DEWEY,JOHN THE CHILD AND THE CURRICULUM - A CENTURY LATER

Dewey's The Child and the Curriculum contains an influential and remar kably clear account of how dualisms or false distinctions arise, how t hey can be taken up by different sects and so become the focus of oppo sing viewpoints, and how the dualism eventually can be dissolved and t he dispute resolved; the account is illustrated by reference to the 2 schools of thought that oppose each other about the nature of the curr iculum. In this article I argue that Dewey's views on dualisms show cl ear signs of the influence of the German philosopher Hegel's work on ' 'dialectic,'' and I examine whether Dewey's method of resolution is ap plicable to all types of dispute. But Dewey's essay is also noteworthy for his use of the analogy of an explorer and a map to illustrate the relation between the psychological and the logical ordering of subjec t matter, and this is analyzed.