ABSTRACT
John Dewey is generally recognized as the most renowned American educator of the twentieth century. In a prolific career that spanned seven decades, Dewey focused on a wide range of concerns, most notably within the fields of philosophy, education and politics. A voluminous literature exists as much about him as by him, with vastly different assessments made of the nature and impact of his work. Dewey was born in 1859 in Burlington, Vermont. The ways in which a genuine and cohesive democratic community could be maintained amidst the wrenching economic and cultural changes of the new industrial order were Dewey's paramount concern throughout his life. After completing his doctoral dissertation in 1884 on the psychology of Immanuel Kant, Dewey secured a position as instructor in philosophy and psychology at the University of Michigan. While at the University of Chicago, Dewey established an elementary level Laboratory School to help assess, modify and develop his educational and psychological ideas.
