Concordant and Discordant Construct-Context Dualities as a Framework for Understanding the Choice of Vocational Educational Philosophy of Booker T. Washington

Abstract

This paper explores the rationale behind Booker T. Washington’s vocationalist philosophy of education for the then recently emancipated black population.  Through the use of a critical thinking framework, an analysis of remarks from key speeches and his life according to scholars providing Washington’s prescriptive argument and rhetoric is undertaken. Despite Washington’s intentions, the argument for his vocational approach is demonstrated to be oppressive, myopic, and circular in its logic.  The author proposes a framework for understanding the counterintuitive development of vocationalist philosophy based on the dichotomous nature of the human experience’s value-construct and context misalignment.  Concordant or discordant dualities that result from misalignment are explained and how to reconcile Washington’s Vocationalism with opposing the philosophy of W.E.B. Du Bois due to equivalence or consistency of values with theoretical constructs is also discussed.