Educational Concepts Change

"Education as life", "Education as growth" and "Education as Reconstruction" are three key propositions in John Dewey's educational theory, So many distortions and misundertandings have been made that Dewey's whole educational theory can't be objectively evaluated. This dissertation tries to make an exhanstive study of the propositions and to discuss Dewey's theory about educational aims, curriculum, teaching method, moral education and vocational education, etc. What the paper always wants to do is to discuss Dewey's educational theory on the whole from the standpoint of the three propositions. The educational view that his three propositions show is a new one which reflects not only the industrialization and democratization in the United States at that time, but also his political, philosophical and psychological thoughts. This paper aims at revealing both its advantages and disadvantages all-sidedly. and evaluating its position in the history of education objectively, in addition, providing theoretical guide to the Chinese educational reforms at present.