Seymour Papert's Constructionism: An Anarchist or Libertarian Tradition?

• In Event: Pursuing Justice, Seeking Equity

Abstract

Despite his personal history contributing to Marxist politics, Seymour Papert--co-creator of the Logo programming language who, also, coined constructionist learning theory--tended to be rather antagonistic toward public, state-sanctioned schooling. Given this stance, what best characterizes Papert’s constructionism: an anarchist tradition of education or a libertarian tradition of education? To answer this question we conducted a methodological close reading of Papert’s most cited books. Findings suggest that Papert and this theory of constructionism share more in common with libertarian educational traditions than anarchist ones. We end by drawing attention to the limitations of libertarian education and, then, suggest what a more anarcho-constructionist political orientation might offer 21st-century learners.

Authors

• Michael L Lachney, Michigan State University

• Elizabeth Patitsas, McGill University

• Emma McKay