The Meaning and Educational Value of Imagination Through Dewey's Concept of Experience

Abstract

The aim of this study was to shed light on imaginative education by inquiring the meaning of imagination through Dewey's concept of experience and to find some methods for imaginative education to encourage students’ self-directed learning. For these, first, the conceptions, constructs, and features of educative experience that could be interpreted as Dewey's education were investigated. Next, the meaning and value of imagination in educative experience were discovered in the process of doing. Though Dewey's meaning of experience is a situation by itself, yet it would be explained by three rhythmic developmental phases: primary, reflective and consummatory ones. The reflective phase could not become the educative experience as an experience by itself. But it would act as very important intermediary to help the primary phase reach out to the consummatory phase by understanding the primary phase and imagining the future situation. In other words, the experience cannot turn into the consummatory phase unless it goes through the reflective phase. From the three rhythmic developmental phases, the imagination is the required ability at the reflective phase. Finally, the imagination is core ability to help that educational process and activity have value or be meaningful things connecting with each other closely. In conclusion, the imagination is the intermediation and necessary factor to let experience have educational value. In other way, the imagination could be emerged while teachers encourage students to get educational experience. Therefore, it could be one of best way of the imaginative education that teachers provide students with the structured experience as educational experience.