Social Reconstructivism – The implications and philosophy for education in Jamaica
Social reconstructivism emphasizes education for social transformation and reflects a theory of human development that situates the individual within a socio-cultural context. Individual development derives from social interactions within which cultural meanings are shared by the group and eventually internalized by individual. According to Richardson 1997, individuals construct knowledge in transaction with the environment, and in the process both the individual and the environment are changed. The subject of study is dialectical relationship between the individual and the social and cultural environment. Schools are the socio-cultural settings where teaching and learning take place and where cultural tools, such as reading, writing, mathematics, and certain modes of discourse are utilized. This approach stated Martin 1994; and O’Loughlin, 1995, assumes that theory and practice do not develop in a vacuum; they are shaped by dominant cultural assumptions. Formal knowledge, which