Progressive Education and Racial Justice: Examining the Work of John Dewey

• In Event: 26.020 - (Re)reading Curriculum History and Theorizing Hopeful Spaces Yet to Be Designed

Abstract

John Dewey was a progressive theorist, a pragmatist, a philosopher, and arguably the most influential American educator of the 20th century. Yet, there is little research about Dewey’s views about race and racism, especially as they relate to schooling. In this paper, I explore the relationship between progressive and accommodationist education reforms by examining the embodied contradictions of John Dewey. I argue that Dewey, despite an expressed commitment to racial justice and democracy, often normalized the experiences of White students and failed to fully theorize the impact of racism on the implementation of progressive reforms. I further argue that we must complicate the manner in which we remember and represent Dewey’s influence and legacy as it impacts schooling today.

Author

• Kelly P. Vaughan, Purdue University Northwest