Vol.

VI (LXVIII)
11 - 14
No. 1B/2016

Pragmatism and curriculum

Roxana Enachea*, Alina Cri anb
a
Polytechnic University Bucharest, 313 Splaiul Independen ei st., 060042, Bucharest, Romania
b
Technical University of Cluj-Napoca, 15 C-tin Daicoviciu st., 400020, Cluj-Napoca, Romania

Abstract

Education is not preparation for life; education is life itself (John Dewey).
Through this work we highlight the progress of priorities in education systems over time emphasizing
that this development brings top utilitarianism and pragmatism theories of John Dewey and
highlighting their reflection in curriculum development.

Key words: pragmatism, curriculum, John Dewey

1. Introduction

John Dewey is recognized for his principles that bring pragmatism into philosophy
and design of the school curriculum. In Romanian educational system this principle is
found only in theory and less in educational practices. This principle should be a
priority in educational policy documents. (Dewey, 1992)
Its manifestation at the level of educational policy documents in Romanian
educational system may be one of the characteristics of European dimension of
education (which prioritizes the development of European citizenship with indicators,
such as responsibility, commitment, manifestation of specific behaviours, promoting
of European values, and so on) which all educational actors are taken into account to
be implemented in teaching practices, but it is not found in the analyses made to date.
The more we depart from the level of these documents and the closer we are from
educational practice, we will meet too few noticeable aspects to report in the
Romanian system. (Enache, 2008)

2. Deontological and axiological aspects in educational practice drawn from John

Deweys work

Pragmatism may be objective or educational practice established by educational

policy documents. This objective is achieved as far as the triad of educational
priorities turn from the classical one to the intermediate and finally to the modern and
why not to the postmodern variant thus:

* Corresponding author. Tel.: +40-741-739549

E-mail address: rocatare@yahoo.com
 Roxana Enache, Alina Cri an /Journal of Educational Sciences and Psychology 12

The classical triad highlights priorities at the level of the curriculum on education
levels starting from substantiation of education process on a solid, vast and diverse
transmission of information which through learning becomes knowledge. These must
be as many, more detailed, covering in all fields, so as to provide a basis for building
of individual personality according to social expectations. The basis being provided
by this much knowledge (which is transmitted especially in the first years of
compulsory schooling) will be processed and will further build on it selecting and
forecasting categories of skills that can be developed and are socially desirable for
adaptation and integration of young people (these will be closely related and will
derive strictly from those knowledge and will be priorities of middle period of
schooling). And finally, based on that more knowledge and fewer skills, it should
develop fewer, only those necessary for social success, values, attitudes and proactive
social behaviors, but the focus on these should be only at the end of compulsory
schooling. (Tudorica, 2006)
 Roxana Enache, Alina Cri an /Journal of Educational Sciences and Psychology 13

This prioritization of educational objectives highlights reinterpretation of the same

priorities, but with different share, as psychopedagogists researches bring into
discussion the quantitative recalibration of knowledge in the formation of personality,
but also a change of the approach because other mechanisms are involved, so that of
very little knowledge (only those relevant, essential in some fields that are considered
really important, so a different perception of fields of study, their sorting according to
their usefulness and relevance in practice) to form many more capabilities, skills,
competencies and abilities. And at the end of compulsory schooling, based on these
many and various behaviors, attitudes and values will be developed, those the young
people need to participate responsibly to social progress, to get involved in solving
specific social problems of the community.

The modern triad is a reflection of the results of psychological research that

emphasizes the fact that at the beginning of schooling, individuals are not able to
assimilate so many and various knowledge, the cognitive processes are not developed
enough (they do not reach maturity and therefore cannot be exploited to the
maximum) and the educational system would be more efficiently focused on
capitalizing the availability of the young pupil to learn behaviors, attitudes and values
by imitation (but ideal would be that those desirable social behaviors should be
learned especially, which means that we have discussed about a normal society, which
promotes values and not non-values, with families who encourage pro-social attitudes
- tolerance, cooperation, responsibility, involvement, and so on.) (Enache, 2011)
Finally we bring into discussion a possible postmodern triad with a rethinking of
the entire educational system which aims for developing a genuine, honest,
responsible and involved in social progress personality with focus on creativity,
adaptability to everyday situations, a system that gives up purely theoretical
approaches, in favor of pragmatism and utilitarianism, whereas education departed
forbidden from reality and contexts used in education are far from having daily
features. Hence the inability, the incompetence of some people to react to real
situations, although they finished school with maximum school performances.
(Enache, 2009)
To get out of this theoretical-pragmatic cycle, the solution is definitely balance. It
has been proven over time that this balance is difficult to determine, since the excess
of one or another caused crisis situations, as the one we are in today in Romanian
educational system, at least. Postmodernism, progressivism, pragmatism or
utilitarianism will have a share in any solution. An approach like what will dominate
in the new system? - encyclopedism, pragmatism, etc. will not clearly define the
 Roxana Enache, Alina Cri an /Journal of Educational Sciences and Psychology 14

solution. The education and not training should definitely be our educational priority.
Values define us, not knowledge. Our quality of human beings will be subjected to
analysis and value judgments. Not how we learn to live our lives, but how we live it
defines us.

3. Conclusions

As priorities of educational policies in the Romanian education system the current

situation is clear, but these should be reviewed so that the attitudes, values and
behaviours become concrete objectives of educational practice. Knowledge and
control of their transmission to students are handier to teachers as their pedagogical
skills allow them to achieve this objective easily. The development of capabilities,
skills, competencies and abilities is easy, also for teachers because they master the
psychological mechanisms of their developing and practicing on steps, depending on
age and individual particularities. Training and creating of contexts raise issues where
the pupils to form, practice or develop desirable values, attitudes and behaviors.
(Chivu, 2008)
The achievement of Romanian educational ideal, formation and developing of an
autonomous, creative and adaptable personality, is possible only if we create real
contexts in which students train their capabilities and skills in useful, pragmatic, daily
situations. The transversal skills - teamwork, cooperation, toleranceare frequently
discussed, but students will form them only by training into activities in which these
behaviours and values are required and manifested. (Enache, 2011)

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