William Allan Kritsonis, PhD

1. William Allan Kritsonis, PhD Professor, PhD Program in Educational Leadership, PVAMU/Member Texas A&M University<br />WHAT IS YOUR PHILOSOPHY?<br />Many individuals have a philosophy embedded in their subconscious minds. Although one does not realize altogether that certain beliefs follow a selected philosophic approach, individual actions parallel certain philosophies more than others. The following medium offers information concerning personal philosophic beliefs so that a basic understanding can be obtained and a personal philosophy developed. Please answer the following statements on the answer sheet at the end of this section utilizing the scale:<br />StronglyDisagreeDisagreeNeutralAgreeStronglyAgree<br />|--------1------------------2------------------3-----------------4------------------5-------|<br />1.The subjects of a school are the most important feature of an education.<br />2.Schools should promote a teacher-centered environment in order to encourage effective learning.<br />3.Education is a prerequisite for a student to understand life’s intentions.<br />4.What students are taught should be determined solely by student interest and input.<br />5.The deductive approach is the most effective method of teaching any subject to students.<br />6.Universal truth is an individual perception.<br />7.If it happens, it is real.<br />8.Disregard the past and you are destined to repeat it.<br />9.A school’s curriculum should be determined by the specific needs of each community, where content is designed for the betterment of each student.<br />10.Education should focus strongly on the development of reasoning skills of students.<br />11.Curricular content should center primarily on the scientific method for resolving dilemmas.<br />12.Students should be free to explore their interests in whatever fashion they desire.<br />13.The climate in which one lives solely defines one’s behavior.<br />14.All children can learn the same thing, but not at the same rate.<br />15.Students should be placed in classrooms according to their individual abilities.<br />16.All reform movements in education are basically the same.<br />17.The curriculum for students should contain a specific nucleus of information that is indigenous for all literate people.<br />18.Ethical behavior and morality should be incorporated into a student’s learning process.<br />19.The curriculum of a school should not be decided by a small circle of school officials, but by all involved parties within the community.<br />20.What is real is perceived differently by individuals, therefore no two things can be the same.<br />21.Learning by specified programs of material in sequence is paramount to a child’s education.<br />22.Teachers need to give more individual assistance in the classroom.<br />23.Students with a mental disability cannot learn the same subject matter as regular students and should not be placed in a regular classroom environment.<br />24.Money is not the total answer to increased student achievement.<br />25.Learning to read proficiently is the solution to the educational dilemma.<br />26.Each individual in society must attain a specified body of knowledge to function properly.<br />27.Student needs, experiences, and interests should be the determining factor when designing a school’s curriculum.<br />28.A school’s curriculum should contain more electives for students to choose.<br />29.A complete curricular analysis for effective teaching should include scope, sequence, articulation, pacing, and, most importantly, reward or reinforcement.<br />30.All teachers have an underlying concern for students and the learning process.<br />31.Effective education begins at the home.<br />32.Traditional education of the 1950s should be reinstated in the school curriculum.<br />33.Teachers should not teach in areas where their proficiency is below average.<br />34.More emphasis should be placed on “The Great Men” and “The Great Books” of past civilizations.<br />35.The curriculum should be entirely a hands-on, practical approach.<br />36.Student achievement cannot take place in a traditional, lecture-oriented format.<br />37.The environment is a tangible place where material is a solid representation of what is.<br />38.Students learn best in a one-on-one basis.<br />39.Students, teachers, parents, and administrators should decide solely on the curricular structure of a school.<br />40.What works in one environment does not necessarily work in another.<br />41.There should be a distinct division of subject matter, not the consolidated collection presently advocated.<br />42.Art/music appreciation should stress past contributions rather than practical applications.<br />43.The teacher’s sole function in the classroom should be to guide students through problem-solving situations.<br />44.A school environment should nurture students to find their roles in society.<br />45.Fool me once, shame on you–fool me twice, shame on me.<br />46.Children are born with universal knowledge and it is the teacher’s job to bring forth that knowledge.<br />47.The universe is made from scientific laws and the scientific process is designed to explain our existence.<br />48.If it works, it is true.<br />49.Enculturation is the primary function of education.<br />50.A school’s curriculum should concentrate on long-range goals, not on immediate concerns.<br />51.A student should feel free to be inventive and communicate inner curiosities without the threat of reprimand.<br />52.Individuals are first an introvert and second an extrovert.<br />53.The scientific approach is the best approach to effectively understand explained and unexplained phenomenon.<br />54.Reality is what one believes.<br />55.Teachers should always adapt and should be flexible in the learning environment.<br />56.We learn best from experience.<br />57.A strict, proven curricular format is necessary to ensure proper learning.<br />58.Even though students learn at different rates, every student should be exposed to the same learning material.<br />59.School environments should be void of any autocracy by the teachers and/or administration.<br />60.Every child evolves at a different rate, both physically and mentally, and should be free, without interference, to do so.<br />61.Students learn best when given an incentive or reward.<br />62.Students know what they need to know and should follow their beliefs.<br />63.Teachers are in the best position to determine appropriate learning activities.<br />64.Our past dictates our future.<br />65.Students do not do enough outside assignments for effective exposure to the subject matter.<br />66.The Socratic method of questioning should be utilized more in the classroom to cultivate critical thinking skills.<br />67.Student-to-student interaction is the best learning method.<br />68.“Beauty is in the eye of the beholder” because there is no standardized scale for measuring beauty.<br />69.Moral and ethical values are not inborn traits, but learned processes.<br />70.Perceptions are everything in learning.<br />71.Student success is a product of his/her environment regardless of intellectual capability.<br />72.Field trips should be utilized more often to enhance the learning process.<br />73.All teachers of a given subject should teach the same content in order to establish continuity of learning.<br />74.Students learn by themselves under direct supervision of the teacher.<br />75.Students learn better when grouped together than when separated for individual investigation.<br />76.Having a child feel good about himself/herself is more important than what he/she learns.<br />77.Standardized tests are the best measures of student achievement.<br />78.There is no universal standard to describe beauty except in what one perceives.<br />79.A structured curriculum is best for students to learn.<br />80.I hear and I forget–I see and I remember–I do and I understand.<br />Copyright © 2011 William Allan Kritsonis, PhD<br />William Allan Kritsonis, PhD - Copyright © 2011<br />Answer Sheet<br />Place each numbered response for the corresponding questions in the appropriate space below.<br />Scale<br />StronglyDisagreeDisagreeNeutralAgreeStronglyAgree<br />|--------1------------------2------------------3-----------------4------------------5-------|<br />ABCDEFGH 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9.10.11.12.13.14.15.16.17.18.19.20.21.22.23.24.25.26.27.28.29.30.31.32.33.34.35.36.37.38.39.40.41.42.43.44.45.46.47.48.49.50.51.52.53.54.55.56.57.58.59.60.61.62.63.64.65.66.67.68.69.70.71.72.73.74.75.76.77.78.79.80.<br />William Allan Kritsonis, PhD - Copyright © 2011<br />Scoring<br />Step 1<br />Total points for each column and place in the appropriate blank below.<br />A____ B____ C____ D____ E____ F____ G____ H____<br />Step 2<br />Place the total of each column in the corresponding blanks below.<br />Major Philosophic Off-Shoots Major Philosophies <br />Column A = ____ EssentialistColumn E = ____ BehavioristColumn B = ____ PerennialistColumn F = ____ IdealistColumn C = ____ ProgressivistColumn G = ____ RealistColumn D = ____ ExistentialistColumn H = ____ Pragmatist<br />Scores indicate your agreement or disagreement with a particular philosophical point of view. The highest score indicates a more prominent consensus and the lowest score indicates a more prominent conflict. The highest possible score for any philosophical category is 50 and the lowest possible score is 10.<br />Comparing the scores on the left to the scores on the right will offer an interesting perspective concerning original philosophic views to the philosophic off-shoots. The participant is directed to corresponding sections within the text for a review of philosophic convictions.<br />William Allan Kritsonis, PhD – Copyright © 2011<br />William Allan Kritsonis, PhD – Copyright © 2011<br />PHILOSOPHIES OF SCHOOLING<br />KEY POINTS<br />1.Philosophy is not a science; it is an attempt to understand the world. <br />2. Educational philosophy is the application of formal philosophy to the field of education. <br />3. Metaphysics is the branch of philosophy that deals with ultimate reality; epistemology focuses on knowledge, and axiology deals with the study of values. <br />4. Idealism, the philosophy of Plato, focuses on the search for truth. <br />5. Realism, the philosophy of Aristotle, supports the notion that knowledge can be gained through the senses and from deductive reasoning. <br />6. Pragmatism is an American philosophy that is associated with human experience; John Dewey was a prominent pragmatist. <br />7. Existentialism, an individualized philosophy, represents a radical departure from other schools of philosophy and focuses on the individual. <br />8. Perennialism is an educational philosophy developed from realism, while the educational philosophy of essentialism is the basis for the back-to-the-basics movement in education. <br />9. Progressivism is associated with problem-solving techniques, while reconstructionism focuses on social reform. <br />10. Basic philosophy and educational philosophy are directly related to what occurs in school classrooms. <br />11. Philosophy directly impacts on curriculum and teaching practices. <br />12.Some philosophies encourage a highly structured curriculum with close student monitoring, while others focus on limited structure and wide freedoms for students.<br />Dr. Kritsonis provides basic information regarding philosophy and educational philosophy. It begins by discussing the basic philosophies, such as idealism and realism, and then moves into a discussion of specific educational philosophies. <br />B.KEY TERMS–DEFINITIONS<br />ANALYTICAL - allows the use of language to analyze words; currently the dominating activity of American and British philosophers; given to studying a problem by breaking it down into its various parts. <br />ANALYTICAL PHILOSOPHY - philosophy based on analytical activity. <br />AXIOLOGY - area of philosophy that focuses on values. <br />BEHAVIORAL ENGINEERING - Philosophy of education that focuses on controlling the learner’s environment. <br />BEHAVIORISM - educational philosophy and practice that emphasized reinforcing appropriate behavior or learning: includes the concepts of stimulus and response. <br />ECLECTIC - selecting what appears to be the best doctrines, methods, styles, or philosophies. <br />EPISTEMOLOGY - deals with knowledge; therefore, directly related to the instructional methods employed by teachers. <br />ESSENTIALISM - area of philosophy that believes a common core of knowledge and ideals should be the focus of the curriculum. <br />EXISTENTIALISM - philosophy that emphasizes individuals and individual decision-making. <br />IDEALISM - a philosophy that emphasizes global ideas related to moral teachings. <br />METAPHYSICS - the branch of philosophy that deals with ultimate reality. <br />ONTOLOGY - the study of what is real; the primary focus of metaphysics dealing with what is real about material objects, the universe, persons, being, mind, existence, and so forth. Hard core reality. <br />PERENNIALISM - educational philosophy that believes in the existence of unchanging universal truths. <br />PRAGMATISM - philosophy that focuses on practical application of knowledge.<br />PRESCRIPTIVE - attempts to establish standards for assessing values, judging conduct and appraising art: ordered with the force of authority. <br />PROGRESSIVISM - educational philosophy emphasizing experience. <br />RECONSTRUCTIONISM - educational philosophy calling for schools to get involved and support social reform. <br />SPECULATIVE - considerate of possibilities and probabilities; philosophy is a search for orderliness applied to all knowledge; it applies systematic thinking to everything that exists. <br />SYNOPTIC - providing a general summary of data collected at many points to present an overview. <br />SYNTHESIS - assembling various parts into a whole; reasoning from self-evident propositions, laws or principles to arrive by a series of deductions at what one seeks to establish; enables educators to see the relationship of ideas to practice. <br />