- Idealism focuses on the idea that reality exists in thoughts and ideas rather than material things, and promotes spiritual development. It emphasizes cultivating truth, beauty and goodness. - Realism believes that reality exists in concrete, material things that can be observed and experienced. It focuses on preparing students for practical life based on child psychology and interests. - Both philosophies influence curriculum and teaching methods. Idealism includes subjects that promote self-realization, while realism focuses on skills for life. Teachers in idealism guide self-development, while realist teachers present facts objectively.

4.  This philosophical doctrine stems from the
category of thought associated with ideas is
‘idealism’.
 Generally derived from the Greek word ‘idein’
meaning ‘to see’.
 This notion promote that reality of everything
lies in ideas, thought, & mind not in material
thing.

5.  Idealism is born out of Plato’s “Theory of Ideas”.
According to this doctrine, the ultimate superiority to
ideas.
 Idealism holds that spiritual world is more important
than material world. The chief reason is that material
world is destructible and mortal.
Exponents of idealism are Socrates, Plato, Descartes,
Spinoza, Barkley, Kant, Fitche, Schelling, Hegel,
Schopenhauer, J.S.Ross, D.M.Dutta, Herman Harrell
Horne of U.S.A Froebel Swami Dayanand, R.N. Tagore,
Gandhi, etc.

6. According to Dutta
“Idealism holds that ultimate reality is
spiritualism”.
According to Ross
“Idealistic philosophy takes many and varied
forms but the postulate underlying all this is
that mind or spirit is the essential world stuff
that the true reality is of a mental character”.

7. Idealistic system of education helps man to seek the truth and
avoid error, enjoy the beauty and discard ugliness take up the
good and deplore evil. Man must learn how to suppress and
conquer desires with the help of strong will power. He can
develop this power through education.
1. Self-Realization or Exaltation of Personality:
Idealism lay great stress on the exaltation of human
personality. By exaltation of human personality, they
mean self-realization. Self-realization involves full
knowledge of the Self.

8. 2. To Ensure Spiritual Development:
Idealists give greater importance to spiritual values in
comparison with material attainments because they believe
spiritual values are undying and permanent.
3. To Cultivate Truth, Beauty and Goodness:
Idealists assert that to develop spiritual values in the
individuals, pursuit of highest ideals namely Truth, Beauty
and Goodness should be encouraged more and more. The
more an individual realizes these ideals, the more spiritually
developed he will become.
4. Conversion of Inborn Nature into Spiritual Nature:
Idealists hold the view that the inborn instincts and

9. inherent tendencies of the child should be sublimated into
spiritual qualities and values. This is real development
of the individuality.
5. Preparation for a Holy Life:
Idealists uphold that education should create such
condition and provide an environment which is
conductive to the development of spiritual values in a
child.
6. Development of intelligence and rationality:
The world is planned and well organized. Man can
understand the purpose as well as the plan and
organization.

10. IDEALISM AND THE CURRICULUM
 Idealism regards curriculum as self-development.
To idealism any subject that provides sufficient
opportunities for the development of the creative
self is suitable for study.
 It emphasizes the experience of the human race as
whole and the curriculum should be organized as to
make it a representative of that experience or
race to cultivate the creative individuals.
 In two broad heads science and humanities may
include any course of studies but the sole purpose
of these courses focus on personal development
and self realization.

11. The idealist teacher finds his spiritual growth in helping the
pupil. The pupil is as important to him/her as he himself is
to the pupil. The idealist teacher feels that he can help his
pupils in three distinct ways.
In the first place, he can help them by associating himself
with them and by letting they understand what kind of
person he is trying to be. This will be done in the course of
discussing and solving common problems. Thus the
personality of the teacher will always be influencing the
pupils.

12. In the second place, the idealist teacher always emphasis
that the solution of a problem needs efforts on the part
of the self, and it is through efforts that the self can be
developed.
In the third place, the idealist teacher helps the pupils by
guiding them to understand the essentials of scientific
method, of analysis and synthesis. He leads them to
realize that many difficult problems which appear as
inaccessible at first can be easily solved when broken
into smaller parts.

13. The method of teaching used by the idealist teacher is to
help the student to obtain a deeper insight and to realize
that behind all his experiences there are attractive and
inviting depths which he can attain for himself leading to
further insights. The idealist teacher does not rely on
straight lecture methods. He relies more on a discussion
method, taking full account of diverging points of view
as expressed by various students.

14. The students are thus to choose their own final
answers and compare the worth of the same
with other existing. The purpose of the idealist
method of teaching is to lead the teacher and
students to more creative insights . There is no
specific method for teaching all idealists
preferred. Socrates used Question-Answer
Method, Plato emphasized Discussion Method,
Aristotle advocate Inductive-Deductive method,
Herbert advocated Instruction Method.

15. The realistic movement in education started from the 16th
century. They extended the horizon of human knowledge. The
rise of scientific inquiry opened new vistas before human mind
(Bacon’s formulation and statement of the new scientific
method Consequently, there arose a demand of/for a new type
of education in which truth rather than beauty, realities of life
of the day rather than the beauties of the old days were aims
of education.

16. According to Prof. D.M. Dutta "The realistic attitude,
however is not a new one in philosophy. Realism says the
realist is the instinctive belief of man and it is, therefore,
as old as man." According to Realism the external world
of objects is not imaginary. It really exists, “Our
experience is not independent but determines reaction to
the external objects. Experiences are influenced by the
external world which has real existence.” Realism cannot
accept anything unless it can be tested by observation
and experiment. It stands for a scientific outlook of life.

17. Exponents of realisms are ;Aristotle, Iramus, Rebellias,
Milton, Lord Montaigne, Locke, Bacon, Commenius,
White-head, Bertrand Russell Mulcaster, Ratke etc.
According to Aristotle
“Reality exists in concrete things or in the process of their
development”.
According to Butler
“Realism is the reinforcement of our common acceptance
of this world as it appears to us”.

18. The fundamental principles of Realism are given below:
 Phenomenal World is True
 Senses are the Doors of Knowledge
 Man is a Part of Material World
 Importance of Present Applied Life

19. Realism is a reaction against the book centered,
academic, intellectual, liberal, literacy or humanistic
education. It favors child centered, practical, specific,
scientific and psychological education. Applied to
education the new spirit manifested itself in the following
forms:
 Humanistic Realism
 Social Realism
 Sense Realism
 Neo Realism

20. Humanistic Realism
Humanistic Realism firmly believed that education
should be realistic. Such an education only can promote
human welfare and success. To achieve this aim of
education, they advocated the study of Greek and Roman
literatures because those literatures contained all the
essentials for success and happiness in life. In their view
there was no problem of life over which these literatures
had nothing to say.
Social Realism
Social Realism aims to make human life happy and
successful by fulfilling the needs of society. In other
words, education should promote the working efficiency
of the individuals.

21. According to social realism the curriculum should include
Geography, History, Arithmetic, Law, Diplomacy, Warfare,
Horse riding, Dancing, Gymnastic exercises etc. so that
social qualities are promoted and developed. They
condemned cramming and upheld learning by experience.
Sense Realism
Sense realism upholds that knowledge primarily comes
through the senses, not from words. As such, in the
education of the child, his ears, mouth, skin and limbs
should be freely used to the maximum. Without exercising
his sense organs, no knowledge will be gained by the child.
They came to believe firmly that all knowledge originates
from the external nature. Hence, education should adopt
real and effective methods instead of artificial techniques.

22. Neo Realism
This ideology has more importance in the field of
philosophy and science than in education. According to
Rusk “The positive contribution of neo-realism is its
acceptance of the methods and results of modern
developments in physics”. Neo-realism believes that like
other rules and procedures, rules and procedures of
science are also changeable. They are valid only in certain
conditions and circumstances. When those circumstances
change, the rules also change. The protagonists of neo-
realism emphasize both the education of arts and
sciences.

23. According to realism curriculum Only those subjects are
included in the curriculum which are useful to the
students and prepare them to meet the challenges of
time in their actual life and prepare the pupil for a
successful and happy living according to the realist’s
style.
In deciding the suitability of a subject adequate attention
must be paid to:
(a) The pupil's previous training.
(b) Inter-relationships between the parts of the various
subjects.
(c) The social demands for the pupil to be trained.

24. Realists greatly admire the various branches of science
as the most profitable contents of the curriculum, because
through these pupil requisite skills and knowledge for
facing the actualities of self-situations in the world
successfully.
The realist teacher realizes that information cannot be
given to students with the expectation that it will be
equally intelligible to all. So he must study child psychology
and adolescent psychology and must be able to adapt the
material according to the living interests of his pupils.

25. Realist teacher make the necessary adaptations in
order to make the material intelligible to the pupils. The
realist teacher must be able to help his pupils making
discoveries, because it is by making their own discoveries
that they can learn to stand on their own feet and
proceed further on the path by themselves.
The method of teaching, according to realism is
to abstract from the personality of both the teacher
and the pupils. In the process of presenting facts,
the teacher has to present the facts as they are, and
he must not add anything of his own.

26. The realist method of teaching starts with the
parts and considers them real in themselves. It
regards the whole as a product of the parts which
while contributing to the building up of the whole,
retain somehow their individual independence.

27. IDEALISM
 Reality of everything lies in ideas or
thoughts.
 Idealism focus on spiritual development
or cultivate truth , beauty and
goodness.
 According to idealist in curriculum
everything include that permute self-
realization or creativity.
 Teacher in idealism relate her/himself
with students and guide them.
 In teaching idealist used divergent
thinking , discussion method or
Socrates question answering method.
REALISM
 Reality of everything lies in concrete
things.
 Realists focus on that man except
everything that exist in material
world.
 According to realists in curriculum
keep in mind child psychology or
interest.
 Teacher in realism present reality
without adding his/her opinion.
 In realism teacher move from parts to
whole and permute depth.

28. REFERENCES
Bawa, B. Idealism, Naturalism, Realism and Pragmatism: Your article library Retrieved
from:http://www.yourarticlelibrary.com/education/idealism-naturalism-realism-and-
pragmatism/76829
Nikunja, S. &Dash, R. (2015). Philosophical foundation of education: directorate of distance &
Continuing Education Utkal University: vaniviharbhubaneswar: 751007 Retrieved from:
https://ddceutkal.ac.in/Syllabus/MA_Education/Paper_1.pdf
Singh, K.Y.(2008).Philosophical Foundation of Education: APH Publishing Corporation New
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