本文旨在解析杜威（John Dewey, 1859-1952）有關工作活動的主張。文分五節，第一節前言說明研究的動機與目的、主要文獻探討與評述，以及研究方法與進行步驟；第二節則自早年經驗、實務觀察、學理反思，以及思潮引領等方面，說明杜威提出其有關工作活動主張的緣由：第三節則在分析當時一般人對手工訓練的界定後，特別強調杜威認為工作活動乃是在社會真實生活中，為兒童安排的兼具激發理智與促進實踐雙重功能的學習工作，而非只是忙碌的勞動或純粹動手的例行公事而已；第四節自滿足兒童需求、引發其學習興趣與動機，增進兒童經驗、堅實其繼續求知的根本，以及培養兒童膽識、奠定其未來生活的基礎等三方面，闡釋杜威對於工作活動之教育價值的論點。最後，第五節為結論。
Divided into five sections, the paper aimed at analyzing John Dewey’s theory of occupations by reviewing his work and related literature. The first section contained the background and the aims of the research, the main literature reviews, and the research methods and procedures. In the second section, the reasons why Dewey promoted the theory of occupations were provided with explanation from the perspectives of his reflections on early life experiences, observation of educational practices, theoretical reflection, and leading thoughts about education. Dewey’s definition of occupations was then included in the third section, along with an analysis of other contemporaries’ ideas about manual training. It was emphasized that, according to Dewey, occupations are arranged as learning jobs with balanced intellectual and practical functions in real social contexts, rather than as merely busy work or routine manual work. The fourth section consisted of the interpretation of Dewey’s points of view about the educational values of occupations from the following aspects: satisfaction of children’s needs, stimulation of children’s interest and motivation for learning, enrichment of children’s experiences, enhancement of their base for continuous pursuit of knowledge, and cultivation of their courageous intelligence to set up the foundation for their future life. The paper was concluded with the fifth section, where several concluding remarks were made.
