8 Educational Philosophies

Educational Philosophy Our Future-Focused Philosophy Gateway School’s program is designed to inspire our students to work hard and value intrinsic understanding over external rewards. Educational philosophies and their basic ideas. Perennialism is a teacher centered philosophy that focuses on the values associated with reason. It considers knowledge as enduring, seeks everlasting truths, and views principles of existence as constant or unchanging.

Section III - Philosophical Perspectives in EducationPart 3

Educational Philosophies

Within the epistemological frame that focuses on the nature of knowledge and how we come to know, there are four major educational philosophies, each related to one or more of the general or world philosophies just discussed. These educational philosophical approaches are currently used in classrooms the world over. They are Perennialism, Essentialism, Progressivism, and Reconstructionism. These educational philosophies focus heavily on WHAT we should teach, the curriculum aspect.

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 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.

Think about It:

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?
3. Which educational philosophy is most compatible with your beliefs? Why?

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Educational Philosophies In The Classroom

Abstract
The eight educational theories are Essentialism, Behaviorism, Perennialism, Positivism, Progressivism, Humanism, Constructivism, and Reconstructionism. Essentialism is a teacher-centered locus of control which reflects the belief that there is a basic core of knowledge and skills that an educated person must have. The curriculum focuses on subject matter that includes literature, history, foreign language, and religion. Essentialists generally agree about teaching the laws of nature, and the accompanying universal truths of the world. Behaviorism is a psychological and educational theory that holds that one’s behavior is determined by environment rather than heredity, and states that human behavior can be explained as responses to external stimuli. Behaviorists believe that the school environment should be organized and the curriculum based on behavioral objectives. Perennialism is an educational theory that focuses on enduring principles of knowledge; nature, human nature, and the underlying principles of existence are considered constant, undergoing little change. Positivism is a social theory that limits truth and knowledge to what is observable and measurable. It requires schools to develop content standards that represent the best understandings of experts, and students are encouraged to master these understandings and to develop their own skills of observation, classification, and logical analysis. Progressivism is a student-centered locus of control and emphasizes that ideas should be tested by experimentation and that learning is rooted in questions developed by the learner. This theory views the individual as an experiencing, thinking, exploring individual. Humanism is a theory that contends that humans are innately good, that they are born free, but become enslaved by institutions. It seeks ways to enhance the individual development of the students, unlike a group-oriented educational system. Teachers who follow humanistic theory emphasize instruction based on student interests, abilities, and needs. Constructivism is an educational theory that highlights hands-on, activity-based teaching and learning during which students develop their own frames of thought. Constructivist curriculum focuses on the personalized way a learner internalizes, shapes, or transforms information. Reconstructionism is an educational theory that calls on schools to teach people to control institutions and to be organized according to basic democratic ideals.

Reflection

Major Educational Philosophies

The two educational theories that I feel reflect my views as a teachers would be progressivism and constructivism. Progressivism favors the scientific method of teaching and learning, allows for the beliefs of individuals, and stresses programs of student involvement that help them learn how to think. Constructivism emphasizes the hands-on, activity-based teaching and learning. I think students should be given the opportunity to explore and discover ideas for themselves, and at the same time keep the functions of school in place.