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Constructivism and education: education as an interpretative transformational process

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Abstract

This paper provides an analysis of the ideas of John Dewey and George Herbert Mead with regards the relationship between experience, meaning, language and thinking. It discusses how experience, meaning, language and thinking are based on the creative and constructive actions of individuals. Unlike what is the case in so-called radical constructivism, it is argued that the actions of the individual should be understood in a transactional way. The paper shows the implication of a transactional constructivism for education, arguing that education is the medium in which the creative and constructive actions of individuals come together in a social environment.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Educational Sciences and Teacher Education, Faculty of Education, The University of Oulu, Snellmania, Linannmaa, P.O. Box 2000, Oulu, 90014, Finland

    Ari Sutinen

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  1. Ari Sutinen
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Correspondence to Ari Sutinen.

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Sutinen, A. Constructivism and education: education as an interpretative transformational process. Stud Philos Educ 27, 1–14 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11217-007-9043-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11217-007-9043-5

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