Transcript
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 time
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
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