Experience and Education

The main theme of this book is that all education rests on the lived experiences of individual learners. The book explores how the connection between education and experience can inform educational practice (25). Dewey considers experiences to consist of both objective factors, elements outside the mind of the learner, and internal or mental factors. He contends that not all experiences are of equal educational value. Certain experiences, such as those in traditional school settings, may hinder education by causing students to develop maladaptive attitudes, such as cynicism or boredom, that negatively affect how learners will respond to future experiences (25).

Dewey underpins his theory of education from experience with reference to two main principles. The principle of continuity explains that a learner’s educational experiences exist in a nested fashion, or continuum, from the most basic to the most advanced lessons (35-36). Each experience prepares the learner to encounter and interact with future experiences in particular ways (27). The principle of interaction states that all learning experiences involve a relationship between the learner’s mind and external factors (42).