Article,
Humanistic and Open Education: Comparison and Contrast
Journal of Education, 157 (3): 27 (August 1975)M3: Article; Accession Number: 5655930; Hein, George E.; Source Info: Aug75, Vol. 157 Issue 3, p27; Subject Term: EDUCATION, Humanistic; Subject Term: OPEN plan schools; Subject Term: UNITED States; Number of Pages: 12p; Document Type: Article.
Abstract
"Humanistic education" and öpen education" are new terms in the American education scene. Each term represents a broad movement that is hard to define and subject to a wide range of interpretation. The collection of articles in the Journal of Education provides a service in that they focus on humanistic education. The articles not only describe the movement; they also reflect on its roots and its base in Western thought and society. A similar perspective on open education is available in a recent collection of articles (Spodek and Walberg, 1975), two collections of readings (Silberman, 1973; Nyquist and Hawes, 1972), and the books by Barth (1972), Weber (1971), and Stephens (1974). In this paper, I propose to compare the two movements on the basis of these readings and assess their similarities and differences.
In discussing humanistic and open education, references to Dewey are particularly appropriate. His work provides a common background for the two movements. Dewey's social vision and his effort to understand the effects of late 19th century industrialization on society and to fashion an educational philosophy that would preserve a strong human dimension, are clearly reflected in present humanistic education approaches. His interest in child development, the detailed example of his own school, and the practice he advocated and described in Schools for Tomorrow (1915), are clearly an inspiration for open education. That both humanistic and open education movements can refer back to the same figure also indicates the similarity of their approaches. Dewey's work is interrelated; e combined his social vision with his pedagogic practice. ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR; Copyright of Journal of Education is the property of Journal of Education and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts)
