2. Objectives
• At the end of this chapter, you should be able to:
– Explain the origin of learning theories.
– Discuss educational philosophical thought: idealism,
naturalism, rationalism, and their impacts on
education.
– Explain the psychological aspects of theory of
education
– Discuss the different types of educational psychology
and their impacts on education
2
3. The Greek word, philosophia, means
3
the love (philia)
of
wisdom (sophia)
4. The three most basic philosophical
questions are
What’s what?
What’s good?
What do we know
(or what’s true)?
4
5. The Branches of Philosophy
Metaphysics - What’s what? – Reality:- study of
nature of reality, being, or existence
Axiology - What’s good? – Value, investigation
of the nature of value(s) & of the foundations of
value judgments.
Epistemology - What do we know? - Knowledge
(Or what’s true? (& Truth vs fantacy )
5
6. Historical evolution of theory development in learning
• Learning theories have their roots in philosophy
and psychology.
• Philosophies are organized belief systems based
on reasoned judgment and logic, which provide a
framework for understanding the human race
and the universe.
6
7. Philosophical roots
1.Idealism
– Mind or spirit is basic to every thing
– Plato- one of the ancient idealists
– Human knowledge, then is derived from the ideas
existed in the mind since birth.
– Learning is a process of developing these innate or
inborn ideas by turning the mind’s eye inward.
7
8. Philosophical roots
• Idealism
– Knowledge is more than sensual perception.
– It is more than purely mental; it is an interaction
between the perceiver and the perceived under
the guidance of the mind.
– Reality or the truth is the result.
8
9. Chief assertion of idealism
• Idealism believes in the universal mind –
according to this school of thought, besides
the physical or material universe, there is also
a spiritual universe which is permeated by the
universal mind God.
9
10. Chief assertion of idealism
• Idealism regards man as a spiritual being. Mind or
spirit is in it self a real thing.
• Reality is found in the mind of man and not in the
external world.
• The world of ideas and values is more important
than the world of matter.
• Real knowledge is perceived in mind.
10
11. 2.Realism/naturalism
• In contrast, Aristotle, a pupil of Plato believed
that reality exists in the physical world, not in the
mind’s conception of it.
• He believed that universal laws or ideas are not
innate but are relationships observed in nature.
• Learning then, comes from organizing and
structuring the sensory experience received from
outside world.
11
12. Different forms on naturalism/ realism
1.Physical naturalism-
– Reality does not exist with in the individual.
– It is rather outside him, in the natural universe
2.Mechanical naturalism
– There is spirit or soul.
– Only matter is everything, mind is also matter, which is made up
of atoms, empty space and motion matter keeps on moving and
changing and the laws of physical sciences govern this change.
12
13. Different forms on naturalism/ realism
3.Biological naturalism
– Explains man in terms of the lower form of life from which is evolved.
– Man’s natural property such as emotional and temperament are the real
springs of the behavior.
– If our behavior is according to our instincts, we feel happy, if not, we feel
unhappy, and disappointed.
– Education, therefore, should try to sublimate these natural impulses for
socially desirable ends.
– Some of the prominent naturalists include Aristotle, Spencer, Bacon, Bernard
Shaw, Rousseau, and Darwin
13
14. 3.Rationalism
• Descartes, a 17th century mathematician and
philosopher, further developed Plato's
concept of innate knowledge.
• He maintained that individual develop
knowledge through the process of deductive
reasoning from a few basic ideas.
14
15. Rationalism
• Cogito ergo sum = “ I think, therefore I am”.
• He outlined four rules:
1.Never accept anything except clear and distinct ideas
2.Divide each problem into as many parts as are needed
to solve it.
3.Order your thought from the simple to the complex
4.Always check thoroughly for oversight/mistake
15
16. 4.Empiricism
• Based on Aristotle's realism, was introduced
by Thomas Hobbes and formally developed by
philosopher John Lock.
• Lock believed that the mind at birth was a
“blank slate”.
• Ideas are building blocks of the mind.
16
17. Empiricism
• Ideas were developed through two types of
experiences-
1.Sensation (acquisition of information through
senses) and
2.Reflection ( combining simple ideas)
17
18. summary
• These contrasting philosophies led to the
nature/nurture debate about human
intelligence.
• Intelligence is an inborn trait or does it
develops through experience with the
environment?
18
19. Summary
• The debate finally subsided in the 1950’s with
the consensus that both heredity and
environment are important to intellectual
development with more emphasis on the
latter one.
19
20. Psychological roots
• Scientific empiricism
– From 400 B.C. to the late 19th century
– This Philosophy served as the primary source of information about
human mind.
– Although scientific methods were used to investigate the physical
world and natural events, research on the mind was considered
violation of the gift of God.
20
21. Psychological roots
Scientific empiricism
Hermann Von Helmholtz a medical doctor,
scientist, and philosopher, refuted Descartes’
arguments that knowledge is innate, and
argued for the accumulation of facts through
carefully designed experiments
21
22. Psychological roots
Pragmatism
– The word is derived from Greek word meaning “
active and efficient”
– In ordinary language, it means a matter of fact
treatment of things, based solely on their practical
utility.
– It is element of utility that has the greatest appeal for
pragmatist.
22
23. Psychological roots
Pragmatism
– For pragmatists whatever useful is good and whatever
good is useful.
– Pragmatist lives in the world of facts and not in a world of
ideas.
– Utility is truth and truth is utility
– In other words, pragmatism believes in practical and
utilitarian philosophy.
23
24. Psychological roots
Pragmatism
• Values are not fixed in advance. They are man
made.
• In the words of John Dewey, “values are as
unstable as the forms of clouds.”
• They keep on changing from time to time and
reality is still in the process of making.
24
25. Psychological roots
Important principles of pragmatism
1.No ultimate values:
– No fixed values for all times to come
– Truth is that which gives satisfactory results when
put in to practice
25
26. Psychological roots
Important principles of pragmatism
2.Emphasis on experimentation
– Stands for testing every statement by finding out
its practical implications.
– No judgment is possible before an experiment is
tested by experiences
26
27. Psychological roots
Important principles of pragmatism
3.Belief in practical philosophy
– True philosophy is one that helps in in the solution
of practical problems of life.
27
28. Psychological roots
Important principles of pragmatism
4.Human development according to environment
– Pragmatism believes that growth of human personality takes place
because of interaction with the environment
28
29. Psychological roots
Important principles of pragmatism
5.Faith in democracy
– A democratic social order is considered essential
for the healthy growth of individuals
29
30. Psychological roots
Important principles of pragmatism
6.Revolt against traditionalism
– Pragmatism believes that reality is the making.
– Truth is that which works in a practical situation
30
31. Eclectic tendency in education
• From the above discussion on the different
schools of philosophy, we can understand that
no school exclusively meets the entire
requirements of varied situations.
31
32. Eclectic tendency in education
• It is therefore, that no system of education can
be exclusively based on a particular school of
philosophy, whether idealism, naturalism or
pragmatism.
• In other words, no education is exclusively
idealist, naturalist, or pragmatist.
32
33. Eclectic tendency in education
• For modern education, it has been found
beneficial and effective to study the different
schools of philosophy.
• They have been rearranged and related to the
essential principles to bring about one
harmonious whole.
• This theory of education is known as eclectic
tendency in education.
33
34. Reasons for eclectic tendency
• No philosophy is complete in itself. It cannot
be applied successfully in all situations.
Therefore the main task is to find unity in
diversity, using an eclectics approach.
• It is not safe to stick only to one philosophy.
The world is continuously changing. Values of
life are also changing with living conditions.
34
35. Summary
• Remember that based on this philosophy,
each school of thought has its own
philosophical aims of education, curriculum
approach, and methods of teaching in
education.
35
