Reflections on the Purpose of School Education for a Democratic Society: Focusing on Neil Postman's Educational Thought Lee, Sung Mi · Kim, Sang Hyun
The principal purpose of this study is to examine Postman's suggestions on the direction school ed...
Reflections on the Purpose of School Education for a Democratic Society: Focusing on Neil Postman's Educational Thought Lee, Sung Mi · Kim, Sang Hyun
The principal purpose of this study is to examine Postman's suggestions on the direction school education should go in order to overcome the crisis of democracy. Postman sheds light on the meaning of school education as a philosophical issue to restore damaged democratic values as well as to suggest the direction in which school education should move forward and its educational alternatives for a more advanced democratic society. Therefore, this study first examines the essential meaning of school education in relation to the purpose of school education. Next, the study examines the social factors that caused distortion of public education in the United States using three categories and analyzes how those factors refracted the direction of school education. Then, we look at Postman's educational proposals to overcome the democratic crisis. Finally, we discuss the implications of Neil Postman's philosophical reflections on school education and educational proposals for contemporary Korean society and education.
Key Words : Postman, democracy, school education, purpose of school education