Wisdom is a central icon in philosophy and education is a necessary means of good life and national development. Educators recognize the need to think clearly about what they are doing in the large context of pupils and the society. It is the aim of this write up to cite the relevance of pragmatist philosophy to primary school education in Zimbabwe. The key terms to be defined are pragmatism and education. According to Dewey in Akinpelu (1981), education is a continuous reconstruction of experience, which adds to the meaning of experience and also increases the ability to direct the course of subsequent experience. Gwirayi (2010), sees education as the transmission of societal culture and the formal imparting of knowledge and skills. Therefore, .
Levine (1985), sees pragmatism as the philosophy that judges the validity of ideas by their consequences in action. Akinpelu (2005) asserts that pragmatism is a movement that represents the interest of ordinary people in their role. Therefore, pragmatism is a reasonable and logical way of doing things and thinking about the problem that is based on dealing with specific situations instead of on ideas and theories. Ezewu (1990), argues that education by its nature is a cultural process. The basic aim of education should be the transmission of cultural heritage, preparation of adulthood and fitting into the community. When teaching subjects like Religious and Moral Education the teacher must be aware of the religious background of the whole society. In the class, almost every religion will be represented. In this light the teacher must make an accommodative atmosphere for each and every pupil when teaching religion related subjects. By making use of the local environment pupils will be able to understand and develop concepts. The also determine the language to be used in the classroom.
Pragmatism places a greater emphasis on the method and attitude than on systematic philosophical doctrine.