Spring 2016: Journal of Scholarship and Practice

In the lead article, Rutgers University Professor Emeritus Daniel Tanner’s provocative commentary, “Jean Piaget’s Debt to John Dewey,” begins with an exploration of the origins of Piaget’s Developmental Stage Theory, guides the reader through the Deweyan view on the relationship between the nature of the learner and the school’s response, and concludes with concerns of how today’s reformers have failed to consider these elements as demonstrated by an emphasis on assessment determined achievement: “From the work of Dewey and Piaget, we should know that any reform in education is destined for failure if it neglects or violates the nature and needs of the learner.”

The piece is a must-read for today’s educational leaders, especially those who lack a background in developmental-stage theory or have had limited experience with John Dewey’s ideas – ideas that should resonate with every educator with a heart and a brain. Tanner appears baffled by the departure from the ideas of these iconic thinkers: “Even more of a mystery is the failure of the profession to recognize, reveal, and build upon the Deweyan and Piagetian connection.”