Educational Philosophy

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Educational Philosophy

• Nature of learner
• Role of teacher
• Curriculum what is real, true, of value
• Purpose of schooling

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Educational philosophy in workforce education

• Why we do as we do
• A way of applying what we believe to be real,
  true, of value
• A way of shaping the world

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Philosophy an activity in 3 styles

• Speculative a way of thinking systematically
• Prescriptive establish standards to assess
  values judge conduct
• Analytic words and meaning

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Educational Philosophy

• Concerns mainly the branch of Metaphysics, which
  seeks to determine the nature of ultimate reality

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Metaphysical Philosophy

• Attempts to establish coherence throughout the
  whole domain of experience

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Main schools of Metaphysical thought
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Main schools of Metaphysical thought

• Idealism Ultimate reality is spiritual rather
  than physical, mental rather than material.
  Nature possesses meaning and purpose.

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Main schools of Metaphysical thought

• Idealism Ultimate reality is spiritual rather
  than physical, mental rather than material.
  Nature possesses meaning and purpose.
• Realism Physical mater is the ultimate reality.
  Nature and science are real.

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Main schools of Metaphysical thought

• Idealism Ultimate reality is spiritual rather
  than physical, mental rather than material.
  Nature possesses meaning and purpose.
• Realism Physical mater is the ultimate reality.
  Nature and science are real.
• Pragmatism Ultimate reality is change. Man is
  social, biological intelligent. Values are
  relative

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Philosophical Educational Policy Considerations
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Philosophical Educational Policy Considerations

• Objectives of education

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Philosophical Educational Policy Considerations

• Objectives of education
• Nature of man (the student)

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Philosophical Educational Policy Considerations

• Objectives of education
• Nature of man (the student)
• Society in which the student will function

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Philosophical Educational Policy Considerations

• Objectives of education
• Nature of man (the student)
• Society in which the student will function
• Ultimate nature of reality which we are trying to
  communicate

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Pragmatism/Progressivism

• In
• Educational Philosophy

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Pragmatism

• The only philosophy developed in America
• Emphasized testing ideas by acting on them
• Rejected universal and eternal truths
• Argued that philosophy should deal with real
  human problems rather than metaphysical
  speculation

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Pragmatismmajor authors

• John Dewey
• Charles S. Pierce
• William James
• George H. Mead

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Pragmatismin education

• Progressivism
• Experimentalism
• Liberal Progressivism

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Pragmatism

• Taught that theory and practice, and thus,
  thinking and doing, should be united
• Proposed that the scientific method should be
  used to solve human problems
• Believed in a democratic society
• Believed that change is the essence of reality

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Progressivism

• 6 Major Assertions

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1. Education should be life itself, not a
preparation for living

• Learning situations should be oriented toward
  experiences in life

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2. Learning should be directly related to the
interests of the learner

• Content should be relevant to the real world of
  the learner

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3. Real learning occurs through problem solving

• Knowledge is a tool for managing experience

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4. The teachers role is not to direct but to
advise

• The teacher should employ his greater knowledge
  and experience to guide learning

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5. The school should encourage cooperation rather
than competition

• Students should compete with each other only when
  it fosters personal growth

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6. Only democracy permits true personal growth

• Democracy is more than a system of government, it
  is shared experience

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What would a progressive workforce curriculum
look like?

• How would the content be determined?
• What would be the method of instruction?
• How would it be evaluated?

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What are the strengths and weaknesses of
progressivism?

• Assumptions
• Curriculum
• Methodology
• Contexts

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Perennialism

• Classical Realism in Educational Philosophy

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Perennialism

• Allegiance to absolute principles
• Permanence is more real than change and more
  desirable as an ideal
• Stability is the most important educational value.

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Perennialism major authors

• Aristotle
• Aquinal
• Hutchins
• Adler
• Livingstone

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Perennialism

• Six basic principles

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1. Despite differing environments, human nature
remains the same everywhere

• Education should, therefore, be the same for
  everyone

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2. Man must use his rationality to carefully
chosen ends

• No learner should be able to choose their own
  educational experience

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3. Educations task is to teach eternal truth

• Adjustment to truth is the result of learning

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4. Education is preparation for life

• School can never, nor should be a real-life
  situation

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5. Students should be taught basic subjects
based upon permanencies

• Vocational education is best left to
  practitioners in their field

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6. Curriculum should be the great works of
literature, philosophy, history science

• The message of the past is never dated

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Strengths and Weaknesses of Perennialism

• Assumptions
• Curriculum
• Methodology
• Contexts

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What would Perennialist workforce curriculum look
like?

• How would the curriculum be determined?
• What would be the method of instruction?
• How would it be evaluated?

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Essentialism

• An early 20th century educational reform movement

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3 main Essentialists efforts

• Reexamination of the curriculum
• Distinguish the essential and nonessential
  elements
• Reestablish the authority of the teacher in
  instruction

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Major Essentialist authors

• Bagley
• Briggs
• Breed
• Kandel
• Horne

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Essentialism

• Four basic principles

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1. Learning, of its very nature, involves hard
work and often unwilling application

• Discipline is essential to learning

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2. The initiative in education should lie with
the teacher

• Authority resides with the teacher

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3. The purpose of education is to learn
prescribed subject matter

• Content and method are prescribed by the teacher

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4. The school should retain traditional methods
of mental discipline

• Deferred rewards are preferred for motivation

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Strengths and Weaknesses of Essentialism

• Assumptions
• Curriculum
• Methodology
• Contexts

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What would an Essentialist workforce curriculum
look like?

• How would the curriculum be determined?
• What method of instruction would be used?
• How would it be evaluated?

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Existentialism

• Lived reality informed by passion

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Major Existentialists authors

• Kierkegaard
• Nietzsche
• Sartre
• Marcel
• Tillich
• Buber
• Heidegger

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Existentialist world view

• Ultimate reality is lived reality- what is real
  to us is what we experience
• What a person becomes is his own responsibility.
  He either chooses or allows the choice to be made
  for him

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Existentialist Beliefs
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In itself freedom is neither goal nor an ideal.
It is the potential for action

• People can change (learn) because they can always
  act differently

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Choice can be either active or passive

• Failing to choose is also a choice. You are
  responsible for the results of your actions

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People know things as they are presented to their
private consciousness

• Learning is an individual act

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Subjectivity is inseparable from truth

• The test of being is always being-for-me

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Teaching can only come from inner experience

• One can only teach what they know

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No subject matter is more important (in itself)
than any other

• The importance of subject matter is the value to
  the individual student

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Strengths Weakness of Existentialism

• Assumptions
• Curriculum
• Methodology
• Contexts

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What would a Existentialist workforce curriculum
look like?

• How would the curriculum be determined
• How would the method of instruction be decided?
• How would learning be evaluated?