Pragma Your Article Li-WPS Office
Pragma Your Article Li-WPS Office
Pragma Your Article Li-WPS Office
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Read this article to learn about:- 1. Meaning 2. Pragmatism in Education 3. Aims of Education 4.
Curriculum 5. Methods of Teaching 6. Pragmatism and the Teacher 7. Discipline 8. Criticism 8.
Contribution of Pragmatism.
Meaning of Pragmatism:
The word Pragmatism is of Greek origin (pragma, matos = deed, from prassein = to do). But it is a typical
American school of philosophy. It is intimately related with the American life and mind. It is the product
of practical experiences of life. It arises out of actual living. It does not believe in fixed and eternal
values. It is dynamic and ever-changing. It is a revolt against Absolutism. Reality is still in the making. It is
never complete. Our judgement happens to be true if it gives satisfactory results in experience, i.e., by
the way it works out. A judgement in itself is neither true nor false. There are no established systems of
ideas which will be true for all times. It is humanistic in as much as it is concerned more with human life
and things of human interest than with any established tenets. Therefore, it is called humanism.
Pragmatism means action, from which the words practical and practice have come. The idealist
constructs a transcendental ideal, which cannot be realised by man. The pragmatist lays down standards
which are attainable. Pragmatists are practical people. They face problems and try to solve them from
practical point of view. Unlike idealists they live in the world of realities, not in the world of ideals.
Pragmatists view life as it is, while idealists view life as it should be. The central theme of pragmatism is
activity.
Educative experiences in life depend upon two things: (a) Thought (b) Action.
The emphasis of pragmatism is on action rather than on thought. Thought is subordinated to action. It is
made an instrument to find suitable means for action. That is why pragmatism is also called
Instrumentalism. Ideas are tools. Thought enlarges its scope and usefulness by testing itself on practical
issues. Since pragmatism advocates the experimental method of science, it is also called
Experimentalism — thus stressing the practical significance of thought. Experimentalism involves the
belief that thoughtful action is in its nature always a kind of testing of provisional conclusions and
hypotheses. Pragmatism has no obstructive dogmas. It accepts everything that has practical
consequences. Even mystical experiences are accepted if they have practical results. Unlike idealists
they believe that philosophy emerges out of educational practices while the idealists say that “education
is the dynamic side of philosophy”. The chief exponents of Pragmatism are William James (1842-1910),
Schiller, and John Dewey (1859-1952).
Pragmatism in Education:
In the present world pragmatism has influenced education tremendously. It is a practical and utilitarian
philosophy. It makes activity the basis of all teaching and learning. It is activity around which an
educational process revolves. It makes learning purposeful and infuses a sense of reality in education. It
makes schools into workshops and laboratories. It gives an experimental character to education.
Pragmatism makes man optimistic, energetic and active. It gives him self-confidence. The child creates
values through his own activities. According to pragmatism, education is not the dynamic side of
philosophy as advocated by the idealists. It is philosophy which emerges from educational practice.
Education creates values and formulates ideas which constitute pragmatic philosophy. Pragmatism is
based on the psychology of individual differences. Pragmatists want education according to aptitudes
and abilities of the individual. Individual must be respected and education planned to cater to his
inclinations and capacities. But individual development must take place in social context. Every
individual has a social self and an individuality can best be developed in and through society. Thus
pragmatism has brought democracy in education. That is why it has advocated self-government in
school. The children must learn the technique of managing their own affairs in the school and that
would be a good preparation for life. Education is preparation for life. Pragmatism makes a man socially
efficient. The pragmatists are of the opinion that the children should-not be asked to work according to
predetermined goals. They should determine their goals according to their needs and interests.
Teaching-learning process is a social and bi-polar process. Learning takes place as an interaction
between the teacher and the taught. While idealism gives first place to the teacher, pragmatism gives
the first place to the taught. Similarly, between thought and action, they give first place to action. The
pragmatists decry verbalism and encourage action. Today pragmatism occupies the most dominant
place in the United States of America.
According to pragmatism the theory and practice of education is based on two main principles, viz: (i)
Education should have a social function, and (ii) Education should provide real-life experience to the
child.
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Pragmatism does not lay down any aims of education in advance. It believes that there can be no fixed
aims of education. Life is dynamic and subject to constant change, and hence the aims of education are
bound to be dynamic. Education deals with human life. It must help the children to fulfill their biological
and social needs. The only aim of education, according to pragmatism, is to enable the child to create
values in his life. In the words of Ross, education must create new values: “the main task of educator is
to put the educand into a position to develop values for himself’. The pragmatist educator aims at the
harmonious development of the educand — physical, intellectual, social and aesthetic. The aim of
education, therefore, is to direct “the impulses, interests, desires and abilities towards ‘the satisfaction
of the felt wants of the child in his environment.” Since the pragmatists believe that man is primarily a
biological and social organism, education should aim at the development of social efficiency in man.
Every child should be an effective member of the society. Education must fulfill his own needs as well as
the needs of the society. The children should be so trained that they may be able to solve their present-
day problems efficiency and to adjust themselves to their social environment. They should be creative
and effective members of the society. Their outlook should be so dynamic that they can change with the
changing situations. What pragmatism wants to achieve through education is the cultivation of a
dynamic, adaptable mind which will be resourceful and enterprising in all situations, the mind which will
have powers to create values in an unknown future. Education must foster competence in the children
that they may be able to tackle the problems of future life.
The aims of education are reflected in the curriculum. The pragmatic aims can only be reflected in a
pragmatic curriculum. The curriculum should be framed on the basis of certain basic principles. These
are utility, interest, experience and integration. Practical utility is the watchword of pragmatism. Hence
those subjects, which have utility to the students should be included in the curriculum. The subjects
which carry occupational or vocational utility should find a place in the curriculum. Language, hygiene,
history, geography, physics, mathematics, sciences, domestic science for girls, agriculture for boys
should be incorporated in the curriculum. While deciding the subjects of curriculum the nature of the
child, his tendencies, interests, impulses at the various stages of his growth and multiple activities of
daily life should be taken into consideration. The subjects like psychology and sociology — which deal
with human behaviour — should be included in the curriculum. The pragmatists advocate that the pupils
should not be taught dead facts and theories because these may not help them to solve the problems of
life. The subjects which help to solve the practical problems of life should be included in the school
curriculum, particularly at the elementary stage. The pragmatic aim of education is to prepare the child
for a successful and well- adjusted life. He must be fully adjusted to his environment. The pragmatists
hold the view that the students should acquire that knowledge which is helpful to them in solving the
present-day problems. They should learn only those skills which are useful to them in practical life. With
this end in view the elementary school curriculum should include subjects life reading, writing,
arithmetic, nature study, hand-work and drawing. According to pragmatism, all education is “learning by
doing”. So it must be based on the child’s experiences as well as occupations and activities. Besides the
school subjects, free, purposive and socialised activities should be in the curriculum. The pragmatists do
not allow the inclusion of cultural activities in the curriculum, because they think these activities have no
practical value. But this view is somewhat narrow and biased. The pragmatists believe in the unity of all
knowledge and skill. They prefer to give integrated knowledge round a particular problem of life. They
do not like to divide subjects of instructions into water-tight compartments. Life is the subject matter of
instruction. Its various problems studied in complete perspective are fit subjects of instruction.
The principle of philosophy of pragmatic method of teaching is practical utility. The child is the central
figure in this method. Pragmatic method is an activity-based method. The essence of pragmatic method
is learning through personal experience of the child. To a pragmatist education means preparation for
practical life. The child should know the art of successful tackling of practical problems and real
situations of life. Pragmatic method is thus a problem-solving method. The child has to be placed in real
situations which he has to tackle. The pragmatists are not interested in lectures or theoretical
exposition. They want the children to do something. Action rather than contemplation figures
prominently in pragmatic education. The child should learn by doing. “Learning by doing” is the great
maxim of pragmatic education. To the pragmatist — “education is not so much teaching the child things
he ought to know, as encouraging him to learn for himself through experimental and creative activity”.
Learning by doing makes a person creative, confident and cooperative. The pragmatic method is
socialistic in nature. His learning should be thoroughly purposive. He should learn to fulfill the purpose
of his life. The method employed by the pragmatist teacher is experimental. The pupil is required to
discover the truth for himself. To facilitate this discovery the application of the inductive and heuristic
methods of teaching is necessary. Experiences should, therefore, be planned to arouse the curiosity of
children to acquire knowledge. The business of the teacher, therefore, is to teach his pupils to do rather
than to know, to discover for themselves rather than to collect dry information. It is the business of the
teacher to arouse “interest” in children. Interest is a watchword in pragmatic education. Textbooks and
teachers are not so much important in pragmatic education. Their position is secondary in the teaching-
learning process. They are required to suggest and prompt only. The teacher suggests problems,
indicates the lines of active solution and then leaves the students to experiment for themselves. The
child learns for himself. Pragmatic education is thus auto-education or self-education. Pragmatic method
is a Project Method which is of American origin. “A project is a whole-hearted purposeful activity,
proceeding in a social environment.” This definition is given by Kilpatrick, a follower of Dewey. A project
has also been defined in other ways.
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According to Dr. Stevenson a project is “a problematic act carried to completion in its natural setting.”
Thorndike defines a project as “The planning and carrying out of some practical accomplishment.” A
“project is a voluntary undertaking which involves constructive effort or thought and eventuates into
objective results.”
The school tasks, therefore, should be such that arouse the eagerness of the children to do them. Such
tasks are real, purposeful and related with life. The projects involve participation in social relationships,
division of labor, willing acceptance of responsibility to the community “and they afford valuable
preparation for playing a worthy part in a complex society.” A pragmatist teacher requires only the child
and his “physical and social environment”. Rest will follow. The child will react to environment, will
interact on and thus gain experiences. The pragmatist does not, however, fix up his methods once and
for all. His methods are dynamic, varying from time to time and class to class. If the essentials of
teaching-learning situation are present the method will automatically follow. The most general method
of a pragmatist teacher, according to Ross, is “to put the child into situations with which he wants him to
grapple and providing him, at the same time, with the means of dealing with them successfully.”
In Naturalism the teacher is merely an onlooker. Idealism regards him as an indispensable authority. In
Pragmatism the teacher is not either of the two. He stands midway. According to Pragmatism a teacher
is useful, even though not indispensable. The position of the teacher is of a guide and adviser. He is the
helper and prompter. He should teach “his pupils to think and act for themselves to do rather than to
know, to originate rather than to repeat.” His importance lies in the fact that he has to suggest suitable
problems only to his students and to motivate them in such a way that they can solve the problems with
tact, intelligence and cooperation. He is not required to provide raw information to the students from
the textbooks. The pupils will gain knowledge and skill at their own initiative. Doing is more important
than knowing.
Pragmatism does not believe in external restraint and discipline enforced by the superior authority of
the teacher and the award of punishments. It advocates discipline based on the principles of child’s
activities and interests. It upholds discipline based on social and mutual understanding. It believes in
engaging the children in free and purposeful real activities of human life.
This process gives him a discipline which is acquired in every kind of real and creative work, as a very
natural consequence of the activity itself. Thus the discipline in pragmatic system of education is to be
self-discipline, the discipline of the pupil’s own work and purposeful and creative activity. Imposed and
rigid discipline can have no place in the pragmatic school.
“In pragmatic scheme of education the children are expected to work in cooperation with one another.
They are to take up a project on real problem, and to work at it as a team. These cooperative activities
impart to them very useful qualities of social life — sympathy, give and take, fellow-feeling, spirit of
sacrifice and toleration — which constitute an invaluable moral training for them.”
The school is the representative of the greater community. It is a society in miniature. Therefore, the
school has to provide for all those activities which constitute the normal life of the community. It has to
provide for the socialised, free and purposive activities. These activities provide the pupils a very useful
training in citizenship.
Criticism of Pragmatism:
The philosophy of pragmatism has been severely criticised on various grounds. Pragmatism does not
advocate any absolute standards. Education is to help man to create his new standards of life. In the
absence of eternal values, there is very likelihood of a vacuum being created in social organism.
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It may lead to many vices in the society. Eternal values create social cohesion and harmony. Without
values human conduct cannot be evaluated. Pragmatism neglects cherished values of humanity. It is, of
course, true that human values change with the change of time and circumstances.
It is true that action is important and it may generate thinking. But it is equally true that all thinking does
not proceed from action only. Truth is an end in itself. Rusk stresses that “if culture is to be saved, it
must be by developing in pupils a love of knowledge for its own sake; the pragmatist is right in
maintaining that practical activities must provide the incentive to learning, but the end must be the
development of a disinterested activity.”
Pragmatism opposes the spiritual values. It advocates extreme type of utilitarianism. It develops a super-
ego in man and leaves little scope for selfless humanitarianism. Too much experimentalism is as bad as
too much of faith and traditionalism.
Pragmatism appears to be too radical and sceptical. It works towards denial of authority. Man has his
limitations. To describe human purpose as the yardstick to perform actions cannot be accepted as the
whole story of human existence.
The pragmatic aims of education are vague. Pragmatic methodology of teaching is also not free from
criticism. Pragmatism tries to build knowledge through projects and experiments. Gaps are often left in
such type of knowledge. The curriculum may be given a vocational and social efficiency bias, but
wholesale condemnation of liberal studies and cultural subjects is not justified. Accomplishment of a
task cannot be judged by results alone.
Contribution of Pragmatism:
In spite of its drawbacks, pragmatism has immensely contributed to the theory and practice of
education. It is not only a practical philosophy but also a progressive one. It conceives education as a
dynamic and life-long process.
Man always creates new values and education should help him in doing so. Pragmatism is not based on
fixed values. It is a dynamic and adaptable social philosophy. Learning is true and real only when it
comes through doing. Project method is an activity method. It develops sociability in students. It also
generates a sense of cooperation among them.
A project is to be completed not within the four walls of a school building but in constant contact with
the community. Its opposition to formalism and artificiality, its emphasis on practical result, its bias
towards social efficiency, its critical spirit — all have revolutionised education. It has accelerated the
pace of democracy in educational institutions. Its humanistic and social approach in education ensures
better citizens.
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Reflections
In our day and age, the second primary factor that militates against the essential acts of Christ-centered
faith, prayer, reflection, and contemplation is: pragmatism.
I continue to draw from the book The Shattered Lantern by Ronald Rolheiser. The English word
“pragmatism” comes from the Greek pragma, meaning “business.” In the western mind, pragmatism is
connected to concepts like: efficiency, practicality, progress, and sensibleness. It only follows from this
that pragmatism is synonymous with much of western life.
As a philosophy, pragmatism is a way of life that assesses the truth of a matter in its practical efficacy or
application. What is true is what works. The test for truth is directly related to whether an idea has some
concrete utility or practical benefit. “Things are good if they work, and what works is good. The ideals of
pragmatism lie at the very heart of the Western mind, undergird our technological society, are deeply
enshrined in our educational systems, and are evident in our impatience with anything (or anybody) that
is not practical, useful, and efficient” (The Shattered Lantern, 36).
From the time of childhood we are told to climb the ladder of success, gain approval, be the best, be
efficient, and ultimately to dominate. And even worse, the status of being part of the so-called “elite” is
the goal in much of our western culture. Too many forms of media and the example of parents and
leaders reinforce this message throughout our adolescent years. All of us are deeply affected by this
thoroughly pragmatic worldview.
This is hugely problematic. Ultimately it is cancer to the soul. As Jean Vanier notes, “Elitism is the
sickness of us all. We all want to be on the winning team…The important thing is to become conscious of
those forces in us and to work at being liberated from them and to discover that the worst enemy is
inside our own hearts not outside!” A pragmatic worldview wreaks havoc on our lives and on the world.
Our lives become completely out of joint when we live by the principles “what’s good is what works”
and “you are only good if you work” and “you are only as good as the work you do.” When doing counts
for everything and being counts for nothing, our lives become a chaotic mess. The true priorities of
worship, relationships, family, and self-giving love go out the window. And as a society, we come to
undervalue children and the weak, we institutionalize people with physical disabilities or mental illness,
and we discard and disregard the elderly (or anyone who is an "unproductive" member of society).
In contrast, God calls us to be last. Jesus says, “The first shall be last and the last shall be first. Blessed
are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are the gentle, for they shall inherit
the earth. Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they
shall see God.”
Our being in God must always be our primary focus and point of reflection. Who we are in Jesus Christ is
paramount. Regardless of our worldly status, our identity in Christ is all that matters. In Christ we are
loved, accepted, adopted as God’s children, forgiven, redeemed, renewed by God’s Spirit, and recreated
as God’s new humanity. What we do (or do not do!) should flow from the truly human identity we
derive from our relationship with God, through Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit.
Further, Jesus teaches us to look beyond our ego in order to address our insecurities and our fear of
being devalued. In the face of our culture’s pragmatic, progress driven, and elitist mentality, Jesus says,
“Climb down the ladder of success and meet me at the bottom. There you will discover the meaning of
truth and goodness, which transcends your petty notions of efficiency and practicality. Realize that life is
messy, and that I have come to clean you up, set you free, and set you on the right path. Acknowledge
your brokenness, your poverty of spirit, your complete dependence on God for all things. Become like a
child. Trust Me. Follow God. Then go, serve the poor, enjoy fellowship with the estranged, have
compassion on the sick, and share people’s pain. Only then can you experience true fellowship and
communion with God and neighbor. Only then will you inherit the kingdom of heaven!”
Brad at 6:47 PM
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The term ‘Pragmatism’ is derived from Greek word ‘Pragma’ meaning activity or work
done. Another group of thinkers, however, believes that ‘Pragmatism’ is derived from ‘Pragmatikos’
meaning practicability or experimentation.
Principles of Pragmatism:
Pragmatism recognizes the importance of man power and emphasizes on development of social and
democratic values.
It gives importance to activity based learning.
― John Dewey
Curriculum in Pragmatism:
The curriculum reflects the aims of education. The curriculum should be framed on the basis of certain
basic principles. The principle of curriculum construction in pragmatism are:
Activity based Principle which says that curriculum should be activity based where each student can do
the activity and learn from his own perception.
Principle of utility that means the curriculum should be useful for future life.
The principle of experience which means learning from senses and from own perceptions.
Principle of integration which integrates the child activities and needs on one hand, and the needs of the
present democracy on the other hand.
Principal of flexibility which says that curriculum should not be rigid and fixed for all time rather it should
be flexible in accordance with the time and need of students.
According to pragmatism learning must be based on the child’s experiences as well as occupations and
activities. Besides school subjects, free purposive and socialized activities should be in the curriculum.
The subjects included in pragmatic curriculum are- Language, Hygiene, History, Geography, Physics,
Mathematics, Science, Domestic science for Girls, Agriculture for boys, Psychology Sociology.
Read also:
Method of Teaching:
The principal philosophy of pragmatic method of teaching is practical utility. The child is the central
figure in this method. The essence of pragmatic method is learning especially through personal
experience of the child. To a pragmatic education means preparation for practical life. The pragmatism
has given more emphasis on following method of teaching.
Project method which asks students to do some research and prepare a project.
Correlation method
Experimentation.
Activity.
It also encourages discussion as a method of laboratory work. Personal reference in the library.
Educational tours and excursions.
Role of Teacher:
In naturalism the teacher merely is an onlooker. Idealism regards him as an indispensable authority. In
pragmatism the teacher is neither of the two, he stands midway. According to pragmatism a teacher is
useful even though is not indispensable. The role of the teacher are as follows:
Teacher should have knowledge of students interest and provide them social environment.
The teacher should not over shadow the personality of the pupil.
Discipline in Pragmatism:
Although pragmatism does not believe in external restraint and discipline enforced by the superior
authority of the teacher and the award of punishments. But it advocates discipline based on the
principles of child activity and interest. It believes in engaging the children in free as well as purposeful
real activities of human life. In short description include:
Condemned enforced discipline and advocates social discipline based on child’s interest, activities and
sense of social responsibilities.
Merits of Pragmatism:
Pragmatism introduced project method which indulges child in various creative activities and also cater
to his natural progress and development.
It emphasizes upon such type of activities which can be performed by learning by doing method.
Similarly, it emphasizes the practical life of child. So, pragmatic education prepares the child for future
life in a very effective manner.
It develops in the child the love for democratic values as well as social efficiency which bring harmonious
adjustment and development of personality.
Moreover, pragmatism has revolutionized the process of education to very great extent.
Demerits of Pragmatism:
It opposes pre determined truth. That is why, according to it truth changes according to aching in
circumstance, time and place and is created by the consequences of our actions and experiences.
Opposition of pre determined ideas and values. Therefore according to them ideals and values are man
made and changes according to change in circumstances, time and place.
Also it opposes intellectualism. It believes that a man’s intelligence are subservient to his innate
tendencies. This only makes him an animal.
Difficulty in the construction of curriculum, because selecting a project and construction of curriculum to
gain all knowledge from life experience is very difficult.
Unlike other philosophical doctrine it does not lay down any aims, ideals and values of life to be pursued
by human being. Hence it can not be termed as philosophy of life.
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