A Brief Introduction on The Child and the Curriculum

李昭锦 周扬娟

Deweys The Child and the Curriculum makes a strong case of his educational ideas. It reflects the authors attitude towards the social background and the conditions of education at that time， and his willingness to change that situation （Cohen， 1998）.

In this article， Dewey holds that there are many obvious contradictions between child and curriculum， among which there are three principle ones. The first one is the limited personal experience of the children and the unlimited stretching world of time and space. The second one is the childs integral life and the partition of the curriculum. The last one is the general principle of analysis and synthesis against the personal experience bonds of child life.

Based on the foregoing contradictions， various educational schools emerged. One school pays attention to the importance of the subject-matter of the curriculum. The other model emphasizes that the curriculum should be childs experience-centered. These two opinions seem to just see only side of the problem. In reality， both of the schools cannot tell the whole story of education.

In Deweys view， we should get rid of the prejudicial notion that the childs experience and the curriculum is a conflicting matter. In fact， they are both needed and indeed closely interacted （Phillips， 1998）. In fact， the child and the curriculum are just two extreme points on a continuum or intersecting continua. The study process is the gradually approach towards the well-organized system of truth. We should take the end of the line as guidance rather than external imposition in dealing with the present. That is to say， childs learnings and achievements varies according to time. We should not take childs present performance as his final state， but it is a station in the course of the childs whole journey of growth. This conception is of vital value. Seen in the light of this concept， teachers need not become too anxious or stranded in face of the childs individual peculiarities， whims， and experiences. We can never expect the child to grow up geometrically. When the curriculum is designed far from the childs interest， it is teachers responsibility to develop interest to bridge the gap between the child and the curriculum （Phillips， 1998）， since Garner et al. （1992） has shown that students who were provided with interesting texts learned more effectively than those not. Hasen （2006） has put forward a rather useful approach to expand students interests， that is， to encourage teacher to think over the process of learning and growth， and at the same time， require the child to do the same thing.

Once more， Dewey argues that the childs learning is a development of his present experience and the desirable experience， rather than just out of his own experience， which is a rather empty way. That is to say， the dynamic quality should be advocated and instilled， and at the same time， the corresponding stimuli should be provided to the child， which is the teachers accountability.

Deweys ideas concerning childs education are as important today as they were one hundred years ago. His thoughts have been widely considered as one of the most important theoretical foundation and justification for the new curriculum reform in China. The reform emphasizes the uncertainty of knowledge and childrens active role in understanding knowledge； and it questions or even criticizes the possibility and necessity know-ledge instruction. However， Dewey actually never denied the value of knowledge and the importance of knowledge instruction； he was to find a more efficient way or model for knowledge instruction so as to balance the relationship between knowledge and experience and thus to improve the quality of knowledge instruction. In this sense， Deweys concern on the way of knowledge learning is essentially different from the pedagogy idea advocated in the new curriculum reform. In the opinion of Dewey，education must be fit for the nature of children and also takes children as center and this kind of education thought is significant.Classroom teachers are still searching for ways to make curricula interesting to students； and classroom teachers still complain about student discipline and lack of effort （Zahorik， 1996）. How to put Deweys ideas into effect still needs a further exploration and discussion.

References：

[1] Cohen， D （1998）. Deweys problem. Elementary School Journal， 98， 427-446.

[2] Garner， R.， Brown， R.， Sanders， S. & Menke， D. （1992）. The Role of Interests in Learning and Development. Hillsdale： NJ， Erlbaum.

[3] Hansen， D.T. （2006）. John Dewey and our educational Prospects. Albany： State University of NewYork Press.

[4] Phillips， D.C. （1998）. John Deweys The Child and the Curriculum： A century later. The Elementary School Journal， 98（5）， 403-414.

[5] Zahorik， J. （1996） Elementary and Secondary Teachers Reports of How They Make Learning Interesting. The Elementary School Journal， 96， 551–564.