Maxine Greene (1917–2014) was a leading American educational philosopher whose work profoundly shaped contemporary understandings of curriculum, pedagogy, aesthetics, and the role of imagination in education. As a professor of philosophy and education at Teachers College, Columbia University, Greene developed an existentialist and phenomenological approach that emphasized freedom, consciousness, and the necessity of imagination for transformative educational practice (Greene, 1973; 1988). Her influence extends across curriculum studies, aesthetic education, social justice education, and critical pedagogy.
1. Philosophical Foundations
Greene’s work was grounded in existentialism and phenomenology, drawing inspiration from Jean-Paul Sartre, Simone de Beauvoir, Hannah Arendt, and John Dewey. She argued that education must be understood as a lived experience—a process of meaning-making in which individuals seek to become more fully aware of themselves and their world. For Greene, “wide-awakeness” (1978) was central: it referred to a heightened state of consciousness in which individuals critically perceive reality, question taken-for-granted assumptions, and act with responsibility.
She opposed deterministic and standardized approaches to education, positioning herself against technocratic and positivist traditions that she believed limited human freedom (Greene, 1988). Instead, she advocated for education as a practice of freedom, aligning her philosophy with Paulo Freire’s critical pedagogy.
2. Imagination and Aesthetic Education
One of Greene’s most significant contributions was her insistence on the role of imagination in teaching and learning. She argued that imagination allows individuals to perceive alternative possibilities, empathize with others, and envision a more just world (Greene, 1995). According to Greene, imagination is not mere fantasy but a cognitive and ethical capacity that “breaks through the taken-for-granted” and opens space for critical reflection and social transformation.
Her advocacy for aesthetic education was institutionalized through her leadership of the Lincoln Center Institute (now Lincoln Center Education), where she advanced the idea that encounters with the arts enable learners to cultivate empathy, interpretive capacities, and openness to plurality (Greene, 2001). She saw art as a vehicle for moral and political engagement, capable of fostering social imagination.
3. Social Justice and Democratic Education
Greene’s philosophy was consistently oriented toward equity, social justice, and democracy. She argued that education must resist conformity and challenge oppressive structures. Her commitment to diversity and inclusion was evident in her focus on listening to marginalized voices and cultivating a pluralistic educational community (Greene, 1988; 1995).
She positioned teachers not as transmitters of knowledge but as facilitators of dialogue and critical inquiry who help students “name the world” in order to transform it, echoing Freirean themes. Greene’s emphasis on agency and praxis made her work influential in critical pedagogy and multicultural education.
4. Legacy and Impact
Maxine Greene’s legacy lies in her ability to synthesize philosophy, art, and pedagogy into a coherent vision of education as an emancipatory practice. Her key texts—Teacher as Stranger (1973), Landscapes of Learning (1978), The Dialectic of Freedom (1988), and Releasing the Imagination (1995)—remain foundational in educational philosophy. They continue to inspire educators to see teaching as an ethical, creative, and transformative endeavor.
Her influence extends internationally in the fields of curriculum theory, teacher education, and arts-based pedagogy. Greene challenged educators to embrace uncertainty, resist conformity, and cultivate imagination as a force for creating a more just and humane society.
References
Greene, M. (1973). Teacher as Stranger: Educational Philosophy for the Modern Age. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.
Greene, M. (1978). Landscapes of Learning. New York: Teachers College Press.
Greene, M. (1988). The Dialectic of Freedom. New York: Teachers College Press.
Greene, M. (1995). Releasing the Imagination: Essays on Education, the Arts, and Social Change. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Greene, M. (2001). Variations on a Blue Guitar: The Lincoln Center Institute Lectures on Aesthetic Education. New York: Teachers College Press.
Freire, P. (1970). Pedagogy of the Oppressed. New York: Continuum.