Dewey’s Sketch of Childhood: An Invitation to Draw Again the Project of Education

• In Event: John Dewey and Issues of Pedagogy

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to provide a deep description of John Dewey’s concept of childhood as outlined in his major works. Dewey forces us to think beyond childhood as a developmental stage or something with which to compare adulthood. Instead, he is asking us to live and engage with childhood and its imagination. I shall argue that Dewey’s understanding of the imaginative ground of childhood secures a need for inquiry into both childhood and the educational project.

Author

• Stephanie A. Burdick-Shepherd, Teachers College, Columbia University