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DEWEY, SITUATIONISM, AND MORAL EDUCATION
Author(s) -
Pamental Matthew P.
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
educational theory
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.21
H-Index - 42
eISSN - 1741-5446
pISSN - 0013-2004
DOI - 10.1111/j.1741-5446.2010.00351.x
Subject(s) - situationism , character (mathematics) , character education , moral character , sociocultural evolution , epistemology , philosophy of education , sociology , psychology , aesthetics , philosophy , higher education , political science , law , mathematics , geometry , anthropology
According to a number of authors, character is dead. On their view, the evidence is in, and all of our attempts to inculcate character in our students have not only failed, but are in fact destined to fail for various reasons. They base their conclusions in part on a number of experimental results that have been obtained since the 1920s, collectively known as situationism. If these authors are right, then the current emphasis on character education in the United States (and elsewhere) is woefully misplaced. On the contrary, however, Matthew Pamental argues in this essay that situationism's evidence is being misinterpreted. A Deweyan sociocultural approach to the nature and ideals of character both explains the evidence and reveals how character can be reconstructed and revived.