Concept and aims of education as per John Dewey.

According to John Dewey, the development of social efficiency is one of the aims of education To him, school is a social institution.

The school should be organised in such a way that the activities of the outer world are reflected. 

Education takes place with the participation of the individual in social activities and relationships with his fellow human beings.

Dewey holds that education is a necessity for healthy living in the society. Education bridges the gulf between the innate nature of the child and the social needs and demands.

It gives him social consciousness. The school directs guides and controls the inborn propensities of the child in socially desirable channels.

The teacher must know the original nature of the child as well as the social demands. The teacher has to direct and guide the child’s activities in socially desirable channels.

The school is a social environment — “simplified, purified, balanced and graded.”

Thus the school provides a special type of environment. The school as a special environment will cultivate, within the child, the attitudes and dispositions which are necessary for a continuous and progressive life in a society.

The teacher has to play a significant role in this regard. He serves as the main directing force and organizer of the special environment of the school.

Dewey formulated “social efficiency” as aim of education in view of the changing tenor of society. 

This change has been brought by the application of science to the means of production and distribution, by the rise of great manufacturing centers and by the rapid growth of means of communication.

The school must take cognizance of these changes to fit the child in this changed situation in an effective manner.

Dewey emphasises that education is not a preparation for life; it is life itself. The child lives in the present. The future is meaningless to him.

Hence it is absurd to expect him to do things for some future preparation. As the child lives in the present, the educative process will be naturally based on the present needs and interests of the child.

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