Democracy and Education
An Introduction to the Philosophy of Education
by John Dewey
Assigned by 1 of the 9 reading lists, catalogue entry only
- Written
- 1916
- Form
- Treatise
- Language
- English
- Length
- Long · 380 pp300 to 700 pages
- Difficulty
- Demanding3 of 5 for a first-year reader
We recommendDemocracy and EducationFree Press, 1997The cheapest complete text; the Southern Illinois critical edition is better annotated if a library has it.
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Dewey's fullest statement of what schools are for. Education is not preparation for later life but the process by which a society renews itself, and it works by giving the young shared experience rather than transmitted information. He attacks the split between liberal and vocational training, between knowing and doing, and between the child's interest and the discipline of a subject, arguing each is a symptom of a class division carried over from societies that democracy has outgrown. The later chapters treat method, subject matter, science, morals and the place of philosophy in all of it.
No reading guide yet
The catalogue entry above is complete: the dates, the form, the themes and every program that assigns Democracy and Education are verified against each program's published list.
What is missing is the part that takes real work: the summary, the key passages, and a recommended translation. The edition named below is the one most programs assign, so the buy links are useful already.