Education and Democracy in the 21st Century

Eminent educational philosopher Nel Noddings draws on John Dewey’s foundational work to reimagine education’s aims and curriculum for the 21st century. Noddings looks at education as a multi-aim enterprise in which schools must address needs in all three domains of life: home and family, occupational, and civic. She raises critical questions about the current enthusiasm for standardization, the search for “one-best-way” solutions, and the practice of maintaining a sharp separation between the disciplines. Comprehensive in its scope, chapters examine the liberal arts curriculum, vocational education, restructuring secondary school, extracurricular activities, national and global citizenship, critical thinking, and moral education.

Noddings argues that we must find ways to preserve our commitment to democratic values while adapting to the societal changes that have occurred since Dewey wrote Democracy and Education almost a century ago. She urges not only a critical appraisal of current practice but also a cooperative and imaginative exploration of the future.

Nel Noddings is Lee Jacks Professor of Education, Emerita, at Stanford University. She is a past president of the National Academy of Education, the Philosophy of Education Society, and the John Dewey Society. Her books include When School Reform Goes Wrong, The Challenge to Care in Schools, Educating Citizens for Global Awareness, Educating for Intelligent Belief or Unbelief, and Educating Moral People.