democracy & education, vol 25, no - 2 feature article 1 Countering the Neos Dewey and a Democratic Ethos in Teacher Education Jamie C. Atkinson (University of Georgia) Abstract Neoliberalism and neoconservatism are two ideologies that currently plague education. Te individualistic free-market ideology of neoliberalism and the unbridled nationalistic exceptionalism associated with neo- conservatism ofen breed a narrowed, overstandardized curriculum and a hyper-testing environment that discourage critical intellectual practice and democratic ideas. Dewey’s philosophy of education indicates that he understood that education is political and can be undemocratic. Dewey’s holistic pragmatism, combined with aspects of social reconstructionism, called for a philosophical movement that favors democratic school- ing. Tis paper defnes neoliberal and neoconservative ideologies and makes a case for including more cri- tique within teacher preparation programs, what Dewey and other educationists referred to as developing a signifcant social intelligence in teachers. Critical studies embedded within teacher education programs are best positioned to counter the undemocratic forces prevalent in the ideologies of neoliberalism and neocon- servatism. My conclusions rely on Dewey’s philosophy from his work Democracy and Education. Submit a response to this article Submit online at democracyeducationjournal.org/home Read responses to this article online http://democracyeducationjournal.org/home/vol25/iss2/2 We are living in times when private and public aims and policies are at strife with each other. . . . Te sum of the matter is that the times are out of joint, and that teachers cannot escape even if they would, some responsibility for a share in putting them right. . . . I am not trying here to tell teachers with which of the antagonistic tendencies of our own time they should align themselves—although I have my own convictions on that subject. I am trying only to point out that the confict is here, and that as a matter of fact, they are strengthening one set of forces or the other. —John Dewey, Te Social Frontier (1935) T hroughout the history of the United States, competing ideologies running the spectrum from conservative to progressive have vied for control over the direction of our country and our educational systems. During various periods, tensions over the nature, structure, and direction of education have increased in response to ideological and socio- political ambitions. Our society is again in a period of increased tensions where public and private aims and conservative and progressive ideologies are competing over the form and direction of education. From kindergarten to the academy, this confict permeates and saturates our educational institutions in a variety of Jamie C. Atkinson is a PhD candidate and graduate teaching assistant in the Department of Educational Teory and Practice at the University of Georgia. His research focuses on examining the politics of education, educational policy, critical issues in education, and teacher education. He is currently investigating the ideological infuences impacting educational policy and the politics of education reform in Georgia.