Philosophical Foundation of
Education
BY: MELGAZAR A. TANJAY
What is Philosophy?
-The investigation of causes and laws underlying
reality
-Inquiry into the nature of things based on logical
reasoning rather than empirical methods
-A system of values by which one lives
Five Branches of Philosophy
Metaphysics Study of Existence What’s out there
Epistemology Study of Knowledge How do I know
about it?
Ethics Study of Action What should I do?
Politics Study of Force What actions are
permissible?
Aesthetics Study of Art What can life be
like?
Educational Philosophy
• A philosophy about education
requires
systematic, critical thinking about
educational practice.
Philosophy and Teacher
Professionalism
• All professions have philosophical
underpinnings.
• Educational philosophy is one important
aspect of teacher’s professional knowledge.
Your Educational Philosophy
1. There is no substitute
for concrete experience
in learning.
Your Educational Philosophy
3. Teachers must not
force their
students to learn the
subject matter if it does
not interest them.
Your Educational Philosophy
5. In the classroom,
students must be
encouraged to interact
with one another to
develop social virtues
such as cooperation and
respect.
Your Educational Philosophy
7. Help students expand
their
knowledge by helping
them apply their previous
experiences in solving new
problems.
Your Educational Philosophy
2. The focus of education should be the
ideas that are as relevant today as when
they were first conceived.
Your Educational Philosophy
4. Schools’ must develop students’
capacity to reason by stressing on the
humanities.
Your Educational Philosophy
6. Students should read
and analyze the Great
Books, the creative
works of history’s
finest thinkers and
writers.
Your Educational Philosophy
8. Our course of study should be
general, not specialized; liberal, not
vocational; humanistic, not technical.
Your Educational Philosophy
9. There is no universal inborn human
nature. We are born and exist and then we
ourselves freely determine our essence.
Your Educational Philosophy
15. Schools should
help individuals
accept themselves as
unique and accept
responsibility for their
thoughts, feelings
and actions.
Your Educational Philosophy
19. An individual is what s/he
chooses
to become not dictated by his/her
environment.
Your Educational Philosophy
20. A learner must be allowed to
learn
at his/her own pace.
Your Educational Philosophy
10. Human beings are shaped by
their
environment.
Your Educational Philosophy
12. Change of environment can
change
a person.
Your Educational Philosophy
14. Something
beautiful for
one may not be
beautiful for
you.
Your Educational Philosophy
16. A scientifically developed code is
preferred over one that is derived
from
the history and culture of particular
groups.
Your Educational Philosophy
11. Schools
should stress
on the
teaching of the
basic skills.
Your Educational Philosophy
13. Curriculum should emphasize on
the traditional disciplines such as
math,
Your Educational Philosophy
17. For the learner to acquire the basic
skills, s/he must go through the rigor
and discipline of serious study.
Your Educational Philosophy
18. The teacher and the school head
must prescribe what is most
important
for the students to learn.
Your Educational Philosophy
• 1, 3, 5, 7--- progressivist
• 2, 4, 6, 8--- perennialist
• 9, 15, 19, 20— existentialist
• 10, 12, 14, 16— behaviorist
• 11, 13, 17, 18–- essentialist
Traditional Schools of Philosophy
Educational Philosophies have roots in these schools
•Idealism
• Asserts that because the physical world is
always changing, ideas are the only reliable
form of reality
•Realism
• The features of the universe exist whether or
not a human being is there to perceive them.
•Pragmatism
• Rejects the idea of absolute, unchanging truth,
instead asserting that truth is “what works”
•Existentialism
• humanity isn’t part of an orderly universe;
rather individuals create their own realities.
Basic Philosophies of Education
•Perennialism
•Essentialism
•Behaviorism
•Progressivism
•Existentialism
•Postmodernism (Critical Theory)
One should teach things
Perennialism that one deems to be of
everlasting importance to
• An educational philosophy all people everywhere.
suggesting that nature, including
human nature, is constant.
Children should learn the
Essentialism traditional basic subjects
and these should be
• An educational philosophy
suggesting that a critical core of
learned thoroughly and
knowledge and skills exists that rigorously.
all people should possess.
Behaviorism
a theory of animal and human
learning that only focuses on
objectively observable behaviors
and discounts mental activities.
Progressivism
• An educational
philosophy
emphasizing curricula
that focus on real-
world problem solving
and individual
development.
Existentialism
• An educational philosophy
built on a viewpoint in which
school curriculum and
instruction should
encourage deep personal
reflection on one’s identity,
commitments, and choices.
Postmodernism (Critical Theory)
• 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.
Developing 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.
DO THIS
Reflection Paper:
Your own philosophy of education
• Through writing, develop your own philosophy of
education based on your own educational experiences.
(minimum of 250 words)
Be sure to include
1. Your perception of how education should be
conducted
2. How that relates to educational philosophies learned
in class
