Political Goals and Social Ideals: Dewey, Democracy, and the Emergence of the Turkish Republic

Quality and Diversity: Reconsidering John Dewey and Some Fundamental Problems of Teacher Training System in Turkey

“…However, political and ideological considerations led the officials to a different direction from what Dewey would endorse within his conception of a democratic society, which appears to be fundamentally different from the officials' conception (Dorn & Santoro, 2011). Accordingly, while putting Dewey's recommendations into practice, uniformity rather than unity became an official aim in both educational and political ideals (Çelik, 2014b).…”

Genocide, Diversity, and John Dewey's Progressive Education

“…Dewey emphasizes diversity but leaves it nameless, as he does not illustrate it with any mention of minorities . He displays concern about German nationalism (Dorn and Santoro , 16) and its risks for democracy; but he is not anxious enough about the fate of concrete diversity within Turkey . His distinction between unity and uniformity lacks examples that would have really mattered as cautionary remarks.…”

“…“Every school should be an active library center,” and “travelling libraries, consisting of books on attractive subjects” (1924a, 302) are required for the utopian “child” to develop into a rightful member of the circle of the civilized . Dewey reversed “his traditional position on avoiding excessive reliance on books for learning”: granted “the distinct needs of the Turkish people, Dewey advocated for mobile libraries to expand access to books and combat the nation's widespread illiteracy” (Dorn and Santoro , 5). Though imperative for Turkey, excessive reliance on books may be bad for citizens within the civilized circle.…”

“…The Report is typically viewed as “an unambiguously clear example of the use of the ideas of progressive education in the modernization of a Western state” (Biesta and Miedema 1996, 12) . Mainly, the “historiography of Dewey's Turkish mission” investigates how Dewey's recommendations have been transferred and implemented (Dorn and Santoro , 4).…”

“… The metaphor of the “civilized” had already been endorsed by Kemal Atatürk in a 1919 speech in which he made mastering of the country a precondition of civilized opportunity: “In order to make sure that civilized opportunities open up for us,” “we must speak as masters of the country” (qtd. Dorn and Santoro , 10).…”