Abstract: The issue of interest is the major concern that Dewey and pragmatism strived to maintain in between of the stereotyped dogmatism and the romance of the new education, which combined objective and subjective, practice and thinking, potential and reality to cultivate children's character. However, the practice of progressivism education fell into the "internal negativism" of social improvement. How can the abstract dualistic principles be transformed into simple and feasible education? This is not only Dewey's perplexity but also the problem with education reform ever since. In this study, the author placed Dewey's text in the academic context, the ideological source of progressive education and the development of practice. Also, in the context of social reforms, the author analyzed the intricate relationship between educational theory and educational practice, social improvement, discussed ideological criticism, scientific experiments, social reformations, and explored the possibility and limitation of its implementation in education.

Key words: interest, John Dewey, progressivism education, education and society