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Philosophy in Education PDF
Philosophy in Education PDF
Overview
Philosophy means "love of wisdom." It is made up of two Greek words, philo, meaning love, and sophos,
meaning wisdom. Philosophy helps teachers to reflect on key issues and concepts in education, usually through
such questions as: What is being educated? What is the good life? What is knowledge? What is the nature of
learning? And What is teaching? Philosophers think about the meaning of things and interpretation of that
meaning. Even simple statements, such as "What should be learned? Or What is adolescence?" set up raging
debates that can have major implications. For example, what happens if an adolescent commits a serious crime?
One interpretation may hide another. If such a young person is treated as an adult criminal, what does it say
about justice, childhood, and the like? Or if the adolescent is treated as a child, what does it say about society's
views on crime?
Your educational philosophy is your beliefs about why, what and how you teach, whom you teach, and about the
nature of learning. It is a set of principles that guides professional action through the events and issues teachers
face daily. Sources for your educational philosophy are your life experiences, your values, the environment in
which you live, interactions with others and awareness of philosophical approaches. Learning about the branches
of philosophy, philosophical world views, and different educational philosophies and theories will help you to
determine and shape your own educational philosophy, combined with these other aspects.
When you examine a philosophy different from your own, it helps you to "wrestle" with your own thinking.
Sometimes this means you may change your mind. Other times, it may strengthen your viewpoint; or, you may
be eclectic, selecting what seems best from different philosophies. But in eclecticism, there is a danger of sloppy
and inconsistent thinking, especially if you borrow a bit of one philosophy and stir in some of another. If serious
thought has gone into selection of strategies, theories, or philosophies, this is less problematic. For example, you
may determine that you have to vary your approach depending on the particular learning needs and styles of a
given student. At various time periods, one philosophical framework may become favored over another. For
example, the Progressive movement led to quite different approaches in education in the 1930s. But there is
always danger in one "best or only" philosophy. In a pluralistic society, a variety of views are needed.
Branches of Philosophy
There are three major branches of philosophy. Each branch focuses on a different aspect and is central to your
teaching. The three branches and their sub-branches are:
Branch Metaphysics: What is the nature of Epistemology: What is the nature of Axiology:
reality? knowledge? How do we come to know? What values
should one
live by?
Educational –Do you think human beings are –How would an anthropologist look at –Is morality
Examples basically good or evil? this classroom? A political scientist? A defined by our
–What are conservative or liberal biologist? actions, or by
beliefs? –How do we know what a child knows? what is in our
hearts?
–What values
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should be
taught in
character
education?
Sub- –Ontology Knowing based on: –Ethics
branches What issues are related to nature, –Scientific Inquiry What is good
existence, or being? Is a child –Senses and Feelings and evil, right
inherently evil or good? How might –From authority or divinity and wrong?
your view determine your classroom –Empiricism (experience) Is it ever right
management? –Intuition to take
–Cosmology –Reasoning or Logic something that
What is the nature and origin of the What reasoning processes yield does not
cosmos or universe? Is the world and valid conclusions? belong to
universe orderly or is it marked by –Deductive: reasoning from the you?
chaos? What would one or the other general to the particular All children can –Aesthetics
mean for a classroom? learn. Bret is a fifth grader. He has a What is
learning disability. Can Bret learn? beautiful?
–Inductive: reasoning from the How do we
specific to the general. After recognize a
experimenting with plant growth under great piece of
varied conditions, stu-dents conclude music? Art?
plants need water and light Can there
be beauty in
destruction?
2. Which branch or branches of philosophy would you want to emphasize in your classroom? Why?
4. Can you think of other school-based examples for each of the branches and sub branches?
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* A fifth metaphysical school of thought, called Scholasticism, is largely applied in Roman Catholic schools in the educational philosophy
called "Thomism." It combines idealist and realist philosophies in a framework that harmonized the ideas of Aristotle, the realist, with
idealist notions of truth. Thomas Aquinas, 1255-127, was the theologian who wrote "Summa Theologica," formalizing church doctrine.
The Scholasticism movement encouraged the logical and philosophical study of the beliefs of the church, legitimizing scientific inquiry
within a religious framework.
Two of these general or world philosophies, idealism and realism, are derived from the ancient Greek
philosophers, Plato and Aristotle. Two are more contemporary, pragmatism and existentialism. However,
educators who share one of these distinct sets of beliefs about the nature of reality presently apply each of these
world philosophies in successful classrooms. Let us explore each of these metaphysical schools of thought.
Idealism
Idealism is a philosophical approach that has as its central tenet that ideas are the only true reality, the only thing
worth knowing. In a search for truth, beauty, and justice that is enduring and everlasting, the focus is on
conscious reasoning in the mind. Plato, father of Idealism, espoused this view about 400 years BC, in his famous
book, The Republic. Plato believed that there are two worlds. The first is the spiritual or mental world, which is
eternal, permanent, orderly, regular, and universal. There is also the world of appearance, the world experienced
through sight, touch, smell, taste, and sound, that is changing, imperfect, and disorderly. This division is often
referred to as the duality of mind and body. Reacting against what he perceived as too much of a focus on the
immediacy of the physical and sensory world, Plato described a utopian society in which "education to body and
soul all the beauty and perfection of which they are capable" as an ideal. In his allegory of the cave, the shadows
of the sensory world must be overcome with the light of reason or universal truth. To understand truth, one must
pursue knowledge and identify with the Absolute Mind. Plato also believed that the soul is fully formed prior to
birth and is perfect and at one with the Universal Being. The birth process checks this perfection, so education
requires bringing latent ideas (fully formed concepts) to consciousness.
In idealism, the aim of education is to discover and develop each individual's abilities and full moral excellence
in order to better serve society. The curricular emphasis is subject matter of mind: literature, history, philosophy,
and religion. Teaching methods focus on handling ideas through lecture, discussion, and Socratic dialogue (a
method of teaching that uses questioning to help students discover and clarify knowledge). Introspection,
intuition, insight, and whole-part logic are used to bring to consciousness the forms or concepts which are latent
in the mind. Character is developed through imitating examples and heroes.
Realism
Realists believe that reality exists independent of the human mind. The ultimate reality is the world of physical
objects. The focus is on the body/objects. Truth is objective-what can be observed. Aristotle, a student of Plato
who broke with his mentor's idealist philosophy, is called the father of both Realism and the scientific method.
In this metaphysical view, the aim is to understand objective reality through "the diligent and unsparing scrutiny
of all observable data." Aristotle believed that to understand an object, its ultimate form had to be understood,
which does not change. For example, a rose exists whether or not a person is aware of it. A rose can exist in the
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mind without being physically present, but ultimately, the rose shares properties with all other roses and flowers
(its form), although one rose may be red and another peach colored. Aristotle also was the first to teach logic as
a formal discipline in order to be able to reason about physical events and aspects. The exercise of rational
thought is viewed as the ultimate purpose for humankind. The Realist curriculum emphasizes the subject matter
of the physical world, particularly science and mathematics. The teacher organizes and presents content
systematically within a discipline, demonstrating use of criteria in making decisions. Teaching methods focus on
mastery of facts and basic skills through demonstration and recitation. Students must also demonstrate the ability
to think critically and scientifically, using observation and experimentation. Curriculum should be scientifically
approached, standardized, and distinct-discipline based. Character is developed through training in the rules of
conduct.
Pragmatism (Experientialism)
For pragmatists, only those things that are experienced or observed are real. In this late 19th century American
philosophy, the focus is on the reality of experience. Unlike the Realists and Rationalists, Pragmatists believe
that reality is constantly changing and that we learn best through applying our experiences and thoughts to
problems, as they arise. The universe is dynamic and evolving, a "becoming" view of the world. There is no
absolute and unchanging truth, but rather, truth is what works. Pragmatism is derived from the teaching of
Charles Sanders Peirce (1839-1914), who believed that thought must produce action, rather than linger in the
mind and lead to indecisiveness.
John Dewey (1859-1952) applied pragmatist philosophy in his progressive approaches. He believed that learners
must adapt to each other and to their environment. Schools should emphasize the subject matter of social
experience. All learning is dependent on the context of place, time, and circumstance. Different cultural and
ethnic groups learn to work cooperatively and contribute to a democratic society. The ultimate purpose is the
creation of a new social order. Character development is based on making group decisions in light of
consequences.
For Pragmatists, teaching methods focus on hands-on problem solving, experimenting, and projects, often
having students work in groups. Curriculum should bring the disciplines together to focus on solving problems
in an interdisciplinary way. Rather than passing down organized bodies of knowledge to new learners,
Pragmatists believe that learners should apply their knowledge to real situations through experimental inquiry.
This prepares students for citizenship, daily living, and future careers.
Existentialism
The nature of reality for Existentialists is subjective, and lies within the individual. The physical world has no
inherent meaning outside of human existence. Individual choice and individual standards rather than external
standards are central. Existence comes before any definition of what we are. We define ourselves in relationship
to that existence by the choices we make. We should not accept anyone else's predetermined philosophical
system; rather, we must take responsibility for deciding who we are. The focus is on freedom, the development
of authentic individuals, as we make meaning of our lives.
There are several different orientations within the existentialist philosophy. Soren Kierkegaard (1813-1855), a
Danish minister and philosopher, is considered to be the founder of existentialism. His was a Christian
orientation. Another group of existentialists, largely European, believes that we must recognize the finiteness of
our lives on this small and fragile planet, rather than believing in salvation through God. Our existence is not
guaranteed in an after life, so there is tension about life and the certainty of death, of hope or despair. Unlike the
more austere European approaches where the universe is seen as meaningless when faced with the certainty of
the end of existence, American existentialists have focused more on human potential and the quest for personal
meaning. Values clarification is an outgrowth of this movement. Following the bleak period of World War II, the
French philosopher, Jean Paul Sartre, suggested that for youth, the existential moment arises when young
persons realize for the first time that choice is theirs, that they are responsible for themselves. Their question
becomes "Who am I and what should I do?
Related to education, the subject matter of existentialist classrooms should be a matter of personal choice.
Teachers view the individual as an entity within a social context in which the learner must confront others' views
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to clarify his or her own. Character development emphasizes individual responsibility for decisions. Real
answers come from within the individual, not from outside authority. Examining life through authentic thinking
involves students in genuine learning experiences. Existentialists are opposed to thinking about students as
objects to be measured, tracked, or standardized. Such educators want the educational experience to focus on
creating opportunities for self-direction and self actualization. They start with the student, rather than on
curriculum content.
1. Which general or world view philosophy best fits with your own views of reality? Why?
2. What have you learned from the history of education that is related to these metaphysical philosophies?
3. It is said that an image is worth a thousand words. What might be your image metaphor for each of these
world or metaphysical philosophies?
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Perennialism
For Perennialists, the aim of education is to ensure that students acquire understandings about the
great ideas of Western civilization. These ideas have the potential for solving problems in any era.
The focus is to teach ideas that are everlasting, to seek enduring truths which are constant, not
changing, as the natural and human worlds at their most essential level, do not change. Teaching
these unchanging principles is critical. Humans are rational beings, and their minds need to be
developed. Thus, cultivation of the intellect is the highest priority in a worthwhile education. The
demanding curriculum focuses on attaining cultural literacy, stressing students' growth in enduring
disciplines. The loftiest accomplishments of humankind are emphasized– the great works of
literature and art, the laws or principles of science. Advocates of this educational philosophy are
Robert Maynard Hutchins who developed a Great Books program in 1963 and Mortimer Adler, who
further developed this curriculum based on 100 great books of western civilization.
Essentialism
Essentialists believe that there is a common core of knowledge that needs to be transmitted to
students in a systematic, disciplined way. The emphasis in this conservative perspective is on
intellectual and moral standards that schools should teach. The core of the curriculum is essential
knowledge and skills and academic rigor. Although this educational philosophy is similar in some
ways to Perennialism, Essentialists accept the idea that this core curriculum may change. Schooling
should be practical, preparing students to become valuable members of society. It should focus on
facts-the objective reality out there--and "the basics," training students to read, write, speak, and
compute clearly and logically. Schools should not try to set or influence policies. Students should be
taught hard work, respect for authority, and discipline. Teachers are to help students keep their non-
productive instincts in check, such as aggression or mindlessness. This approach was in reaction to
progressivist approaches prevalent in the 1920s and 30s. William Bagley, took progressivist
approaches to task in the journal he formed in 1934. Other proponents of Essentialism are: James D.
Koerner (1959), H. G. Rickover (1959), Paul Copperman (1978), and Theodore Sizer (1985).
Progressivism
Progressivists believe that education should focus on the whole child, rather than on the content or
the teacher. This educational philosophy stresses that students should test ideas by active
experimentation. Learning is rooted in the questions of learners that arise through experiencing the
world. It is active, not passive. The learner is a problem solver and thinker who makes meaning
through his or her individual experience in the physical and cultural context. Effective teachers
provide experiences so that students can learn by doing. Curriculum content is derived from student
interests and questions. The scientific method is used by progressivist educators so that students can
study matter and events systematically and first hand. The emphasis is on process-how one comes to
know. The Progressive education philosophy was established in America from the mid 1920s
through the mid 1950s. John Dewey was its foremost proponent. One of his tenets was that the
school should improve the way of life of our citizens through experiencing freedom and democracy
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in schools. Shared decision making, planning of teachers with students, student-selected topics are
all aspects. Books are tools, rather than authority.
Reconstructionism/Critical Theory
Social reconstructionism is a philosophy that emphasizes the addressing of social questions and a
quest to create a better society and worldwide democracy. Reconstructionist educators focus on a
curriculum that highlights social reform as the aim of education. Theodore Brameld (1904-1987)
was the founder of social reconstructionism, in reaction against the realities of World War II. He
recognized the potential for either human annihilation through technology and human cruelty or the
capacity to create a beneficent society using technology and human compassion. George Counts
(1889-1974) recognized that education was the means of preparing people for creating this new
social order.
Critical theorists, like social reconstructionists, believe that systems must be changed to overcome
oppression and improve human conditions. Paulo Freire (1921-1997) was a Brazilian whose
experiences living in poverty led him to champion education and literacy as the vehicle for social
change. In his view, humans must learn to resist oppression and not become its victims, nor oppress
others. To do so requires dialog and critical consciousness, the development of awareness to
overcome domination and oppression. Rather than "teaching as banking," in which the educator
deposits information into students' heads, Freire saw teaching and learning as a process of inquiry in
which the child must invent and reinvent the world.
For social reconstructionists and critical theorists, curriculum focuses on student experience and
taking social action on real problems, such as violence, hunger, international terrorism, inflation,
and inequality. Strategies for dealing with controversial issues (particularly in social studies and
literature), inquiry, dialogue, and multiple perspectives are the focus. Community-based learning
and bringing the world into the classroom are also strategies.
1. Which of these educational philosophies would you describe as authoritarian? Which as non-
authoritarian? Why?
2. Each of the educational philosophies relates to one or more of the metaphysical world view
philosophies. What connections do you see?
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Information Processing
Information Processing theorists focus on the mind and how it works to explain how learning
occurs. The focus is on the processing of a relatively fixed body of knowledge and how it is
attended to, received in the mind, processed, stored, and retrieved from memory. This model is
derived from analogies between how the brain works and computer processing. Information
processing theorists focus on the individual rather than the social aspects of thinking and learning.
The mind is a symbolic processor that stores information in schemas or hierarchically arranged
structures.
Knowledge may be general, applicable to many situations; for example, knowing how to type or
spell. Other knowledge is domain specific, applicable to a specific subject or task, such as vowel
sounds in Spanish. Knowledge is also declarative (content, or knowing that; for example, schools
have students, teachers, and administrators), procedural (knowing how to do things—the steps or
strategies; for example, to multiply mixed number, change both sides to improper fractions, then
multiply numerators and denominators), or conditional (knowing when and why to apply the other
two types of knowledge; for example, when taking a standardized multiple choice test, keep track of
time, be strategic, and don't get bogged down on hard problems).
The intake and representation of information is called encoding. It is sent to the short term or
working memory, acted upon, and those pieces determined as important are sent to long term
memory storage, where they must be retrieved and sent back to the working or short-term memory
for use. Short term memory has very limited capacity, so it must be kept active to be retained. Long
term memory is organized in structures, called schemas, scripts, or propositional or hierarchical
networks. Something learned can be retrieved by relating it to other aspects, procedures, or
episodes. There are many strategies that can help in both getting information into long term memory
and retrieving it from memory. The teacher's job is to help students to develop strategies for
thinking and remembering.
Behaviorism
Behaviorist theorists believe that behavior is shaped deliberately by forces in the environment and
that the type of person and actions desired can be the product of design. In other words, behavior is
determined by others, rather than by our own free will. By carefully shaping desirable behavior,
morality and information is learned. Learners will acquire and remember responses that lead to
satisfying aftereffects. Repetition of a meaningful connection results in learning. If the student is
ready for the connection, learning is enhanced; if not, learning is inhibited. Motivation to learn is the
satisfying aftereffect, or reinforcement.
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Behaviorism is linked with empiricism, which stresses scientific information and observation, rather
than subjective or metaphysical realities. Behaviorists search for laws that govern human behavior,
like scientists who look for pattern sin empirical events. Change in behavior must be observable;
internal thought processes are not considered.
Ivan Pavlov's research on using the reinforcement of a bell sound when food was presented to a dog
and finding the sound alone would make a dog salivate after several presentations of the conditioned
stimulus, was the beginning of behaviorist approaches. Learning occurs as a result of responses to
stimuli in the environment that are reinforced by adults and others, as well as from feedback from
actions on objects. The teacher can help students learn by conditioning them through identifying the
desired behaviors in measurable, observable terms, recording these behaviors and their frequencies,
identifying appropriate reinforcers for each desired behavior, and providing the reinforcer as soon as
the student displays the behavior. For example, if children are supposed to raise hands to get called
on, we might reinforce a child who raises his hand by using praise, "Thank you for raising your
hand." Other influential behaviorists include B.F. Skinner (1904-1990) and James B. Watson (1878-
1958).
Cognitivism/Constructivism
Cognitivists or Constructivists believe that the learner actively constructs his or her own
understandings of reality through interaction with objects, events, and people in the environment,
and reflecting on these interactions. Early perceptual psychologists (Gestalt psychology) focused on
the making of wholes from bits and pieces of objects and events in the world, believing that
meaning was the construction in the brain of patterns from these pieces.
For learning to occur, an event, object, or experience must conflict with what the learner already
knows. Therefore, the learner's previous experiences determine what can be learned. Motivation to
learn is experiencing conflict with what one knows, which causes an imbalance, which triggers a
quest to restore the equilibrium. Piaget described intelligent behavior as adaptation. The learner
organizes his or her understanding in organized structures. At the simplest level, these are called
schemes. When something new is presented, the learner must modify these structures in order to
deal with the new information. This process, called equilibration, is the balancing between what is
assimilated (the new) and accommodation, the change in structure. The child goes through four
distinct stages or levels in his or her understandings of the world.
Humanism
The roots of humanism are found in the thinking of Erasmus (1466-1536), who attacked the
religious teaching and thought prevalent in his time to focus on free inquiry and rediscovery of the
classical roots from Greece and Rome. Erasmus believed in the essential goodness of children, that
humans have free will, moral conscience, the ability to reason, aesthetic sensibility, and religious
instinct. He advocated that the young should be treated kindly and that learning should not be forced
or rushed, as it proceeds in stages. Humanism was developed as an educational philosophy by
Rousseau (1712-1778) and Pestalozzi, who emphasized nature and the basic goodness of humans,
understanding through the senses, and education as a gradual and unhurried process in which the
development of human character follows the unfolding of nature. Humanists believe that the learner
should be in control of his or her own destiny. Since the learner should become a fully autonomous
person, personal freedom, choice, and responsibility are the focus. The learner is self-motivated to
achieve towards the highest level possible. Motivation to learn is intrinsic in humanism.
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Recent applications of humanist philosophy focus on the social and emotional well-being of the
child, as well as the cognitive. Development of a healthy self-concept, awareness of the
psychological needs, helping students to strive to be all that they can are important concepts,
espoused in theories of Abraham Maslow, Carl Rogers, and Alfred Adler that are found in
classrooms today. Teachers emphasize freedom from threat, emotional well-being, learning
processes, and self-fulfillment.
*Some theorists call Rousseau's philosophy naturalism and consider this to be a world or
metaphysical level philosophy (e.g. Gutek)
1. Which psychological orientations are most compatible with which educational philosophies?
Explain.
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