ΦTHALASSAJournal of Philosophy
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Democracy and Education

John Dewey

Pragmatism · Intermediate

The classic statement of democratic education, still central to pedagogy and public philosophy.

John Dewey · first circulated 1916

Main ideas

  • Education understood as growth through shared experience.
  • Democracy presented as a social form requiring habits of inquiry.
  • Schools judged by whether they prepare people for intelligent participation.

Important themes

EducationDemocracyGrowth

Reading context

Published in 1916, arguing that a democracy is sustained by how it teaches: not by transmitting facts but by giving the young shared problems to work on together.

How to approach it

Chapters 1 to 7 carry the philosophy and the later chapters are for teachers. Read it with a school you know in mind and see where it still bites.