? Dewey points out that natural talents and social positions differentiate human beings; thus, man formula's equality proves unsubstantial in defining democracy amongst such a population. Based on Dewey, humans are entitled to equal treatment by the law and its administration (Dewey, 1964). However, equality remains undefined when a man is affected by the law institutions under which he/she lives and tend to express his/her judgement. To this effect, Dewey concludes that democracy does not spell equality of all human beings but defines an individual's equality based on an individual's capacities. Since each human has different needs from the other human, equality that defines democracy can only become realised upon prioritising one's needs and ignoring the less important. Dewey argued for the essentials of the curriculum in defining a productive learning system for learners in education. Based on Dewey, a curriculum not only formulates a defined plan of learning in a learners mind but also allows for the development of practical life skills in children. For such a reason, Dewey...