It is the purpose of this thesis to define and explain the educational philosophy of instrumentalism as developed by John Dewey.

Most contemporary commentaries on the ethical thought of William James and John Dewey attempt to fit them into the framework of contemporary ethics. On such readings, many of James and Dewey’s most distinctive ethical concerns fade away so that they seem interested, above all, in meta-ethical questions about the nature of moral judgment and in normative questions about moral deliberation. Foregrounding the influence of Ralph Waldo Emerson on both these thinkers, this dissertation attempts to provide fresh interpretations of the ethical thought of James and Dewey. The locus of James’ most important ethical thought, I argue, comes in his religious writings, where he attempts to find ethical resources in religious belief that help us respond to the problems of suffering and uncertainty: the problem of how to acknowledge the suffering of others, and the problem of how to act with ethical conviction in the absence of social approval for one’s actions. Dewey’s most important work in ethics, I argue, is located in his rich and sophisticated theory of habit, where he reworks the Aristotelian tradition of virtue ethics to emphasize the contingency of our habitual systems and the importance of the ideal of growth.

This thesis addresses a recent development of elementary school children. Curriculum shifted from societal need toward the particular interests and needs of children is supported by the author.

Our American forefathers, with the exception of Thomas Jefferson, had no ideal of a system of universal education. His plans were throttled by slavery, but the doctrine of universal education lived. Then at a time when the whole system of common schools was in danger of failure Horace Mann gave his life to the promotion of the interests of the Common school. In 1837, the very year Horace Mann gave up his prospect of a famous political career to become Secretary of the State Board of Education in Massachusetts, Francis Wayland Parker was born in New Hampshire, and was destined to play an important part in this movement for the welfare of the common school. He began his teaching career at the age of sixteen. In his work he made a practical application of the truism of Comenius, 'We Learn To Do By Doing,' by supplying conditions which were favorable to efficient and rational doing. Spurred on by his deep conviction that there must be a science of education with which he was not familiar, he spent several years studying in Germany. With his conviction strengthened, he returned to America to continue his work or reform in the elementary schools of, America. He pictured the school as a community and the teacher as an organizer of community life and creator of public opinion. Like Horace Mann, he instigated and promoted a great movement to free teachers as well as children. Prior to this time teachers had received appointments mainly through political influence, regardless of their lack of qualifications. Through Colonel Parker's efforts, it became necessary to appoint teachers who were equipped the guide the pupils along the path of freedom which develops self-control.1 Colonel Parker refused to accept a creed handed down from the past and so refused to impose a creed upon his followers. Thus he left no published works which do justice to his educational theory and practice. It is my purpose to show the relationship of his work to the Progressive School Movement, and the background provided by his reforms for Dr. John Dewey's contribution to the elementary school.

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Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / John Dewey’s account of human individuality blends various ideas that cut across many of his works. In “Time and Individuality,” Dewey discusses the essence of the individual as “temporal seriality.” In Human Nature and Conduct, he talks about the self as a collection of habits that change throughout one’s life. In A Common Faith, Dewey calls the whole self an ideal. Furthermore, Dewey addresses the issue of one’s individuality being threatened if one falls victim to mechanistic and mindless routines; that is, when routine shrouds one’s daily activities, moral and intellectual growth is stunted. Ensnarement in routine is the mechanization of daily activities that unfold in an uninspired and lethargic manner. Although Dewey discusses how individuality can be threatened, his thoughts on the subject nonetheless turn on the idea that if life is to be meaningful, one must learn to express one’s individuality. For Dewey, the authentic expression of individuality is art. But, how does one express one’s individuality? Are there any tools within Dewey’s philosophy that can be used to ensure the perpetuation of one’s individuality. The impetus for this thesis is to provide an analysis of key texts that are not only relevant to Dewey’s account of human individuality, but that are also relevant to Dewey’s instrumentalism. Through close textual analysis, I will seek to highlight elements in Dewey’s philosophy that can be used to ensure the continuation of one’s individuality. The following question will thus serve as a guide throughout this inquiry: “If human individuality can be threatened and even lost, what are some practical ideas in Dewey’s philosophy that can be used to ensure the perpetuation of one’s individuality?”

En 1951, dans une ultime réintroduction à Expérience et nature , John Dewey proposait d'y remplacer le concept d'expérience par celui de culture, ce dernier constituant un socle solide sur lequel établir sa philosophie. Si cela révèle une certaine in fluence de l'anthropologie culturelle , cette thèse vient démontrer que ce socle sur lequel Dewey édifie sa philosophie, et notamment sa philosophie politique, est la philosophie de la culture de Hegel. Centrée autour de son concept de Bildung, la philosophie hégélienne de la culture est ancrée dans un naturalisme et un historicisme que Dewey reprend à sa manière et dans son contexte, non sans avoir adressé quelques critiques à Hegel et à la philosophie en général. La critique de Dewey est d'abord et avant tout celle de l'absolutisme qui a pour corrélat la critique d'un certain brutalisme politique hégélien, mais le pragmatiste états-unien, n'a nié Hegel que pour mieux le conserver. Cette thèse reconstruit ainsi le fil d'une philosophie de la culture portée par Hegel, puis Dewey, explicitant les rapports de l'esprit à la culture et de la culture à la nature qu'énoncent leurs philosophies. Cette thèse expose ensuite la conception deweyenne du politique et de la démocratie afin de montrer comment celui-ci pense l'interaction de la culture et du politique dans le but infiniment reconduit de savoir ce que l'on fait. / In 1951, John Dewey wrote a re-introduction to Experience and Nature, explicitly saying he should replace the concept of experience by the concept of culture, on which his philosophy should be based. If this choice reveals the influence of cultural anthropology over John Dewey, the current thesis demonstrates how Dewey's philosophy, and especially his political philosophy, was actually based on Hegel's philosophy of culture. Built on the concept of Bildung, Hegel's philosophy of culture is rooted in naturalism and historicism, two features that characterize Dewey's philosophy in its own way, although it also contains criticisms addressed to Hegel, and to philosophy in general. Focusing on absolutism and what he calls Hegel's political brutalism, Dewey's criticisms negate Hegel's philosophy only to better preserve it. This thesis intends to reconstruct a philosophy of culture that goes from Hegel to Dewey, making explicit the link between spirit and culture and between culture and nature as found in them. We then expose Dewey's political philosophy and his conception of democracy to show how he thinks the interaction of culture and politics in the ever-renewing goal of knowing what we do.

The Scottish Curriculum for Excellence is framed, without visible theory, in language embedding the value of children’s experiences. In association with a policy encouraging practitioners to develop healthy home/school links, early childhood practitioners develop pedagogical practices in support of this curricular language of experience. One aspect coming into focus is children’s experiences in general rather than only those which take place within institutional walls. One way children introduce their out-of-school experiences into classrooms is by voluntarily bringing treasured objects from home to early childhood setting doors. By jointly engaging with John Dewey’s view that worthwhile educational experiences are developed through interactions and continuities, the pedagogic practices of twelve early childhood practitioners and the view that each child-initiated object episode could be viewed as part of a child’s experience this research aims to better understand practitioners’ development of educational experiences through their responses to the objects forty children voluntarily brought to school. In support of this aim three research questions focused on 1) what objects children brought? 2) what practitioners said and did with the objects? and 3) what practice similarities and differences were visible across two consecutive age groups: 3-5 year olds in a nursery (preschool) and 5-7 year olds in a composite Primary 1/2 class (formal schooling)? During an eight month period in 2009 data were collected by classroom observations, collection of photographic images and practitioner interviews in a government-funded, denominational, early childhood setting in a Scottish village school. Data were analysed for the physical and social properties of children’s objects, practitioner’s pedagogic practices when engaging with the brought-in objects and similarities and differences in object-related classroom behaviours as epitomised in the relationships in each classroom. The findings were that practitioners made use of three main pedagogical practices when engaging with children’s brought-in objects: transforming objects into educational resources, shaping in-school object experiences and building a range of relationships around these objects. While the broad patterns of practice used in both classrooms were similar the details of practice showed underlying framings of children and their futures were different in each classroom. It is argued that what Dewey’s views offer, in the context of these findings, is a theoretical framing of experience that opens new possibilities for practitioner’s individual and group reflections on their current practices and collaborative practice development. His is one of the languages of experience available as practitioners and policy makers around the world grapple with educational questions.

The purpose of this analysis is to explain the instrumental theories of Dewey and Ayres; their analysis of societal problems and the proposed solutions; and finally their perception of the future direction of society. Dewey and Ayres both utilized the instrumental theory of value to analyze problems and propose solutions. According to this theory, something has value if it enhances or furthers the life process of mankind. Therefore, this should become the criterion to be utilized in determining the future courses of action. They both agree that policy decisions should be made with at least one goal in mind: progress.