Dewey’s Theory of Inquiry and Reflective Administration
| Published date | 01 March 1994 |
| Date | 01 March 1994 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/09578239410051817 |
| Pages | 05-22 |
| Author | Donald J. Willower |
| Subject Matter | Education |
Dewey
and
Administration
5
Dewey’s Theory of Inquiry
and Reflective Administration
Donald J. Willower
The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, USA
Reflective methods have long intrigued students of educational administration,
but they have not been objects of continuing and substantive attention in the
field. Recently, a renewal of interest seems to have been sparked by several
influences. A general one is the increasing pressure on university programmes
to re-examine and further justify the kind of preparation they provide. One
response has been to use reflective practice as an integrative theme and desired
programme outcome[1,2]. A related influence has been the effort to apply
cognitive science to the problems of administrative practice where the
compatibility of situated cognition theory and reflective methods has been
underscored[3]. A third is found in the philosophical debates that have
enlivened the literature. There, pragmatism, with its emphasis on inquiry and
reflection, has emerged as a significant contender[4,5].
John Dewey is the premier philosophic source on reflective methods. Indeed,
his work has been a fountainhead for an array of epigones and other
commentators on the topic, including those usually cited in educational
administration[6,7]. Dewey’s notion of reflection is embedded in his larger
philosophy, especially in his theory of inquiry, his approach to ethics, and his
conception of social values.
The exploration of Dewey’s thought and its implications has much to offer
current work on reflective methods in educational administration. It can provide
philosophic grounding and a context through which practice and preparation
can be seen more holistically as part of a broader intellectual, social, and ethical
framework. Hence, the purpose of this article is to review some of the main
themes of Dewey’s philosophy and draw implications for a variety of issues in
educational administration, but especially reflective administration.
Dewey’s Philosophy
Obviously, Dewey’s philosophical views will have to be examined selectively
and briefly. In this, it helps that the various components of his philosophy are
integrated with his conception of inquiry, which lies at the heart of his
approach. In what follows, that conception, which encompasses Dewey’s
notions of science and knowledge, is discussed, followed by an examination of
his ethics and social philosophy. Then implications for educational
administration are considered.
First, however, a few general comments. While students of educational
administration are usually most familiar with Dewey’s work on education, his
work went far beyond educational philosophy. It spanned most of the
Journal of Educational
Administration, Vol. 32 No. 1, 1994,
pp. 5-22. © MCBUniversity Press,
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philosophical areas and issues of his time, many of which are still with us,
although the language of the day is sometimes different.
While Dewey’s general position is often called pragmatism, it is necessary to
be cautious about labels. Pragmatism, as a broad philosophical view, is quite
varied. It is a philosophical system that is suspicious of systems, and unlike
phenomenology and Marxism, each of which had a single founder who left a
defining corpus of work, pragmatism was developed in the writings of Peirce,
James, Dewey, and Mead (for comparisons see[8]). Dewey points out in the
preface of one of his major works: Logic: The Theory of Inquiry, that he has
avoided the use of the word pragmatism because it lends itself to
misconceptions, although he describes his work as “pragmatic” given the
proper interpretation of that term[9, pp. iii-iv]. He sometimes referred to his own
approach as instrumentalism, in the sense that it was the study of thought as an
instrumentality in inquiry. Contemporary versions of pragmatism still rely
heavily on Dewey’s ideas, which have remained remarkably relevant. These
versions range from philosophical perspectives such as Rorty’s[10] neo-
pragmatism to social science ones like pragmatic sociology[11]. In addition,
there is a continuing fascination with Dewey’s thought in education[12,13] and
his ideas are debated in an array of other fields, to give just one example,
planning theory[14]. To be sure, Dewey’s views are rarely swallowed whole.
Rorty, for instance, is less an empiricist and more relativistic than Dewey and
pragmatist influences in the social sciences stem from Mead and James as well
as Dewey. In any case, Dewey saw all views including his own as subject to
change, based on the processes of inquiry, to which we now turn.
Inquiry
It is worth repeating that Dewey’s theory of inquiry is the centrepiece of his
philosophy, shaping his conception of science, knowledge, values, practice and
society. While the theory of inquiry can become more complex in its
applications to a few areas, such as formal logic, in the main it is quite
straightforward. Often equated with scientific method, such an equation is not
in error, provided one has an open, fluid, relaxed notion of scientific method.
Dewey sees much of human behaviour as relatively automatic with impulse
and habit playing major roles. However, when habit and impulse are blocked,
activity lacks direction and becomes disorganized and problematic. Inquiry
begins with the recognition of the problematic, which can become more unified
and organized through the formulation and carrying out of new activity.
Alternatives for action appear and can be tried out in thought. This thinking
through of possible courses of action is what Dewey calls deliberation or
reflection[9,15]. Possible courses of action are in a sense hypotheses that are to
be assessed reflectively for their likely consequences, both short and long range.
Once a preference has been selected and has directed action, it can be evaluated
in terms of its actual consequences, that is, of how well it worked to resolve the
initial problematic situation. Intelligent thought or reflection is thus an
instrumentality that can make the problematic more determinate. Yet problem
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