This thesis interprets John Dewey’s theory of the moral life in the global context in order to shed a light on major ethical challenges of the process of globalization. Dewey’s perspective provides an explanation of (1) formation of the individual commitments to particular sets of values,(2) justification of the responsibilities to the distanced peoples as opposed to the responsibilities to the nearest and dearest peoples and (3)the meaning of democratic social arrangements on the global scale. In order to find a theoretical basis for justification of democracy in the globalizing world, the thesis reviews Dewey’s educational philosophy. His inquiry in the underlying ideas of public education reveals its core democratic meaning which points out the necessity of progressive democratic character education. This thesis suggests that in the current global context the existing educational bodies (such as UNDP and UNESCO) are insufficient in providing such a humanistic education which would actualize democracy as interdependence of all humans within civilization. In order to establish a just social order which would be responsive to every human being within civilization there is the need to maintain a democratic mode of associated living on the global scale where every human partakes in the accumulation of knowledge of civilization and benefits from it in return. Relying on Dewey's theoretical basis the thesis suggests the criteria which the global educational institution should fulfil in order to maintain democracy as a mode of associated living in the global society.

This dissertation describes the introduction and development of school journeys within the Swedish elementary schools during the period 1890 to 1940. The study focuses on how the jour­neys were perceived, organised and performed by elementary school teachers and their pupils. The development of school journeys is mainly due to two different organisations: The Elemen­tary School Teachers of Sweden (Sveriges allmänna folkskollärarförening, SAF) and the Swe­dish Tourist Association (Svenska Turistföreningen, STF). The latter started to support school journeys performed by elementary schools in 1898, by allowing teachers to apply for economic benefits. SAF, on the other hand, helped the development of journeys through the production of guidelines. They also appointed a special School Journey Committee 1899 that were to pro­mote school journeys, and they introduced special youth hostels for travelling school-classes in about 50 cities in Sweden during 1897-1930. School journeys were introduced in Sweden in 1894. The term was used to describe longer journeys taken by school children under the direction of teachers. Its intention was to give the pupil direct experience of the work that had been done in the classroom. The subjects that were dealt with in school, geography, history and nature studies, were thus objectified during the journey. Children were to see and experience such things that hitherto had been nothing but names. In this dissertation the different purposes of the journeys are discussed and it is argued that the journeys became a mean to translate into practise some of the progressive educational prin­ciples that Swedish progressive educators discussed at the end of the nineteenth century. These principles included that education should be based on direct observation, that it should pro­mote self-activity and that it should give the pupils a sense of the national community and shape their national identity. The study consists of three parts. The first part deals with the origin of school journeys and the educational principle of direct observation. The second part presents the ways the notion of school journeys were translated into practise. The third part discusses the image of Sweden that was presented to the children, through the journeys. / digitalisering@umu

Outdoor education constitutes an alternative teaching approach that is characterized by authentic experiences and activities in outdoor natural and cultural landscapes. As a relatively new and progressive teaching method, it tries to find and consolidate its place within the existing educational system. The current thesis explores Greek academic teachers’ perceptions and experiences in the field of outdoor education. More specifically, eight academic teachers from a Greek university express their views about outdoor education and report their experiences in outdoor lessons. Through a qualitative approach, this research includes analysis of data extracted from semi-structured interviews with the academics. From the thematic analysis of the data four themes emerged that illustrate teachers’ opinions. The results of the research revealed academic teachers’ basic knowledge on the field of outdoor education, as they presented some well-aimed examples of main characteristics of the approach. Moreover, they reported limited previous outdoor experiences with their students and perceive outdoor lessons as any action outside the typical classroom, attributing higher importance to outdoor activities performed in cultural rather than natural landscapes. Also, academics acknowledged several benefits that outdoor education provides to their students such as the stimulation of all their senses, the connection of theory with practice and the promotion of social relations. In addition, they attributed significant importance to both the experiential approach to learning and to the connection with nature that outdoor lessons provide. Nevertheless, academic teachers highlighted many barriers that inhibit their efforts to apply outdoor lessons such as lack of time and appropriate places, inadequate infrastructure, human resources as well as insufficient pedagogical training and preparation. Concluding, what seems to trouble academics most is the prevailing educational culture inside schools and universities as well as teachers’ and academic teachers’ attitudes. The above findings contribute to the current limited scientific knowledge concerning the practice of outdoor education in the higher level of education. Last but not least, further qualitative research is a prerequisite in order to study the origin of the perceptions and attitudes of Greek academics and comprehend the socio-cultural and educational context in which these have been formed.

During the Progressive Era, literary writers such as Abraham Cahan, Willa Cather, and Charlotte Perkins Gilman engaged with ideas emerging from the newly consolidated educational profession about art's capacity to mediate between individual and social development. These ideas varied widely in their philosophical, pedagogical, and political implications, but all reinforced the authority of professional educators at the expense of democratically elected boards of education. Novels working through these ideas can be usefully theorized as Bildungsromane if the definition of the Bildungsroman is refined to be more sensitive to the wide range of educational philosophies that can inform it, and to the range of attitudes, from critical to worshipful, that it can assume toward these philosophies. This reimagining of the genre opens up the possibility that the Bildungsroman, and the Bildung idea more broadly, can have a more positive political valence than most scholars have acknowledged. In particular, a viable project of aesthetic education can be discerned in the philosophy of John Dewey, although it lacks a clear literary corollary.

Not available / text

This study examines the work of Elwyn Stuart Richardson, director and teacher of Oruaiti School between 1949 and 1962, an experimental school in Northland, New Zealand and places it with the context of the history of art education in New Zealand. After documenting the historical and educational reform contexts of the first half of the twentieth century, Richardson’s philosophy of art education is framed through an analysis of moments of his early life, schooling and teaching experiences. Richardson (1925-) is best known for his book In the Early World published by the New Zealand Council of Educational Research in 1964. The book describes his work as a teacher at Oruaiti and highlights his pedagogical belief that the most powerful learning arises out of children’s own lives and experiences, that learning through the arts raises students’ potential for self-knowledge, critical discernment, imagination, understanding, awareness and empathy for others, and that the arts have an important role to play in the fostering of community and social reform. The administration of art and craft education in the New Zealand primary school during Richardson’s years at Oruaiti was shaped by early advances in manual and technical education. The development of these reforms and the varied educational doctrines school officials used to advocate for the inclusion of these subjects in the curriculum are examined from 1885 to 1920. As well, significant educational policies and events in the 1920s provided exposure to progressive education ideology from abroad. These initiatives contributed to the great interest in child art which grew out of the New Education movement of the 1930s. New ideas about the development of artistic ability in children led to innovative policies in art and craft education that transformed teaching practices and the place of art and craft in New Zealand schools during the 1940s and 1950s. The newly formed Art and Craft Branch of the Department of Education in 1946 reorganised the administration of art education to change public perceptions of art, create contexts of art appreciation and develop community education in tandem with primary school art education. Examining Richardson’s educational biography is another lens used to understand his philosophy and pedagogy. Oruaiti's status as an experimental school is explored through the unique relationship of Oruaiti School to the Art and Craft Branch of the Department of Education. Further, Richardson’s developing educational philosophy, in particular his ideas about artistic ability in children and the growth of aesthetic standards, is explored relative to the teaching practices of his day. The study also uncovers the critical role that science played in Richardson’s educational pedagogy and curriculum and the profound influence Richardson’s early educative experiences were to have on the development of his educational philosophy. Locating Richardson’s work within its historical context demonstrates both that he worked in an environment which was hospitable to educational experimentation in the field of art and crafts, and that, on many levels, he transcended the educational practices of his times.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of North Carolina at Greensboro, 2007. / Title from PDF t.p. (viewed Feb. 29, 2008). Directed by Kathleen Casey; submitted to the School of Education. Embargoed until Dec. 20, 2008. Includes bibliographical references (p. 234-249).

No description available.

Though she is widely considered one of the "four pioneers" of American modern dance, German-American Hanya Holm (1893-1992) occupies a shadowy presence in dance history literature. She has often been described as someone who fell in love with America, purged her approach of Germanic elements, and emerged with a more universal one. Her "Americanization" has served as evidence of the Americanness of modern dance, thus eclipsing the German influence on modern dance. This dissertation challenges that narrative by casting new light on Holm's worldview and initial intentions in the New World, and by articulating the specifics of the first five years of her American career. In contrast to previous histories, I propose that Holm did not come to the U.S. to forge an independent career as a choreographer; rather, she came as a missionary for Mary Wigman and her Tanz-Gemeinschaft (dance cultural community). To Wigman and Holm, dance was not only an art form; it was a way of life, a revolt against bourgeois sterility and modern alienation, and a utopian communal vision, even a religion. Artistic expression was only one aspect of modern dance's larger purpose. The transformation of social life was equally important, and Holm was a fervent believer in the need for a widespread amateur dance culture. This study uses a historical methodology and accesses traces of the past such as lectures, school reports, promotional material, newspaper articles, personal notebooks, correspondence, photographs, and other material--much of it discussed here for the first time. These sources provide evidence for new descriptions and interpretations of Holm's migration from Germany to the U.S. and from German dance to American dance. I examine cultural contexts that informed Holm's beliefs, such as early twentieth century German life reform and body culture; provide a sustained analysis of the curriculum of the New York Wigman School of the Dance; and consider how the politicization of dance in the 1930s--in both Germany and the U.S.--affected Holm and her work. / Dance

The purpose of this study is to learn to what extent the point of view of patrons of Wichita Falls, Texas, has a background of progressivism or of essentialism and to what extent, if possible, the children are influenced in school by the point of view held by the parents; also which part of the school system -- general education, the curriculum, the child, or the administration -- has the most progressive approval of the parents.