John Dewey’s View on School and Social Reform

Abstract

John Dewey is known to have a faith in schools in terms of their ability to initiate social reform. In this paper, however, I will show that his faith fades away when he witnesses the destructive forces of American economic system around the Great Depression. I will make an attempt to illuminate why and how Dewey’s optimism withers, which goes unobserved by numerous studies of Dewey. In doing this, I will examine Dewey’s view of social reconstruction via schools, his recognition of the negative impacts of capitalism on democracy that cause his fading optimism, his search for solutions, and his final thoughts upon the role of schools.