Dewey: a panacea for the ‘schoolification’ epidemic

Abstract

High quality early years’ education is associated with providing a child-centred curriculum based on a knowledge of how young children learn. The global ‘schoolification epidemic’ has led to an increasing focus on prescribed curricula and presents as a serious threat to the quality of children's early years’ experiences. Findings from research in Ireland confirm this shift towards ‘schoolification’ and the association of school readiness with a child's age and the acquisition of academic skills. Revisiting Dewey's writings provides a much needed impetus for a return to child-centredness and a re-conceptualisation of early years’ education as a process of forming fundamental dispositions.