Pragmatism and pedagogy

Philosophical pragmatism took part in the great pedagogical renewal of the beginning of the 20th century. The Chicago circle, led by John Dewey, George Herbert Mead and Jane Addams, formed a nucleus strongly committed to the ideals of progressive education. For them, education was the basis of democratic social experience. Pragmatism contributed to the understanding of child psychology, to personal enrichment through play, recreation, and the arts, as well as to the conception of all educational institutions as essential parts of community life.