Philosophies of

education
“To philosophize is so essentially
human and in a sense to philosophize
Chapter 8 means living a truly human life.”
Lesson 1 J. Pieper
 Introduction
We are the 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. 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?"
at is
"how should I live life meaningfully?" and the like. In Wh
the school context, these existential questions are:
s op hy?
"why do I teach?" "what should I teach?" "how should I Philo
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.
 Our Philosophical Heritage:
Philosophies of Education
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.
 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.
 Constructivism
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.
 Constructivism
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.
 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."
 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."
 Essentialism
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.
 Essentialism
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..."
 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.
How to teach?
Progressivism
Progressivist teachers employ experiential methods.
They believe that one learns by doing. For John
Dewey, the most popular advocate of progressivism,
book learning is no substitute for actual experience.
One experiential teaching method that progressivist
teachers heavily rely on is the problem-solving
method. This problem-solving method makes use of
the scientific method.
 Perennialism
Why teach?
We are all rational animals. Schools should.
therefore, develop the students' rational and
moral powers. According to Aristotle, if we
neglect the students reasoning skills, we deprive
them of the ability to use their higher faculties
to control their passions and appetites.
 Perennialism
What to teach?
The perennialist curriculum is a universal one on the view that all
human beings possess the same essential nature. It is heavy on the
humanities, on general education. It is not a specialist curriculum but
rather a general one. There is less emphasis on vocational and
technical education. Philosopher Mortimer Adler claims that the
"Great Books of ancient and medieval as well as 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.
 Existentialism
Why teach. The main concern of the existentialists is "to help
students understand and appreciate themselves as unique
individuals who accept complete responsibility for their thoughts,
feelings and actions." Since 'existence precedes essence', the
existentialist teacher's role is to help students define their own
essence by exposing them to various paths they take in life and by
creating an environment in which they freely choose their own
preferred way. Since feeling is not divorced from reason in
decision making, the existentialist demands the education of the
whole person, "not just the mind."
 Existentialism
What to teach?
“In an existentialist curriculum, students are given a
wide variety of options from which to choose."
Students are afforded great latitude in their choice of
subject matter. The humanities, however, are given
tremendous emphasis to "provide students with
vicarious experiences that will help unleash their own
creativity and self-expression.
How to teach?
Existentialism
"Existentialist methods focus on the individual. Learning
is self-paced, self-directed. It includes a great deal of
individual contact with the teacher, who relates to each
student openly and honestly. To help students know
themselves and their place in society, teachers employ
values clarification strategy. In the use of such strategy,
teachers remain non-judgmental and take care not to
impose their values on their students since values are
personal."
 Behaviorism
Why teach?
Behaviorist schools are concerned with the
modification and shaping of students' behavior by
providing for a favorable environment, since they
believe that they are a product of their environment.
They are after students who exhibit desirable behavior
in society.
 Behaviorism
What to teach?
Because behaviorists look at "people and other
animal is as complex combinations of matter that
act only in response to internally or externally
generated physical stimuli," behaviorist teachers
teach students to respond favorably to various
stimuli in the environment.
How to teach? Behaviorism
Behaviorist teachers "ought to arrange environmental
conditions so that students can make the responses to stimuli.
Physical variables like light, temperature, arrangement of
furniture, size and quantity of visual aids have to be
controlled to get the desired responses from the learners.
Teachers ought to make the stimuli clear and interesting to
capture and hold the learners' attention. They ought to
provide appropriate incentives to reinforce positive responses
and weaken or eliminate negative ones." (Trespeces, 1995)
Why teach? Linguistic philosophy
To develop the communication skills of the learner because the
ability to articulate, to voice out the meaning and values of
things that one obtains from his/her experience of life and the
world is the very essence of man. It is through his/her ability to
express himself/herself clearly, to get his/ her ideas across, to
make known to others the values that he/ she has imbibed, the
beauty that he/she has seen, the ugliness that he/she rejects
and the truth that he/she has discovered. Teachers teach to
develop in the learner the skill to send messages clearly and
receive messages correctly.
What to teach? Linguistic philosophy
Learners should be taught to communicate clearly - how to
send clear, concise messages and how to receive and correctly
understand messages sent. Communication takes place in three
(3) ways - verbal, nonverbal, and paraverbal. Verbal
component refers to the content of our message, the choice
and arrangement of our words. This can be oral or written.
Nonverbal component refers to the message we send through
our body language while paraverbal component refers to how
we say what we say the tone, pacing and volume of our voices.
How to teach?
Linguistic philosophy
The most effective way to teach language and
communication is the experiential way. Make them
experience sending and receiving messages through
verbal, non-verbal and para-verbal manner. Teacher
should make the classroom a place for the interplay of
minds and hearts. The teacher facilitates dialogue among
learners and between him/her and his/her students
because in the exchange of words there is also an
exchange of ideas.
Thank
You