Educational Philosophy: The Intellectual Foundations of American Education

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Educational Philosophy The Intellectual
Foundations of American Education

• ED 1010
• February 17 19, 2009

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What is Philosophy?

• The study of theories of knowledge, truth,
  existence, and morality
• Theory a set of related principles that are
  based on observation and are used to explain
  additional observations
• Normative Philosophy a description of the way
  professionals ought to practice

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Philosophy and Teacher Professionalism

• All professions have philosophical underpinnings.
• Educational philosophy is one important aspect of
  teachers professional knowledge.

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Major Branches of Philosophy

• Epistemology investigates the origin, nature,
  methods, and limits of human knowledge.
• Metaphysics or Ontology studies the nature of
  existence or being and the underlying principles
• Axiology investigates values and ethics.
• Logic process of deriving valid conclusions from
  basic principles.

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Epistemology

• What is the nature of knowledge?
• How do we come to know what we know?
• Educational examples
• How would an anthropologist look at this
  classroom? A political scientist? A biologist?
• How do we know what a child knows?
• Sub-branches
• Knowing based onScientific InquirySenses and
  FeelingsFrom authority or divinityEmpiricism
  (experience)Intuition Reasoning or Logic
• Deductive  reasoning from the general to the
  particular
• Inductive  reasoning from the specific to the
  general.

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Metaphysics

• What is the nature of reality?
• Educational examples
• Do you think human beings are basically good or
  evil?
• What are conservative or liberal beliefs?
• Sub-branches
• Ontology
• What issues are related to nature, existence, or
  being?
• How might your view determine your classroom
  management?
• Cosmology
• What is the nature and origin of the cosmos or
  universe?
• Is the world and universe orderly or is it marked
  by chaos?
• What would one or the other mean for a classroom?
  

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Axiology

• What values should one live by?
• Educational examples
• Is morality defined by our actions, or by what is
  in our hearts?
• What values should be taught in character
  education?
• Sub-Branches
• EthicsWhat is good and evil, right and wrong?Is
  it ever right to take something that does not
  belong to you?
• AestheticsWhat is beautiful?How do we recognize
  a great piece of music? Art?Can there be beauty
  in destruction?

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Traditional Schools of Philosophy

• Idealism
• Realism
• Pragmatism
• Existentialism

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Idealism
What is real is the nature of thought

• A traditional philosophy asserting that because
  the physical world is always changing, ideas are
  the only reliable form of reality
• Plato
• Ideas should be the focus of teaching and
  learning
• Criticized for being elitist and overemphasizing
  cold, detached topics at the expense of human
  emotions and intuition

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Realism
Objects have real objective existence

• A traditional philosophy suggesting that the
  features of the universe exist whether or not a
  human being is there to perceive them.
• Aristotle
• There are important ideas and facts that must be
  understood and that they can only be understood
  by studying the material world.
• Back to Basics movement
• Criticized for being too narrow in focus. If
  fails to account for the whole person in the
  learning process.

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Pragmatism

• A philosophy that rejects the idea of absolute,
  unchanging truth, instead asserting that truth is
  what works
• John Dewey
• Learning how to learn, direct experiences,
  problem solving, integration

Practical consequences constitute the essential
criterion in determining meaning, truth, or value
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• Criticized for emphasizing student interests at
  the expense of essential knowledge, some think it
  led to declining performance of American students.

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Existentialism

• A philosophy suggesting
• that humanity isnt part of an
• orderly universe rather
• individuals create their own realities.
• Jean-Paul Satre
• Primary emphasis on the individual we teach
  children, not subjects
• Schools should be places where students are free
  to engage in activities because these activities
  are interesting and help them define who they
  are. Communities of learners
• Criticized for subjectivity, no core values

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Philosophy and Cultural Minorities

• The philosophies that we embrace are influenced
  by the cultures we live in.
• Western philosophy heavily emphasizes
  individualism and rational thought.
• Other world cultures place greater relative
  emphasis on the wisdom of elders, feelings and
  personal relationships, and harmony.

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Philosophies of Education

• Perennialism
• Essentialism
• Progressivism
• Postmodernism

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Perennialism
One should teach things that one deems to be of
everlasting importance to all people everywhere

• An educational philosophy suggesting that nature,
  including human nature, is constant.
• Roots in both Idealism and Realism
• Rigorous intellectual curriculum for all
  students, classic works

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Essentialism
Children should learn the traditional basic
subjects and these should be learned thoroughly
and rigorously.

• An educational philosophy suggesting that a
  critical core of knowledge and skills exists that
  all people should possess
• Roots in Idealism and Realism
• Back to basics movements
• Standards, testing, cultural literacy
• What is essential can change

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Progressivism

• An educational philosophy emphasizing curricula
  that focus on real-world problem solving and
  individual development.
• Roots in Pragmatism
• Constructivism
• John Dewey
• http//www.youtube.com/watch?vopXKmwg8VQM

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Postmodernism

• An educational philosophy contending that many of
  the institutions in our society, including
  schools, are used by those in power to
  marginalize those who lack power.
• Roots in Existentialism
• History / Classics examined for power issues,
  struggles of marginalized groups
• Criticized for using schools for political
  purposes

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Practice

• Evaluate the educational philosophy of the
  following teachers
• http//www.davis.k12.ut.us/staff/sbaylis/speech2.h
  tml
• http//www.davis.k12.ut.us/staff/mharrison/
• http//www.rmjr.weber.k12.ut.us/teacherpages/jacks
  on.htm
• http//www.wsdstaff.net/spotokar/video/index.htm

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Standards and Essential Knowledge

• The current emphasis on standards is based
  largely on essentialism, the belief that there is
  a critical core of knowledge all students should
  master.
• Advocates of standards (and essentialism) believe
  that the major role of schools should be to
  ensure that all students master a core of
  knowledge.
• Critics of standards (and essentialism) respond
  that most crucial knowledge is learned through
  rote memorization, soon becoming forgotten or
  inert, and fails to influence students current
  or future lives.

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Philosophies of Education in Urban Environments

• Because of the challenges involved in urban
  teaching, developing a coherent philosophy of
  education is even more important.
• Beliefs, both positive and negative, about urban
  learners can have profound influences on urban
  teachers and the way they teach.

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Developing Your Philosophy of Education

• Philosophy can guide practice and help you
  explain and defend your educational goals.
• The process of developing a philosophy begins
  with examining your own beliefs about teaching,
  learning, and students.
• An analysis of educational philosophies can
  assist teachers in forming their own personal,
  and probably eclectic, personal philosophy.

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Reflection Paper 2 Your own philosophy of
education

• Develop your own philosophy of education based on
  your own educational experiences, a critical
  examination of your personal perceptions related
  to teaching, and information learned in class
  about educational philosophies
• Be sure to include
• Your perceptions of how education should be
  conducted
• How that related to the educational philosophies
  learned in class
• Personal examples to illustrate each
  philosophical element