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Dewey noticed, insightfully, that if "education … is identical with the operation of living a life which is fruitful and … significant, the … ultimate value which can be set up is just the process of living itself" (Dewey, 1916/1924, p. 248). Still, more often than not, and ignoring the wealth of the Deweyan legacy, education proceeds in its reductive mode, focusing on the same technical measurable objectives, even if under several different guises depending on times and political context. As Noddings (2006) notices, the neglect of real-life topics that would have called forth critical and reflective thinking pervades the present system of education. Teachers and students alike are not given an opportunity to intelligently reflect on their own thought processes and work habits.

DOI: 10.1007/978-94-6209-055-2_8

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