Philosophies of

Education

Philosophical positions and

statements of purpose

Tools of Philosophers (1

0f 3)

Axiology is the study of values;

it asks the question of “What is

good?” From axiology, we

arrive at an understanding of

“What is good?”

We get ethics from the study of

axiology

Tools of Philosophers

(2 of 3)

Epistemology—”How do we

know what is true?”

This is a live question today—Do

we listen to standardized test

results to determine how much

students know, or read their

portfolios?

Tools of Philosophy

(3 of 3)

Metaphysics is somewhat

related to epistemology and

asks the question “What is

real?”

Are the things that are real only

the things that can be touched

and measured?

Behaviorists vs. existentialists

Purposes for Education

Hilda Taba,

1962--

Transmit the

cultural heritage

Transform the

culture

Maximize human

potential

The Seven Cardinal

Principles (1 of 2)

The Seven Cardinal Principles of Secondary Education

Commission on Re-organization of Secondary Education (1918).

1. Health

2. Command of fundamental processes

3. Worthy home membership

4. Vocational competence

The Seven Cardinal

Principles (2 of 2)

The Seven Cardinal Principles of Secondary Education

Commission on Re-organization of Secondary Education (1918).

5. Citizenship

6. Worthy use of leisure time

7. Ethical character

But what do these

mean?

Meaning comes

from at least six

philosophical

positions that

“filter” or

influence how

people perceive

educational

events.

Essentialism

Almost an entire generation in

America has grown up under

essentialism.

Essentialism is a conservative

view of curriculum that holds

schools responsible for only the

most immediately needed

instruction.

Essentialism (2)

Essentialism

avoids some of

the waste

inherent with

experimentalism

But it can

become so

conservative

that it fails to

truly educate

Emphasis on a traditional

education

Development of the mind

Core curriculum

Reality is based in the

physical world

Teacher-directed learning

Reading, spelling,

language arts

Mathematics, U. S.

& World History

No vocational

education!

Standardized

tests

Criterion

referenced tests

Not as likely to

require portfolios

Using only text books

Seated row by row

Teacher lecture, students

listen

Punishment--attempted

behaviorism but without

expertise

Teach the basic

civilized skills of

reading, spelling and

measuring.

Limit education’s

responsibility--let

industry teach

vocational subjects

Writing test

Multiple choices

True/False

Binary-Choice

Matching

All students will

remember the

basic information.

All students will

learn how to pass

the test.

Experimentalism

Experimentalism is associated

with a very broad but shallow

curriculum. Many electives, few

required subjects.

Experimentalism is friendly to

educational research, and many

new ideas come from it.

Experimentalism (2)

But

experimentalism

can be wasteful

of resources

It can also fail

to follow

through

Accommodates

fads too easily

Experimentalism

Experimentalist

teachers like to

tinker or

experiment

They don’t like

to leave things

the same all the

time.

Classroom Management

for Experimentalists

Don’t like bmod

or assertive

discipline

Prefer more

constructivistic

approaches

such as

Discipline with

Dignity

What experimentalists

would teach

Everything--

anything that

had any relation

to students’

possible futures

Has been

accused of

trying to do the

home’s job

Where experimentalism

shines

When essentialism or perennialism

have been in power for so long,

school programs have become

stagnant

When school has become all work

and no play

When traditional methods have

become ineffective

Perennialism

Perennialism was prevalent in

the early seventies in U. S.

Perennialism reveres the

experience of teachers who

have been there.

Heavy orientation to the past 20

years--almost nil attention to

the future

Perennialism

Perennialists

like to teach

time-honored

curricula,

including the

classics such as

Plato an

Aristotle

They don’t like

change.

Perennialism

They would

include

subjects such

as:

• Geometry

• English

literature

• World

Geography

• Algebra

• Trigonometry

• Ancient

Geography

• World history

• U.S. History

• Bookkeeping

Perennialist Evaluation

Methodology

Teacher-made tests

Standardized test

Memory work (“mind is a

muscle”)

Spelling bees

Classroom Management

Assign seats in rows.

Be strict, but not

necessarily expert, with

punishment and reward.

Set up classroom rules.

Orientation Expected

Self-contained knowledge--

teacher is supposed to know

all the answers

Teacher is the “fountain of

all knowledge.”

Students are passive

listeners

Reality Testing for

Perennialists

Paper-pencil

test

Recitation

Standardized

test

Future Orientation for

Perennialists

Expect future to continue in the

same vein as the present

Belief that knowing the classics

of the past will equip students

for the future

Where Perennialism

Shines

Perennialism does help to

dampen the uncertain effects of

the fads that come to education

Not every new idea is a good

one, or one that will even be

effective.

Perennialism plays well to

traditional communities

Behaviorism

Behaviorism believes in a

science of behavior that would

shape the world into a better

place to live

Behaviorists to some degree

rightfully claim that behaviorism

naturally occurs in the world

whether people acknowledge it

or not

What behaviorists

believe

Behaviorists

believe in a

science of

behavior\

They rely

heavily on

scientific

studies of

behavior and

how behavior is

influenced by its

consequences

What behaviorists would

teach

Behaviorists are at least as

concerned about how people

behave as what they know

They do not tend to be big

innovators in curriculum

They will however give a fair

trial to any new curricula that

someone else might write

Where Behaviorism

shines

Special ed

situations,

where students

do not pick up

on subtle cues

about learning

or behavior

Alternative and

problem schools

Where behaviorism will

come short

Situations where behavior is not

so much the need as the

learning of academic content

Situations where students have

internalized appropriate

behavior and behavior does not

need to be emphasized at the

expense of scholarship.

Reconstructionism

Reconstructionists point to a

time in the past when they

believe that things were better

They would re-create education

to be like things were back

during that time

They cite research, particularly

historical, to show that things

are not going well now.

What reconstructionists

believe

Reconstruction-

ists point to a

time in the past

when they

believe that

things were

better

They would re-

create

education to be

like things were

back during that

What reconstructionists

would teach

Reconstructionists would teach

the subjects that were taught

during that “golden age.”

The subjects would be those

that were taught during that

time.

If the 1960s, for instance, they

would teach usage of the slide

rule.

One example of

Reconstructionism

1946—right after

the Second

World War

GIs wanted

schools and

society to return

to what they

were before

Pearl Harbor

Reconstructionists and

technology

Their orientation

is very much to

the past

They and

perennialists do

not react

immediately and

positively to

new technology

Existentialism

Existentialists celebrate the

human existence

Very subjective

Emphasis on meaning within

each individual

May doubt external reality

Emphasis on present

What existentialists

believe

Existentialists

believe in the

consciousness

of the self

They are very

concerned with

whether

students find

school to be a

satisfying

experience

What existentialists

would teach

Not the same

subjects to

everyone, since

not everyone

would enjoy the

same things

They would

emphasize self-

esteem and a

feeling of self-

worth

They would

include topics

such as values

clarification and

. . . .

An example of

existentialism

1960—

Summerhill

School in

England

1970s in some

parts of

America—self

esteem, values

clarification

A healthy balance

Each of the six

philosophies has

something to

offer

The only hazard

happens when

one philosophy

rules for a long

period of time