Educational philosophy

1. CHAPTER 8:
PHILOSOPHIES OF EDUCATION

2. To philosophize is so
essentially human - and in a
sense to philosophize a truly
human life.
- J. Pieper

3. Introduction
 We are heirs to a rich philosophical heritage.
Passed on to us are a number of
philosophies of various thinkers who lived
before us. These thinkers reflected on life in
this planet. They occupied themselves
searching for answers to questions about
human existence. .

4.  These existential questions come in different
versions- “what is life?” “who am I?” “why
am I here?” or “what am I living for?” “what
is reality?” “is the universe real?” “what is
good to do?” “how should I live life
meaningfully?” and the like

5.  In the school context, these existential
questions are: “why do I teach?” “what
should I teach?” “how should I teach?” “what
is the nature of the learner?” “how do we
learn?” etc. These questions are
philosophical questions. They are tackled in
the subject, philosophies of education.

6. Our
Philosophical
Heritage:
Philosophies
of Education
LESSON 01

7. Learning Outcome
 • Explain at least seven philosophies of
education

8. Introduction
 Lesson 1 is focused on at least seven
philosophies of education. Each philosophy
has its own answer to questions like “what is
the nature of the learner,” how does he/she
learn, what should I teach him/her.

9. Seven Philosophies of
Education:

10. CONSTRUCTIVISM
Why teach. Constructivists sees to develop
intrinsically motivated and independent
learners adequately equipped with learning
skills for them to be able to construct
knowledge and make meaning of them.

11. What to teach. The learners are taught how to learn.
They are taught learning processes and skills such as
searching, critiquing and evaluating information,
relating these pieces of information, reflecting on the
same, making meaning out of them, drawing insights,
posing questions, researching and constructing new
knowledge out of these bits of information learned.

12. How to teach. In the constructivist classroom, the
teacher provides students with data or experiences
that allow them to hypothesize, predict, manipulate
objects, pose questions, research, investigate,
imagine, and invent. The constructivist classroom is
interactive. It promotes dialogical exchange of ideas
among learners and between teacher and learners.
The teacher’s role is to facilitate this process.

13.  Knowledge isn’t a thing that can be simply
deposited by the teacher into the empty minds of
the learners. Rather, knowledge is constructed by
learners through an active, mental process of
development; learners are the builders and creators
of meaning and knowledge. Their minds are not
empty. Instead, their minds are full of ideas waiting
to be “midwifed” by the teacher with his/her skillful
facilitating skills.

14. ESSENTIALISM
Why teach. This philosophy contends that teachers
teach for learners to acquire basic knowledge, skills,
and values. Teachers teach “not to radically reshape
society but rather to transmit the traditional moral
values and intellectual knowledge that students need
to become model citizens.”

15. What to teach. Essentialist programs are
academically rigorous. The emphasis is on academic
content for students to learn the basic skills or the
fundamental r’s - reading, ‘riting, ‘rithmetic, right
conduct - as these are essential to the acquisition of
higher or more complex skills needed in preparation
for adult life.

16.  The essentialist curriculum includes the “traditional
disciplines such as math, natural science, history,
foreign language, and literature. Essentialists frown
upon vocational courses…” or other courses with
watered down academic content… The teachers
and administrators decide what is most important
for the students to learn and place little emphasis on
student interests, particularly when they divert time
and attention from the academic curriculum.

17. How to teach. Essentialist teachers emphasize
mastery of subject matter. They are expected to be
intellectual and moral models of their students. They
are seen as “fountain” of information and as “paragon
of virtue,” if ever there is such a person. To gain
mastery of basic skills, teachers have to observe “core
requirements, longer school day, a longer academic
year…”

18.  With mastery of academic content as
primary focus, teachers rely heavily on the
use of prescribed textbooks, the drill method
and other methods that will enable them to
cover as much academic content as
possible like the lecture method. There is a
heavy stress on memorization and
discipline.

19. PROGRESSIVISM
Why teach. Progressivist teachers teach to
develop learners into becoming enlightened
and intelligent citizens of a democratic society.
This group of teachers teaches learners so
they may live life fully NOW not to prepare
them for adult life.

20. What to teach. The progressivists are
identified with need-based and relevant
curriculum. This is a curriculum that “responds
to students’ needs and that relates to students’
personal lives and experiences.

21.  Instead of teaching facts or bits of
information that are true today but become
obsolete tomorrow, they would rather focus
on skills and processes gathering and
evaluating information and in problem
solving. The subjects that are given
emphasis in progresivists schools are the
natural and social sciences.

22. How to Teach. Progressivists employ experiential
methods because of their belief that one learns by
doing. According to John Dewey, the most popular
advocate of progressivism, book learning is no
substitute for actual experience. The problem-solving
method dominates the progressivist curriculum. Other
“hands-on-minds-on-hearts-on teaching methodology
that are used are field trips, thought-provoking games
and puzzles.

23. PERENNIALISM
Why teach. We are all rational animals. Schools
therefore should develop the students’ rational and
moral powers. According to Aristotle, if we neglect the
students’ reasoning skills, we deprive them of their
ability to use their higher faculties to control their
passion and appetites

24. What to teach. The Perennialist curriculum is a
universal one on the view that all human beings
possess the same essential nature. It is not a
specialist curriculum but rather a general one. There is
less emphasis on vocational and technical education.
Mortimer Adler claims that the “Great Books of
ancient, medieval, and modern times are a repository
of knowledge and wisdom, a tradition of culture which
must initiate each generation.” What the perennialist
teachers teach are lifted from the Great Books

25. How to teach. The perennialist teacher is centered
around teachers. The teeachers do not allow the
students’ interests or experiences to substantially
dictate what they teach. They employ teaching
methods and techniques which they believed to be
most conducive to disciplining students’ minds.
Students engaged in Socratic dialogues, or mutual
inquiry sessions to develop an understanding of
history’s most timely concepts

26. EXISTENTIALISM
Why Teach . To help students understand
and appreciate themselves as unique
individuals who accept complete responsibility
for their thoughts, feelings and actions.

27. What to teach. In an existentialist curriculum,
students are given a wide variety of options from
which to choose. Students are afforded a wide variety
of subject matter from which to choose but the
humanities are given great emphasis to provide
students with vicarious experiences that will help them
unleash their own creativity and self-expression.

28.  Rather than teaching historical events Existentialists
would focus on the actions of historical individuals
that will provide possible models for students’ own
behaviour. Vocational education is regarded more
as a means of teaching students about themselves
and their potential than of earning a livelihood. In
teaching art, students are encourage to develop the
own creativity and expand their imagination rather
than copying and imitating established models.

29. How to Teach. Existentialist methods focus on
individual learning. Learning is self-paced, self-
directed, and includes a great del of individual contact
with the teacher. To help students know themselves
and understand their place in society, teachers use
values clarification strategy. In the use of the strategy,
the teacher remains non-judgmental and take care not
to impose their values on their students.

30. BEHAVIORISM
Why Teach. Behaviourism believes that
students are products of their environment.
They are after students who exhibit desirable
behaviour in school, thus the goal of education
is to modify and shape students’ behaviour.

31. What to teach. Behaviourists look at people
as individuals who act only in response to
externally generated stimuli, thus behaviourist
teachers teach studnts to repnd fvorably to
various stimuli in the environment.

32. How to teach. Behaviourist teachers should arrange
environmental conditions so that students can make
responses to stimuli. Physical variables such as light,
temperature, arrangement of furniture, size and
quantity of visual aids have to be controlled to get the
desired responses from the students. Teacher must
see to it that stimuli for learning must be clear and
interesting to capture the interest of the learners and
provide appropriate incentives to reinforce positive
responses and weaken or eliminate negative ones.

33. LINGUISTIC PHILOSOPHY
Why teach. To develop the communication
skills of the learner

34. What to teach. Learners should be taught to
communicate clearly-verbally, orally and/or in writing,
nonverbal, and paraverbal. Verbal communication
refers to the content of our message, the choice and
arrangement of words. Nonverbal refers to the
message we send through our body language while
paraverbal refers o HOW we say what we say-the
tone, pacing, and volume of our voice.

35.  Students should be taught to use language
correctly – grammar, syntax, vocabulary…so
that they can express their thoughts and
feelings clearly and accurately. There is also
a need to teach students as many
languages as you can so that they can
communicate with the world.

36. How to teach. The most effective way to
teach language and communication is the
experiential way. The classroom should be a
place for the interplay of minds and hearts.

37. SUMMARY
 We have a very rich philosophical heritage. But only seven
phiosophies were discussed here: essentialism,
progressivism, perennialism, existentialism, behaviorism,
linguistic philosophy and constructivism. The seven
philosophies differ of their concepts of the learner and values,
in why do we teach (objectives), what should be taught
(curriculum), and how should the curriculum be taught
(teaching strategies). However, there exist also some
similarities among the philosophies.