Philosophical Foundations
of Education
What is Philosophy?
t h e science that seeks to organize and systemize all
fields of knowledge as a means of understanding and
interpreting the totality of reality.
T h e systematic and logical explanation of thenature,
existence, purpose and relationships of things,
including human beings in the universe
Main Branches of Philosophy
1. Metaphysics – deals with the first principles,
the origin an essence of things, the causes and end of
things.
2 . Epistemology – deals with knowledge and
withways of knowing.
Main Branches of Philosophy
3 . Axiology – deals with purposes and
values.
4 . Logic – deals with the correct way of
thinking.
FUNCTIONS of the PHILOSOPHIES OF EDUCATION
1 . Provide guidelines in the formulation of the
educational policies and programs and in the
construction of curricula.
2 . Provide direction toward which all
educational effort should be exerted.
FUNCTIONS of the PHILOSOPHIES OF EDUCATION
3 . Provide theories and hypothesis which may be
tested for their effectiveness and efficiency.
4 . Provide norms or standards for evaluation
purposes.
IMPORTANCE OF PHILOSOPHY OF EDUCATION TO
THE TEACHER
1 . Provides the teacher with basis for making his
decision concerning his work.
2. Help the teacher develop a wide range of
interest, attitudes, and values concomitant to his
professional life as teacher.
IMPORTANCE OF PHILOSOPHY OF EDUCATION TO
THE TEACHER
3 . Makes a teacher more aware of his own life and
work, and makes him more dynamic, discriminating,
critical and mentally alert.
4 . Philosophy of education saves time, money and
effort.
NEED OF PHILOSOPHY OF EDUCATION IN
MODERN TIMES
Every behaviour or action has its own principles.
T h e principles underlying all educationalbehaviour
are derived from philosophy of education.
I t is only through a philosophy of education that
onedetermines the curriculum, the textbooks, the
methods of teaching, methods and standards of
evaluation, the methods of maintaining discipline,
etc.
Implications for Today’s Classroom Teacher
Idealism
Seeks to create schools that are intellectual centers of teaching
and learning.
Teachers are vital agents in guiding students to realize the fullest
intellectual potential
Encourages teachers and students to experience and appreciate
theachievements of their culture.
Teachers introduce students to the classics-art, literature, music- so
they can experience and share in the time-tested cultural values of these
work
Recognize that the internet can make great books accessible
Idealists should insist that technology should be a means, instrument of
education rather than an end. Content matters most, not the apparatus.
Implications for Today’s Classroom Teacher
Realism
Teachers bring students’ ideas about the world into
correspondence with reality by teaching skills ( reading,
writing, computation) and subjects (history, math, science,
etc.) that are based on authoritative and expert knowledge.
Focus on cognitive learning and subject matter mastery.
Realist oppose nonacademic activities that interfere with
school’s purpose as a center of disciplined academic inquiry.
Content mastery is important, and methodology is
necessary but subordinate means to educate.
a
Implications for Today’s Classroom Teacher
Pragmatism
I f idealists and realists make teaching subject matter their primary
responsibility, pragmatists are more concerned with teaching students to
solve problems using interdisciplinary approach.
Rather than transmitting subjects to students, pragmatists facilitate
student research and activities, suggesting resources useful in problem
solving, such as those accessible through educational technology.
Teachers expect that students will learn to apply problem-solving
method to situations both in and out of school and thus connect the
school to society.
Social networking can create a global community with opportunities to
share insights and ideas
Implications for Today’s Classroom Teacher
Existentialism
Teaching from existentialist perspective is always difficult
because curricula and standards are imposed on teachers
from external agencies.
Teachers cannot specify goals and objectives in advance
because students should be free to choose their own
educational purposes.
Teachers stimulate an intense awareness that students are
responsible for his own education and self-definition.
Teachers must encourage students to examine institutions,
forces, and conditions that limit freedom of choice
Implications for Today’s Classroom Teacher
Postmodernism
Postmodernists argue that teachers must first
empower themselves as professional educators
R e a l empowerment means that as teachers
proceed from pre-service to practice, they take
responsibility for determining their own futures and
encouraging students to determine their own lives.
Implications for Today’s Classroom Teacher
Perennialism
T h e school’s primary role is to develop studentsreasoning
powers.
Teachers need to have a solid academic foundation to act as
intellectual mentors and models.
Primary teachers- fundamental skills
Secondary teachers- great works of art, history, literature
and philosophy
Standards based on the classics
Technology can be used as an avenue to appreciate and
communicate about classics cognitively
Implications for Today’s Classroom Teacher
Essentialism
Purpose of education is to transmit and maintain the
necessary fundamentals of human culture.
Schools have the mission to transmit skills and
subjects to the young to preserve and pass them on to
future generations
Essentialist use deductive logic to organize
instructions- basic concepts to facts to general.
Implications for Today’s Classroom Teacher
Progressivism
Learners learn successfully if they explore their
environment and construct their own conception of reality
based on their direct experience.
Opposed authoritarian teachers, book-based instruction,
passive memorization, isolation of school from society.
Affirmed that the child should be free to develop naturally,
interest-motivated by his direct experience, needs
cooperation with school, home and community.
E x . West Tennessee Holcaust Project- The PaperClip
Project
Implications for Today’s Classroom Teacher
Critical Theory
Teachers must focus on issues of power and control
in school and society
Learn who their students are by exploring their
ownself-identities
Collaborate with local people to improve school
andcommunity
J o i n organizations to empower themselves
Participate in critical dialogues about politics, social,
economic, and educational issues
