 so that develops in him socially desirable qualities which promote his welfare and happiness. John Dewey rightly speaks out – Education is the social continuity of life.
4. EDUCATION A CONTINUOUS RESTRUCTURING OF EXPERIENCE-
Education is a process of development. Knowledge is gained by experiences and experiments, conducted by the learner himself. One exercise leads to another and so on and the area of knowledge is widened by the child. The process of reconstruction of experience goes on and leads to adjustment and development of personality. For pragmatists educational process has no end beyond itself. In addition to the individual it is continuous reorganizing restructuring and integrating the experience and activities of the race.
5. EDUCATION THE RESPONSIBILITY OF STATE-
Education is the birth right of each individual and may not be within the right of the individual, so the state should shoulder the responsibility. The refusal of the state to do so may not lead the nation to suffering. It is for the state to make the child capable and confident to meet the problems and challenges of life successfully.
AIMS AND PRAGMATISM
Pragmatists do not believe in any pre-conceived aims of education. Aims cannot be conceived of as final, fixed and immutable. Aims arise out of the ongoing experience and should lie wholly within the child’s experience. Living as we do, in a changing world with an uncertain and shifting future, human experience is prone to change. And so the need to reshape our aims to meet the needs of such a dynamic environment as ours has become where the invention of every machine means a new social revolution. So it has been said that education has no aims. “Continuing education “, says a UNESCO booklet, “has become a necessity in almost every field of life from housekeeping to atomics”. Education is a lifelong process and not as something to discipline the recalcitrant person in to conformity with the pre-existing truth. The pupil should be able to, as they say, ’thing through’ the problems. Education for Dewey is a process of individual growth and development. But “growth itself“, says Brubacher “has no end beyond further growth”. In other words, he goes on to say “education is its own end”. Education means more education.
PRAGMATISM AND CURRICULUM
In the field of curriculum development, the following principles have been prescribed by pragmatists.
1. PRINCIPLE OF UTILITY-
According to this principle, only those subjects, activities and experiences should be included in the curriculum which are useful to the present needs of the child and also meet the future expectations of adult life as well. As such Language, physical well-being, physical training, Geography, History, Science, Agriculture and Home science for girls should be included in the curriculum.
2. PRINCIPLE OF INTEREST-
According to this principle, only those activities and experiences where in the child takes interest should be included in the curriculum. According to John Dewey these interests are of four varieties namely- (1) interest in conversation, (2) interest in investigation, (3) interest in construction and (4) interest in creative expression. Keeping these varieties of interests in view, at the primary stage, the curriculum should included Reading, Writing, Counting, Art, Craft-work, Natural science and other practical work of simple nature.
3. PRINCIPLE OF EXPERIENCE-
The third principle of pragmatic curriculum is the child’s activity, vocation and experience. All these three should be closely integrated. The curriculum should consist of such varieties of learning experiences which promote original thinking and freedom to develop social and purposeful attitudes.
4. PRINCIPLE OF INTEGRATION-
Pragmatic curriculum deals with the integration of subjects and activities. According to pragmatism knowledge is one unit. Pragmatists want to construct flexible, dynamic and integrated curriculum which aids the developing child and the changing society more and more as the needs, demands and situation require.
PRAGMATISM AND METHODS OF TEACHING
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