#educationalphilosophies EDUC102

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Philosophy is a term derived from two Greek words, ‘Philos” means love and ‘Sophia’ means wisdom. It means love for knowledge or passion for learning. As of today, there are a lot of educational philosophies and are used as a guide for teaching the students. There are two classifications which are the Traditional and Contemporary Philosophies.

Traditional philosophy focuses on the traditional method of teaching a child wherein a teacher focuses on the subject content and not to the student’s needs. It focuses on WHAT a teacher should teach to his/her students. Under Traditional Philosophy are Perennialism, Essentialism, Idealism, and Realism.

Perennialism focus on teaching ideas that are everlasting, to seek enduring truths which are constant, not changing. Their aim of education is to ensure that students acquire understandings about the great ideas of Western civilization. The curriculum focuses on attaining cultural literacy, stressing students’ growth in enduring disciplines. Their methods of teaching are oral exposition, lecture, and explication.

Essentialism is somewhat similar to Perennialism but Essentialist accept the idea that this core curriculum may change. They believe that there is a common core of knowledge that needs to be transmitted to students in a systematic, disciplined way. It should focus on facts rather than the other needs of a child.

Idealist aims to develop and discover each child’s skills and full moral excellence in order to better serve society. They focus on literature, history, philosophy, and religion. Their methods of teaching focus on handling ideas through lecture, discussion, and Socratic dialogue.

Realism is the theory that holds the existence of objects is real. The existence of objects is independent of knowledge. It is concerned with the existence of things. They emphasize the subject matter of the physical world, particularly science and mathematics. Teaching methods focus on mastery of facts and basic skills through demonstration and recitation.

Contemporary philosophy wherein the child’s interest are regarded as the main factor in deciding what should be taught, and instrumental and practical knowledge is given a place in the curriculum. Under the Contemporary Philosophy are Pragmatism, and Progressivism.

For Pragmatist, education should be about life and growth. Truth is not absolute, but changes according to time, ideal and place. Their teaching methods focus on hands-on problem solving, experimenting, and projects, often having students work in groups. Pragmatists believe that learners should apply their knowledge to real situations through experimental inquiry.

Progressivists believe that education should focus on the whole child, rather than on the content or the teacher. The learner is a problem solver and thinker who makes meaning through his or her individual experience in the physical and cultural context. They aim to develop learners into becoming enlightened and intelligent citizens of a democratic society and to teach learners so they may live fully now. The methods of teaching that they are using are experiential methods and hands-on-minds like field and thought-provoking games.