Activity 1

Name :Lindy Lou C. Gregorio Course: BECED

Research Work- Research on the following philosophies of

Education Give the gist of each philosophy. Cite those thoughts: why teach- what to teach-
How to teach-
1.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).

2. Progressivism
Progressivisms 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.

3. 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.
4. Existentialism
"Childhood is not adulthood; childhood is playing and no child ever gets enough play. The
Summer hill theory is that when a child has played enough he will start to work and face
difficulties, and I claim that this theory has been vindicated in our pupils' ability to do a good job
even when it involves a lot of unpleasant work." Just as its namesake sprang from a strong
rejection of traditional philosophy, educational existentialism sprang from a strong rejection of
the traditional, essentialist approach to education. Existentialism rejects the existence of any
source of objective, authoritative truth about metaphysics, epistemology, and ethics. Instead,
individuals are responsible for determining for themselves what is "true" or "false," "right" or
"wrong," "beautiful" or "ugly." For the existentialist, there exists no universal form of human
nature; each of us has the free will to develop as we see fit.
In the existentialist classroom, subject matter takes second place to helping the students
understand and appreciate themselves as unique individuals who accept complete responsibility
for their thoughts, feelings, and actions. The teacher's role is to help students define their own
essence by exposing them to various paths they may take in life and creating an environment in
which they may 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.
Although many existentialist educators provide some curricular structure, existentialism, more
than other educational philosophies, affords students great latitude in their choice of subject
matter. In an existentialist curriculum, students are given a wide variety of options from which to
choose.
To the extent that the staff, rather than the students, influence the curriculum, the humanities
are commonly given tremendous emphasis. They are explored as a means of providing
students with vicarious experiences that will help unleash their own creativity and self-
expression. For example, rather than emphasizing historical events, existentialists focus upon
the actions of historical individuals, each of whom provides possible models for the students'
own behaviour. In contrast to the humanities, math and the natural sciences may be
deemphasized, presumably because their subject matter would be considered "cold," "dry,"
"objective," and therefore less fruitful to self-awareness. Moreover, vocational education is
regarded more as a means of teaching students about themselves and their potential than of
earning a livelihood. In teaching art, existentialism encourages individual creativity and
imagination more than copying and imitating established models. Existentialist methods focus
on the individual. Learning is self-paced, self-directed, and includes a great deal of individual
contact with the teacher, who relates to each student openly and honestly. Although elements of
existentialism occasionally appear in public schools, this philosophy has found wider
acceptance in private schools and ill alternative public schools founded in the late 1960s and
early 1970s.

5. Constructivism
Constructivism is ‘an approach to learning that holds that people actively construct or make their
own knowledge and that reality is determined by the experiences of the learner’ (Elliott et al.,
2000, p. 256).
In elaborating constructivists’ ideas Arends (1998) states that constructivism believes in
personal construction of meaning by the learner through experience, and that meaning is
influenced by the interaction of prior knowledge and new events. Constructivism's central idea is
that human learning is constructed, that learners build new knowledge upon the foundation of
previous learning.
This prior knowledge influences what new or modified knowledge an individual will construct
from new learning experiences (Phillips, 1995).

6. Plato’s Philosophy

Plato regards education as a means to achieve justice, both individual justice and social justice.
According to Plato, individual justice can be obtained when each individual develops his or her
ability to the fullest. In this sense, justice means excellence. For the Greeks and Plato,
excellence is virtue. According to Socrates, virtue is knowledge. Thus, knowledge is required to
be just. From this Plato concludes that virtue can be obtained through three stages of
development of knowledge: knowledge of one's own job, self-knowledge, and knowledge of the
Idea of the Good. According to Plato, social justice can be achieved when all social classes in a
society, workers, warriors, and rulers are in a harmonious relationship. Plato believes that all
people can easily exist in harmony when society gives them equal educational opportunity from
an early age to compete fairly with each other. Without equal educational opportunity, an unjust
society appears since the political system is run by unqualified people

7. Rousseau’s Philosophy
Rousseau’s theory of education emphasized the importance of expression to produce a well-
balanced, freethinking child. He believed that if children are allowed to develop naturally without
constraints imposed on them by society they will develop towards their fullest potential, both
educationally and morally. Rousseau is known as the father of early childhood education. As a
result of his educational viewpoint, early childhood education emerged as a child-cantered entity
rich in unlimited, sensory-driven, practical experiences. Active participation in drawing,
measuring, speaking, and singing also emerged as a result of Rousseau’s educational
viewpoint. Today, many elements of Rousseau’s educational principles remain as a dominant
force in early childhood education.

8. Linguistic Philosophy
Linguistics is the study of languages, and as such, is of great importance to language teachers.
Linguistics helps teachers convey the origins of words and languages, their historical
applications, and their modern day relevance. Combined, this approach to teaching language
helps students gain a better, more in-depth understanding of their assignments and work
product expectations. Linguistic philosophy is the view that many or all philosophical problems
can be solved (or dissolved) by paying closer attention to language, either by reforming
language or by understanding the everyday language that we presently use better.[1] The
former position is that of ideal language philosophy, one prominent example being logical
atomism. The latter is the view defended in ordinary language philosophy.[2]

9. Behaviourism
Behaviourism can also be thought of as a form of classroom management. Behaviourists
believe human beings are shaped entirely by their external environment. If you alter a person's
environment, you will alter his or her thoughts, feelings, and behaviour. The system is based on
rewards and punishments. Behaviourists believe that if teachers provide positive reinforcement,
or rewards, whenever students perform a desired behaviour, they will learn to perform the
behaviour on their own. The same concept applies to punishments. Behaviourists think people
act in response to internally or externally generated physical stimuli. They basically consider
human nature to be the product of one's environment. An example of behaviourism is when
teachers reward their class or certain students with a party or special treat at the end of the
week for good behaviour throughout the week. The same concept is used with punishments.
The teacher can take away certain privileges if the student misbehaves.

10. Socrates‘s Philosophy

Socrates (c 470 BC – 399 BC) was a renowned Greek teacher, now recognized as the father of
Western philosophy. During his life, Socrates often disrupted the status quo by questioning the
public and creating controversy. His views on knowledge and truth have influenced the way
many people view learning. Socrates preferred conversational teaching and didn’t leave a single
record behind. As a result, all of the “quotes” from Socrates we have today are actually from the
writings of his students (primarily Plato and Xenophon). Eventually, Socrates was accused of
failing to recognize the gods of the city and corrupting the youth through his teachings.
According to Plato’s Apology, Socrates took a strong stand at the trial despite his awareness of
the potential consequences. He was ultimately sentenced to death and willingly drank a cup of
poisonous hemlock instead of attempting to escape with his friends. Socrates’ Educational
Philosophy
Socrates had a lot to say about knowledge and wisdom. On the topic of self-education, he
believed that:
Wisdom begins in admitting your own ignorance.
Self-knowledge is the ultimate virtue.
People can arrive at truth through questioning.
Admitting Ignorancestreaming T2 Trainspotting filmfilm Andrew Santino: Home Field Advantage
2017 Today, many teachers will pretend to know more than they actually do. Socrates,
however, would readily admit his own ignorance. In fact, he believed that recognizing this lack of
knowledge set him apart from other thinkers. “I know that I am intelligent, because I know that I
know nothing,” he explained. In the Apology, Socrates meets many wise politicians, poets, and
artisans. Each time he realizes that he is better off because he is aware of his own ignorance.
After visiting with a wise and well-regarded man, Socrates said, “Although I do not suppose that
either of us knows anything really beautiful and good, I am better off than he is, – for he knows
nothing and thinks that he knows; I neither know nor think that I know.” By admitting his
ignorance, Socrates freed himself to question the status quo and the so-called common sense
beliefs of his fellow Athenians. The Virtue of Self-Knowledge Socrates believed that knowledge
was the ultimate virtue, best used to help people improve their lives. “The only good is
knowledge and the only evil is ignorance,” he said. Socrates believed that people made immoral
choices because they did not have knowledge. Unless they examined their lives and gained
wisdom, people would continue to make mistakes in ignorance.