THE ROLE OF DEWEY’S PROGRESSIVISM THEORY OF EDUCATIONIN AMELIORATING TANZANIAN NEW EDUCATION AND TRAINING POLICY (ETP 2014: 2023 EDITION)

ABSTRACT

This article is mainly intended to highlight the contribution of Dewey’s progressivism theory of education in improving Tanzanian New Education and Training Policy. For a number of decades since independence, Tanzania has been struggling diligently to establish an education system which could be more relevant to Tanzanians in the sense of responding fully to the needs and problems of Tanzanians. To pursue this goal and objective, Tanzania found itself in a challenge of making several review and reforms in Education and Training Policy (ETP) as well as curricula contents so as to have a more relevant education system though none of them seems to materialize. As a result, the government has decided to make a reform in ETP of 2014, which yield the new ETP of 2014: 2023 Edition. Being in the initial stage of implementation, majority of Tanzanians have a great expectation that the new ETP is going to provide solution to Tanzanian education challenges. On the other side, the article presents Dewey’s progressivism theory of educationas a means for ameliorating the new Tanzanian ETP. The theory focuses on practical education for solving social problems through promoting innovation, creativity, experiments, discoveries and effective utilization of natural resources for social benefit. Therefore, the article uses critical Hermeneutic method to assess the role of Dewey’s progressivism theory of education in ameliorating the new Tanzanian ETP. Furthermore, Dewey’s education theory has been aninfluential education theory in the discourse of philosophy of education and it has influenced the formation of different world education system in the modern and contemporary time.