John Dewey and American Public Schools Envisioning Life Together

• In Event: Dewey and Philosophical Inquiries in Democracy

Abstract

Is public school a necessary social institution in the United States? How interested is the public school in helping children to grow as socially engaged citizens? Public school has maintained its social meanings throughout the history of American education, though historical interpretations differ. This paper examines the origin and roles of public school as a social institution of the United States and Dewey’s insights about public schools and social progress. It is meaningful to understand not only the social meanings of public school in the history of American education, but Dewey’s dream for fostering a society living together by means of public school, to clarify the social aims of American public school based on its tradition in our days.

Author

• Hyunju Lee, The University of Iowa