Hello everyone,

I am Wedad Dawood. I am originally Palestinian, born and raised in Saudi Arabia,

Majored in Medical Science, I am working in an IB/PYP International school as the
academic controller. I have been working in the educational field for almost seventeen
years. I am so excited to start this experience and gain the knowledge. I am looking
forward to meeting everyone and expand my education along the way.

Interpret the general purpose of education, the purpose of education in the country you
are currently in, and how it has changed over time.

The main purpose of education is to:

 Provide the opportunity for obtaining knowledge and skills that will enable people
to develop their full potential, and become successful members of society.
 Promote student achievement
 Prepare people for global competitiveness by fostering educational excellence
and ensuring equal access.
 Teach one to think intensively and to think critically.
 Empower people to succeed in the economy, participate in culture, and leave
school prepared for adult life.

Education in the country I am currently in is extremely developed positively, they have

announced radical changes to its education system by introducing new subjects and
new programs in schools. A lot of international schools have been established offering
the IB program and following the international standards of learning. They added new
subjects to the governmental schools that will be taught for the first time include digital
skills, English for elementary grades, social studies, self-defense and critical thinking.

Also, according to the new changes, the two-semester school system will now be
converted into three with short vacations, in order to keep pace with international best
practices, local media reported.

The five major approaches are Constructivist, Collaborative, Integrative, Reflective and

Inquiry Based Learning ( 2C-2I-1R ).

In my opinion, the purpose of education has changed from teaching students to become
educated and informed lifelong learners to teaching students specific skills to prepare
them for positions in the workplace. The elimination of courses such as Home
Economics, wood working, auto mechanics, art, and music has taken place in order to
shift educational institutions’ focus on producing students who are better prepared with
math skills so they need less on the job training and who are ready to assume their
 positions in the corporate structure. The jury is still out on whether this was a good
decision and whether it has produced better workers or not.

 Empower people to succeed in the economy, participate in culture,

and leave school prepared for adult life.
 have consistently guided our programme of reform. Delivering on
our commitment to social justice means placing these principles at
the centre of everything we do, so that every young person has the
opportunity to reach their potential.

How a parent feels about a school's ability to keep them informed appears to be a

major factor in their evaluation. According to the survey, parents who are very
satisfied with the school's communication are three times as likely as those who are
less satisfied to give their child's schools an A.

We are striving to implement other approaches as well like Collaborative, Integrative, Reflective
and Inquiry Based Learning ( 2C-2I-1R ).

I agree that lifelong approach is a great practice to promote lifelong learning. I am working in an
IB school that motivate young learners to be prepared for their future.
We believe that the aim of educators is to prepare young people for their futures in a world that
is rapidly changing, create adults who can compete in a global economy, improve lifelong
learners and to develop emotionally healthy adults who can engage in meaningful relationships.
There are three factors that shape the lifelong learning ability which are motivation,
organizational culture, and the nature of work. In order to promote lifelong learning in the school
we must be supporter of education in all forms, set learning goals with employees, get learners to
share knowledge, identify learning needs and learning sources, and encourage learning beyond
the profession.
Lifelong learning is now being viewed as increasingly vital to employers, individuals and to the
future growth and development of the further education and skills sector.
Nowadays, ethics has an essential place in all fields of life. Education is also a basic method of
human life. So, in education ethics has a very vital and productive role. To become a better
citizen, ethics should be put as a way in the educational system. I do agree with you that teaching
ethics is essential because it introduce students to faulty rationalization, expose students to
opposing viewpoints, allow students to develop critical thinking skills and prepare students for
success post-graduation.

We must remember that intelligence is not enough. Intelligence plus character – that is the goal
of true education.” -Martin Luther King, Jr. Teaching one to think critically is not a small task.
The complete education gives one not only power of concentration, but worthy objectives upon
which to concentrate.

Morals refer to human behavior where morality is the practical activity and, ethics describes the
theoretical, systematic, and rational reflection upon that human behavior (Churchill, 1982).
Values are linked to beliefs and attitudes and guide human behavior (Rennie, 2007).
Moral education means an ethical education that helps choose the right path in life. It comprises
some basic principles such as truthfulness, honesty, charity, hospitality, tolerance, love, kindness
and sympathy. Moral education makes one perfect.
I can expect that in Saudi Arabia moral education may be defined as helping children and young
people to acquire a set of beliefs and values regarding what is right and wrong. This set of beliefs
guides their intentions, attitudes and behaviors towards others and their environment.
Those skills and moral values must be reinforced and learned at home as well. Moral values are
important components of any individual's character and they should be taught right from
childhood. Every parent wants his or her child to be the epitome of values like honesty,
generosity, love, compassion, patience, humility, or self-discipline—the list is long. We all want
our children to imbibe these qualities to become good human beings and responsible citizens of
society. We can use some skills to teach moral values to kids at home and at school by being
their role model, teach them moral values, share moral stories with valuable lessons, give them
scenarios to help build a good character.
We accept as true that Ethics in education helps run the system smoothly. It sets standards that
are applicable and protects the interest of both the learner and tutor. Teachers are also
responsible to help develop the personality of students and act as a mentor to them to influence
their personal development and behavior.
Ethical discussions not only expose students to contrasting ethical opinions, they also provide an
opportunity to understand the reasons behind the differences. As a result, students are able to
expand their understanding of ethics, sometimes even altering their own values and ethical
decision-making process.
It is always a good experience to sever education in different countries and practice different
systems of teaching. From the reading not all international schools follow the same curriculum
and with thousands of international schools located around the world, there are a variety of
systems designed to service the various populations. There are American, Canadian, British and
the more generic, “international” schools, that follow one of these systems or a combination of
them in their curriculum. In addition, many of these schools offer the International Baccalaureate
(IB) Program which can lead to an IB diploma.
I am working in an IB school and I am so persuaded with the program as they define agency as,
“the power to take meaningful and intentional action, and acknowledges the rights and
responsibilities of the individual, supporting voice, choice and ownership for everyone in the
learning community.”
 Explain what Dewey considered to be the purpose(s) of education

The 19th century, particularly the middle part of the century, was a period of tremendous
educational change in the country. The state increasingly played a major role in education.
Nevertheless, the government schools adhered to the same values and philosophy as the private
institutions and supported the beliefs of the vast majority of Americans. As a result, most Americans
eventually embraced the broader role of government in education.

Jeynes, W. (2012). The widespread growth of the common school and higher education.
In American Educational History, pp. 145-
156.  https://www.sagepub.com/sites/default/files/upm-binaries/13715_Chapter6.pdf

According to Dewey, the purpose of education is not the communication of knowledge

but the sharing of social experience so that children become integrated into the
democratic community.

References

https://www.iwp.edu/articles/2018/02/01/the-tragedy-of-american-education-the-role-of-john-dewey/

Dewey’s challenge to his contemporaries does not, in the end, show that their
educational aims are without merit. Rather, their understanding of the purpose of
education is partial. His conclusion is that the right kind of education, a democratic
education, will be guided by nature, students’ interests, and an understanding
of natural development; it will allow
individuals to flourish, utilizing their skills and interests to secure social
efficiency; and it will lead to an enlightened citizen, a genuinely cultured one. 

Mintz, A. I. (n.d.). What is the purpose of education? Dewey's challenge to his

contemporaries. https://www.academia.edu/23693775/What_is_the_Purpose_of_Education_
Deweys_challenge_to_his_contemporaries

The Purpose of Education: John Dewey’s

Perspective
John Dewey, a philosopher that contributed a large portion of his works to
education, the purpose of education was essentially social reform whereby a democratic
education would ensure that children became citizens who were culturally aware, open-
minded people who positively contributed to society. Dewey believed that the traditional
system of boring, rote learning was not productive to the children’s learning and that the
sharing of information and knowledge through experiential learning, in a child-focused
manner, was a more effective method of gaining knowledge.

“According to Dewey, the purpose of education is not the communication of

knowledge but the sharing of social experience so that children become integrated into
the democratic community”. (Piedra, 2018)

Dewey felt that the education system at the time did not help the children realize their
full potential. Dewey (1897; as cited in Talebi, 2005) states that “…to prepare him for
the future life means to give him command of himself; it means so to train him that he
will have the full and ready use of all his capacities”. Dewey regards school as a place
where children need to learn about life as a whole and not just a place where they are
taught content subjects. (Talebi, 2005) Notably, Dewey did not throw out any previous
or current theories on learning but rather pointed out that they were incomplete and did
not cater to the child from a holistic perspective, he believed:

the right kind of education, a democratic education, will be guided by nature, students’
interests, and an understanding of natural development; it will allow individuals to
flourish, utilizing their skills and interests to secure social efficiency; and it will lead to an
enlightened citizen, a genuinely cultured one. (Mintz, 2018.)

Dewey’s ideas of education were deeply rooted in his moral belief system and
democracy. I see a correlation between Dewey’s desire for democratic education and
Mann’s desire to change society through education. “Mann claimed that education was
a better means than law to change society” (Jeynes, 2012).

Dewey’s challenge to his contemporaries does not, in the end, show that their education
aims are without merit. Rather, their understanding of the purpose of education is
partial. His conclusion is that the right kind of education, a democratic education, will be
guided by nature, students’ interests, and an understanding of natural development; it
will allow individuals to flourish, utilizing their skills and interests to secure social
efficiency; and it will lead to an enlightened citizen, a genuinely cultured one.
The Principles of Dewey’s Philosophy and
Their Influence on Education
At the heart of Dewey’s philosophies’ we see some guiding principles on how the
education system is a process, “Education is a social process. Education is growth.
Education is not a preparation for life; education is life itself.” (Dewey)

1. The Principle of Democracy

“With the principles of democracy as a basis, Dewey developed a new concept of
education emphasizing experience and growth” (Sullivan, 1966). Democracy itself
emphasized a person’s right to freedom of choice. Dewey believed that the children
were the most vulnerable people in the quest for democracy, with the traditional system
teaching children to sit quietly and listen to instructions. “Dewey was specifically
concerned about the rights of the child as an individual, his right to exercise his
decisions, choices in learning and education, and his participation in a democratic
learning process.” (Sikaya, 2015)

He theorized that the growth of the children in developing critical thinking skills allowed
them to grow into adults that could make decisions based on the information that they
provided. When thinking about democratic education, “His preoccupation with this issue
is a constant theme in his works, which are infused with ideas about the role that
education and, most specifically, our school system have in the transformation of
society.” (Pérez-Ibáñez, 2018)

This argument is still relevant today and not enough has been done to include the
freedom of thought in the global education system. In many countries, the idea of
creating free thinkers would not suit political agendas. Dewey’s writings on democracy
and education may even be a cause for concern and a reason for politicians to hold
such control over the education system in countries where authoritarian rule is still in
place. Despite the guise of democracy and the lip service to the voting system,
countries, like Zimbabwe, still have control of their citizens. The introduction of such a
philosophy to their education system would not be tolerated. Berding (1997; as cited by
Sikanda, 2015) comments about Dewey, saying:

His writings on democracy and education express his philosophy of education as a way
of social reform. He saw education as a means of serving the democratic process
through making corrections in the economic evils and by obtaining political ends that
would lead to the progression of society. Hence, education for Dewey is the culmination
of his political ideas. The shaping of a society in which the common goods, among
which are the knowledge and social intelligence, are distributed fairly among all who
participate in that society.

2. The Principle of Experience

John Dewey valued experience in an educational setting. He believed that by
performing an act and then experiencing its consequence that children would learn from
such an experience. Dewey did elaborate on this and say that the context in which the
experience happened is important as is the child’s direct involvement with the
consequence.

Experience as mentioned in Dewey’s definition of education is a social process that

involves the interaction of an individual with his environment. An experience includes
initial confusion, tentative hypothesis, investigation, elaboration of hypothesis, and
action to bring about results. (Sullivan, 1966)

Dewey believed that if the child was to enjoy the experience or have a positive reaction
to that experience, then it would encourage the child to want to know more. Along the
lines of the principle of experience is the theory of interaction and continuity. “Seemingly
the most significant principle Dewey employed was what became known later as
interaction or transaction” (Morgan, J., & Shermis, S. 1970)
An experience can be either positive or negative, depending on the outcome of said
experience. “One’s present experiences are a direct result of how their previous
experiences interact with and influence their present situation” (Dewey). In Dewey’s
philosophy of education, the ‘interaction’ of a student will depend on the current
situation, and how the child feels about the experience. ‘Continuity’ will depend on
whether or not the experience was positive as to whether or not the child will choose to
partake in the experience again.

The principles of interaction and continuity (intersection between experience and

education) form a major part of John Dewey’s philosophical discourse. According to
Dewey, these principles determine the quality of educative experience for meaningful
life‐long learning. (Bassy, 2010)

The principle of experience as a tool in education could provide a child with the intrinsic
desire to learn more. Positive experiences would encourage the child’s’ innate desire for
knowledge. “These experiences are given value and direction by the teachers;
therefore, there should be order and direction of a child’s experiences, which will give
him a composed and integrated personality” (Sikander, 2015) It would be essential that
a teacher can harness the individual child’s willingness to explore a topic further.
Understandably, a teacher cannot possibly know or understand the experience that a
child has had outside of their care and therefore communication regarding a subject
matter between the child and the teacher is important.

Dewey believed that progressive educators could craft learning experiences that invited
equally absorbing forms of exploration and promised equally exciting experiences of
mastery by harnessing the natural drives of children in the service of socializing them to
valued cultural activities and norms. (Meyer, 2015)

Experience-based learning has been implemented in many schools around the world.
We can see this through the field trips organized by schools, school gardens, museums
(Winstanley, 2018), and science studios. Dewey has influenced teachers to believe in
the benefits of experience-based learning, but policies still demand a high turnout of
graded papers, and therefore not enough time is given to this valuable method of
teaching.

3. The Principle of Curriculum

As Dewey’s principle of teaching was based on experience and learning by doing, it
figures that the curriculum would be based around the child, their experiences, and their
willingness to partake in a particular activity. As Sikander (2015) references Berding
(1992) who wrote:

Curriculum, Dewey demanded was not imposed upon the students, rather it could allow
individual differences among the students and value their experiences. Dewey’s
curriculum theory is based on anthropological, psychological, and social-philosophical
(political) perspectives that hold a child to be like an organism and this organism is
searching for stimuli to grow. (Berding, 1992).

Dewey believed in a child-centered curriculum where the teachers taught to the

individual child’s needs. These demanded the teachers know each child and their needs
on an intimate level. In education today we can see this being observed in
Individualised Education Plans and schools like Montessori schools, however, it
requires a need for a low teacher to student ratio, which is not often found in public
schools.

The Alignment of John Dewey’s Principles with

IB Education
The aim of all IB programs is to develop internationally minded people who, recognizing
their common humanity and shared guardianship of the planet, help to create a better
and more peaceful world.

The IB learner prole represents 10 attributes valued by IB World Schools. We believe

these attributes, and others like them, can help individuals and groups become
responsible members of local, national and global communities.
According to their website The International, Baccalaureate® aims to develop inquirers,
knowledgeable, risktakers, thinkers, communicators, principled, open-minded, balanced
caring and reflective young people who help to create a better and more peaceful world
through intercultural understanding and respect. John Dewey was one of their key
influential educationalists and this can be seen in their aim to create a more peaceful
world, this notion aligns with John Dewey’s principle of democracy. Their key insight
from the work of John Dewey was the importance of tapping into the children’s natural
curiosity. We can tap into their natural curiosity through understanding their experiences
and therefore the IB education aligns with the principle of experience-based learning.
Finally, we look at their curriculum. It is evident through their website that children are
examined and therefore this would require some form of standardized testing and
learning. I do not feel that they would align with John Dewey’s principle of Curriculum
although they do believe in child-centered learning.

It must be noted that whilst theoretically sound and psychologically relevant, John
Dewey’s philosophy of education would require a substantial budget, awareness, and
buy-in from teachers and policy changes from a political perspective. These challenges
along with the fact that his philosophies and theories do not come equipped with a road
map for how to deliver content means that there is still work to be done towards
implementing some of Dewey’s principles.
References

 Bassey,M. (2010) Educating for the real world: an illustration of John Dewey’s principles
of continuity and interaction, Educational Studies, 36(1), 13-20, DOI:
10.1080/03055690903148480

 International Baccalaureate, (2020, September 8) Benefits of the IB

https://www.ibo.org/benefits/

 The IB learner profile. (2013). International

Baccalaureate. https://www.ibo.org/contentassets/fd82f70643ef4086b7d3f292cc214962/
learner-profile-en.pdf

 Jeynes, W. (2012). The widespread growth of the common school and higher education.
In American Educational History, pp. 145-
156.  https://www.sagepub.com/sites/default/files/upm-binaries/13715_Chapter6.pdf

 In American Educational History. (145-156) Retrieved March 19, 2018, from
https://www.sagepub.com/sites/default/files/upm-binaries/13715_Chapter6.pdf

 Mayer, S. (2015). Representing Dewey’s Constructs of Continuity and Interaction within

Classrooms. Education and Culture, 31(2), 39-53. doi:10.5703/educationculture.31.2.39

 Mintz, A. I. (n.d.). What is the purpose of education? Dewey’s challenge to his

contemporaries. [pdf] Retrieved March 01, 2018. from
https://www.academia.edu/23693775/What_is_the_Purpose_of_Education_Deweys_chal
lenge_to_his_contemporaries

 Morgan, J., & Shermis, S. (1970). Origin, theory and practice: Dewey’s early philosophy.
Midcontinent American Studies Journal, 11(1), 65-79. Retrieved September 8, 2020,
from http://www.jstor.org/stable/40640933

 Pérez-Ibáñez, I. (2018). Dewey’s Thought on Education and Social Change. Journal of

Thought, 52(3-4), 19-31. doi:10.2307/90026735

 Piedra, A. (2018, February, 1) The Tragedy of American Education: The Role of John
Dewey. The Institute of World Politics. IWP.
https://www.iwp.edu/articles/2018/02/01/the-tragedy-of-american-education-the-role-of-
john

 Sikandar,A. (2015). John Dewey and His Philosophy of Education. Journal of Education
and Educational Development. 2 (2). 191-201 https://doi.org/10.22555/joeed.v2i2.446

 Sullivan, P. (1966). John Dewey’s Philosophy of Education. The High School J ournal,
49(8), 391-397. Retrieved September 8, 2020, from http://www.jstor.org/stable/40366240
 Talebi, Kandan. (2015, September) John Dewey- Philosopher and educational reformer.
European Journal of Educational Studies, 1(1) , 4. [pdf] Retrieved February 28, 2018 from
https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED564712.pdf

 Winstanley. C (2018) Learning experiences in museums: harnessing Dewey’s ideas on

continuity and interaction, Education 3-13, 46:4, 424 432, DOI:
10.1080/03004279.2018.1445476
  Explain what Dewey considered to be the purpose(s) of education
 How does Dewey define education? Dewey continually argues that education and
learning are social and interactive processes, and thus the school itself is a social
institution through which social reform can and should take place.

According to Dewey, powerful educational experiences are a result of two

fundamental principles: continuity and interaction. Continuity refers to how
experiences, both past and present, influence the future while interaction
refers to how one's current situation influences their experiences.

https://study.com/academy/lesson/john-dewey-on-education-theory-philosophy-
quiz.html

Dewey's theory is that experience arises from the interaction of two principles -- continuity and
interaction. Continuity is that each experience a person has will influence his/her future, for
better or for worse. Interaction refers to the situational influence on one's experience. In other
words, one's present experience is a function of the interaction between one's past experiences
and the present situation.
The value of the experience is to be judged by the effect that experience has on the individual's
present, their future, and the extent to which the individual is able to contribute to society.

How does Dewey define education?

Dewey continually argues that education and learning are social and interactive
processes, and thus the school itself is a social institution through which social reform
can and should take place.

Dewey continually emphasizes experience, experiment, purposeful learning, freedom, and other
concepts of progressive education. Dewey argues that the quality of an educational experience
is critical and stresses the importance of the social and interactive processes of learning.
Dewey was critical of both traditional and progressive education, that is he saw challenges
within both educational approaches because they lacked a carefully developed philosophy of
experience.
Education philosophy and humans organize thoughts, and ideas as "either-ors" (progressive vs.
traditional) against any teaching that is "static" and not incorporating experiential learning
Dewey argues that not all experiences are educative and that, in fact, some experiences can be
mis-educative.
the educator's duty is to determine the quality of an experience. Each experience has two
aspects: the immediate agreeableness or disagreeableness and its later impact on further
experience. Educators must think about the experiential continuum—continuity of experiences.
Dewey posits that everything must have a context to be able to draw from it and have it be
educational.
In a progressive education classroom social conventions would be enforced by the students
who felt a part of the community.
Dewey asserts that the freedom of intelligence—the act of freely thinking, observing and judging
—is the only freedom of enduring importance. Freedom of movement - means to an end, but
necessary for physical and mental health
Educators must help students foresee the consequences of enacted impulses and desires.
More importantly educators must help drive the direction of the purpose. The formation of
purposes involves: observation of objective conditions; an assessment of past experiences with
similar conditions; and judgment of observation combined with memory to determine
significance.
An experience-based model of education implies students learning new material must find a
way to ground unfamiliar concepts and ideas within the scope of ordinary life-experience

 Analyze at least three principles of Dewey’s philosophy and their influence on

education

 historical perspective of how education developed leads us to understand that as a society in the
medieval period the ownership of land and the working class had become the definition of succes
s. In manydocumented records it can be seen that children and play were considered uncalled for.
Children as youngindividuals also started becoming a part of the labor force, helping and looking
after the younger siblings or helping in the farming of the land, whereby it became
a norm to employ children as young as 7-8 years
to be trained to work in the fields, if they were did not comply they could be punished (Orme, 20
01). Theadvent of the industrial revolution made matters worse and now children were moved
from the farms intofactories. Many thousands died from disease and exhaustion and it
was not until the mid 1800’s that lawswere passed in England limiting child labor
(Mulhern, 1959). From the 16
th
 century onward till the 19
th
century another idea was being planted that the work of the children has to be to learn, with
different groupsh a v i n g d i f f e r e n t a g e n d a s a b o u t e d u c a t i o n a n d i t s p u r p o s e .
S o m e l i k e t h e R e f o r m a t i o n m o v e m e n t h a d religious leaders took it upon
themselves that all peoples should be able to read the scriptures
(Mulhern,1959). Each segment of society saw education as  its means of achieving
their objectives, industry-
for  better workers, sitting long hours and being able to read and write to some extent; the nation
s for gettingsoldiers, and people who had patriotic feelings for their motherland. In the mix were
added, who looked atschools as a safe place, where kids were raised to have the moral
grounding and the purpose of education was providing this moral grounding but under the
guidance of adults and not left to their own devices. Withthis background, children were beaten
up to remove the playfulness from them so that they could learn; theywere given breaks to
spend the excess energy, but otherwise grilled in an authoritarian setup by an
adult.The eighteenth-century attitude can be seen as the premise of the Wesleyan
schools where there were no play days, and children were not allowed to play, as it would
lead to men being playful too (
Mullhern 1959,p 3 8 3 ) .
In the late 1800’s there was a push from educational reformers who were looking at
the ways inw h i c h t h e e d u c a t i o n c o u l d b e m o r e c h i l d c e n t e r e d . E d u c a t i o n
became mandatory and curriculum that