Wally W. answered • 04/06/22
MA Philosophy Grad and Experienced College Tutor
Pragmatism is a movement that places emphasis on action and the practical when approaching philosophical questions on the nature of reality, knowledge, ethics, and so on. As the two major online philosophical encyclopedias have it, Pragmatism can be defined as
a philosophical tradition that ... understands knowing the world as inseparable from agency within it1
or
a philosophical movement that includes those who claim that an ideology or proposition is true if it works satisfactorily, that the meaning of a proposition is to be found in the practical consequences of accepting it, and that unpractical ideas are to be rejected.2
Pragmatism can be contrasted to movements in philosophy that have placed emphasis on reflection for its own sake and seeking pure, certain knowledge regardless of its practical value (for example, you may be familiar with Descartes' quest for a worldview based on unshakeable, certain foundations devoid of all doubt).
With that contrast in mind, you can begin to see the sorts of implications pragmatism might have for education. We can raise questions like "What is education, anyway?", "What is education for?", "How does education happen?", and "What makes a good educator?". If you take the pragmatic viewpoint that knowledge is inseparable from our agency (what we do, how we choose, etc.), and that what we come to know is defined by its uses and practical benefits, then you'll answer these questions a little differently than if you saw knowledge as pure, certain comprehension of reality.
For example, you may steer away from the notion that education is simply about transferring information from teacher to student. A pragmatic approach may imply that for the student to genuinely learn something, they'll need to be able to act on that information, to understand how they would use it and for what purposes, etc. This would imply that they may need to do more than simply memorize the contents of a lecture or a study guide.
Or, you may steer away from approving of certain teaching methods. If the student's knowledge is dependent on what they're able to do with it, how well they can apply it, then their curriculum may need to involve more action-oriented lessons in which they're conducting experiments and putting concepts to the test in the real world, rather than simply following along as the instructor explains.
References:
- https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/pragmatism/
- https://iep.utm.edu/pragmati/
