Political foundations of John Dewey's educational philosophy

John Dewey conducted extensive studies in the fields of education, ethics, aesthetics, epistemology, politics and psychology. Although there are many studies on Dewey's philosophy of education in the national and international literature, there is no systematic study on the political foundations of his philosophy of education. His efforts to eliminate all kinds of dualism by reconciling them on the basis of epistemic, practical and value; his structuring of educational principles on the basis of experience, and his prioritization of practice and social life are among the basic views that overlap with democratic education. Philosophy of education is a philosophical discipline that combines the fields of metaphysics, epistemology and value. In this respect, explaining Dewey's views in the field of political philosophy by relating them to his views in the field of education will enable the understanding of the normative foundations of his philosophy of education. Schools will host important transformation points in human history and will play a critical role in social change. During this period, the boundaries between education and politics will disappear and come closer to each other. Because only then will education become an effective tool in solving the problems of society and politics will function rationally towards this purpose. Education will become a power that shapes not only individuals but also the entire society. To this end, first, in the first part of the study, Dewey's views on the philosophy of education will be presented. In the second part, his views on politics will be explained. In the last part, the conclusions reached on the political foundations of the philosophy of education will be presented. What we will try to show with this study is that a democratic education requires democratic political values and an understanding of education cannot be established solely on factual data, independent of political values. Keywords: John Dewey, John Dewey's Philosophy of Education, John Dewey's political philosophy, political foundations of John Dewey's understanding of education