DON MARIANO MARCOS MEMORIAL STATE UNIVERSITY

SOUTH LA UNION CAMPUS

COLLEGE OF GRADUATE STUDIES
Agoo, La Union

Nero M. Paderes Inquiry & Reflection #3

Doctor of Philosophy in Science Education February 8, 2018

How did they redefine knowledge, education,schooling,teaching and learning?

Each of the pioneers of education have a unique definition of knowledge, education,

schooling, teaching, and learning. Although most of them differ in educational beliefs their theories
have became foundations of our present educational systems and pedagogical approaches.

JOHANN AMOS COMENIUS - Comenius found fault with many of the educational practices of
his day. In particular, he disapproved of the scholastic tradition of studying grammar and memorizing
texts. He lamented the haphazard and severe teaching methods in European schools, which tended to
diminish student interest in learning. Finally, Comenius felt that all children–whether male or female,
rich or poor, gifted or mentally challenged–were entitled to a full education, and he regretted that only
a privileged few received formal schooling. For Comenius, all of these educational shortcomings were
especially urgent, as they hindered mankind's progress to the new millennium.

Perhaps Comenius's most familiar work is the Great Didactic, which he originally wrote in
1632. As Comenius held the conviction that pansophy was necessary for the spiritual salvation of
humankind, he reasoned that a good man (a rational being who understood God through nature), and
ultimately a good society, could only be created if all people acquired encyclopedic knowledge. In
order to guarantee that this would occur, Comenius delineated a universal teaching method or standard
set of pedagogical postulates that would facilitate an effective communication of knowledge between
the teacher and student. Delineating four levels of schools lasting six years each, Comenius was one
of the first educators to recommend a coherent and standard system of instruction. Indeed, Comenius
suggested that the universality of nature dictated that all people shared common stages of intellectual
development. As a result, he reasoned, teachers needed to identify their students' stages of
development and match the level of instruction accordingly. Lessons should proceed from easy to
complex at a slow and deliberate pace. Furthermore, Comenius argued that the acquisition of new
material began through the senses–an idea that reflected the rise of empiricism in the seventeenth
century.

Comenius also advocated that teachers begin with simple lessons for students to master before
proceeding to more complex exercises. It became the standard Latin textbook in Europe and America
throughout the seventeenth and much of the eighteenth centuries. One contemporary scholar has
suggested that the incremental organization and explicit goals of the text anticipated the principles of
mastery learning.

In the past century, a number of educators revived the pedagogical elements of Comenius's
legacy. They cited his emphasis on early childhood education and his aversion to corporal punishment
as precursors to the German educator Friedrich Froebel's kindergarten idea. They lauded Comenius's
call for universal education and a carefully graded system of schools. They noted his innovative use
of learning aids such as the illustrations in the World in Pictures and his preference for focusing on
actual things rather than rhetoric in education. Finally, they praised Comenius's desire to make
learning enjoyable and more meaningful through the use of dramatic productions and other innovative
methods.

Still, one must remember that these pedagogical innovations derived from Comenius's urgent
desire for the alleviation of human suffering, the mending of political, epistemological, and spiritual
divisions, and ultimately, man's gradual comprehension of God's will and glory.
 DON MARIANO MARCOS MEMORIAL STATE UNIVERSITY
SOUTH LA UNION CAMPUS
COLLEGE OF GRADUATE STUDIES
Agoo, La Union

JOHN LOCKE - John Locke's Some Thoughts Concerning Education is a collection of musings on
the topic of education. Locke does not present a systematic theory of education, and the work reads
more like an instruction manual than a philosophical text.

Locke's is convinced that moral education is more important than other kinds of education.
The goal of education, in his view, is not to create a scholar, but to create a virtuous man. More
particularly, the aim of education is to instill what Locke calls the Principle of Virtue, namely the
ability to subvert one's immediate appetites and desires to the dictates of reason. According to Locke,
the goal of education is to create a person who obeys reason instead of passion. The importance Locke
places on this quality cannot be overstated: nearly two thirds of the book is devoted to an account of
how best to instill this principle.

While discussing how to best instill this quality, Locke addresses other related ideas. He says
that learning should be enjoyable. There is no good reason, Locke thinks, that children should hate to
learn and love to play. The only reason that children happen not to like books as much as they like
toys is that they are forced to learn, and not forced to play. Locke sets out to show how learning can
be a form of recreation. Among his proposals are that children should never be forced to learn when
they are not in the mood; that they should never be beaten or spoken to harshly; that they should not
be lectured to, but should be engaged in conversation; and that their ideas should be taken seriously.
In addition, the boisterous, loud, and playfully unruly spirit of children should be cultivated rather
than curbed. Any mischief that stems from the age rather than the character of the child should not be
punished.

Not only should the general temperament of childhood be taken into account, but so should
the individual temperament of the child. Every mind, Locke tells us, is different, and what is right for
one child is not right for another. The goal of education is to guard against any vices to which a child
is predisposed. By tailoring children's educations to their characters, teacher not only obtain more
effective results, but they also make the experience enjoyable.

Locke also stresses the importance of habit and example in education, while downplaying the
role of rules. Children generally do not understand rules, Locke claims, nor can they remember them.
Teaching by rules, therefore, is counterproductive. The child will either end up being punished
constantly and then giving up on the attempt to be good, or else the rules will not be enforced and the
child will lose his respect for authority. Habit and example bypass the weaknesses of childhood by
utilizing instinct in place of memory and reflection. Because of the importance of example, Locke
views it as crucial that the child spends the majority of his time with his tutor or parents. School is
ruled out entirely because it does not provide the necessary close attention. In addition, parents are
warned not to allow the child too much time in the company of servants.

Locke discusses the importance of parents at length. Most parents, Locke thinks, play a
perverse role in their children's lives. When the children are young and need rational guidance, the
parents are indulgent. When the children are grown, and can use their own reason, the parents
suddenly begin imposing their will. Locke says that this pattern is illogical and that parents should
reverse their behavior: when the children are young they should be placed under stern authority.
Young children should relate to their parents through fear and awe. In this way, they will come to
have the proper amount of deference to reason. Once a child is a rational creature, a parent can only
retain his authority by inspiring love and reverence in his son. A grown son should be courted as a
friend, his advice sought out and his opinion respected.

In the last third of the book, Locke finally turns his attention to academic learning. Here,
Locke takes a strong stand against the schools. Where the schools stress Greek and Latin grammar,
Locke thinks that these languages should not be a strong focus of the child's education, and that when
they are taught, it should be through conversation rather than through memorization of rules. In place
of the usual scholastic course of study, Locke proposes his own course. Just as within a subject there
is a certain ideal way to present ideas (i.e. by introducing first one simple idea, then another one
logically connected to the first, and so on), he also thinks that there is a parallel method that is best
 DON MARIANO MARCOS MEMORIAL STATE UNIVERSITY
SOUTH LA UNION CAMPUS
COLLEGE OF GRADUATE STUDIES
Agoo, La Union

for teaching. The course begins with reading and writing in English, then moves on to French and
then Latin. Simultaneously with the French studies, the child is introduced to a host of other subjects
that receive little attention in the schools. The child begins with simple geography (locating places on
a map), then moves on to arithmetic as soon as his abstract reason begins to develop. Once he learns
addition and subtraction he can return to geography and learn about poles, zones, latitude and
longitude. When he masters the terrestrial globe, he can move on to the celestial globe, and learn
about the constellations in our hemisphere. Next he learns about the Copernican system, and after that
he moves on to geometry, and then to chronology. Once chronology is mastered he can learn history,
then perhaps a little bit of ethics, some law, and, finally, some natural philosophy. The advantage of
this system, Locke thinks, is that it not only teaches all of the most useful subjects, but it also teaches
them in a way that follows the natural development of a child's mind.

Locke ends the book by discussing the other accomplishments he thinks a child should make.
In particular, Locke says that every child should learn a manual skill. He thinks that a manual skill
(anything from gardening to carpentry to grinding optical lenses) is useful because it helps to relax
and refresh the mind after it is worn out from study. It is better to have such a skill, he thinks, then to
be idle. The last topic he touches upon is travel. Every young man should travel, he thinks, but not at
the time that young men usually go abroad. The typical age for travel is between sixteen and twenty-
one, but this is too late to be of any use in language acquisition, and too early to be of any real use in
learning the culture. It would be far better, Locke asserts, to either send a son at an earlier age (with
a chaperone) or else when he is older and can really understand the cultural differences between his
own country and others.

JEAN JACQUE ROUSSEAU - Rousseau revolted against the entire conception of education which
forcing the children to accept model of adult. His novel Emile attacks the child's depravity theory and
an extensively verbal and literary education which is expected children to speak, think and act as
miniature adult. The goal of his education is to "create learning environment that allow the children
to innate natural goodness which rely on sensation and experience with the nature." He also believes
that child must be free from society imprisoning institution, of which the school was one of the most
coercive. He said that teacher can train the man or the citizen; he cannot train natural man. His natural
man was the one whose natural virtues had not been influenced by traditional and social institution.
On the other hand their natural virtues were so developed that they were able to adapt themselves to
the changing environment. To Rousseau, education was a process of guidance by teacher rather that
instruction by him. "The role of teacher was to assist the nature rather than posting the convention to
children". He was emphatic in saying that education was a process of development into an enjoyable,
rational, harmoniously balanced, useful and hence natural life. Simple and direct methods were
created by him. Laying a special emphasis on objects teaching remarked "Let the sense always be the
guides, let there be no book but the world and no other instructions than facts." His advice was that,
"in general, never substitute the sign for the thing itself, save when it is impossible to show the tings
for the sing absorb the attention of the child and make him forget the thing represented." All these
precepts of Rousseau are being increasingly recognized in modern education, which lays the greatest
stress on concrete teaching. Child, he believes, should be taught by experience not by verbal lesson.
Rousseau advocated that the play-way was the best method to make children learning. Knowing
childhood was his first concept. Ignorance of child nature is the root of educational errors. The tutor
should study the nature of his pupil. Each mind has a form of its own; but the traits of child's mind
can be learnt only by observation as they develop. Wise education proceeds by observing the child
and adopting its measures to his individual capacities and needs

Since his principles require educators to study the child from the beginning, he divided his
principles into four factors: (1) the generic character of mankind refers to those characters which are
variously manifested in the dispositions or inclination. (2) different characteristics of sexes refer to
his first principle of natural education as Rousseau understands it that sex should be taken into account
in the upbringing of boys and girls. According to him, the nature of the two sexes is different from
the beginning. That makes necessary the corresponding the differences in their education. For this
reason, he would have the boy educated to be a complete human being with worldwide interest, and
the girl to be trained for the wifehood and motherhood.(3) difference in individuality refers to each
 DON MARIANO MARCOS MEMORIAL STATE UNIVERSITY
SOUTH LA UNION CAMPUS
COLLEGE OF GRADUATE STUDIES
Agoo, La Union

mind has a form of its own. It must be directed accordingly. Individuality he pointed out raises many
problems "one has to be flattered, another has to be repressed. One man is made to carry human
knowledge to its fathers point; another may find the ability to read a dangerous power" (4) differences
of ages: at this point, Rousseau identified five developmental stages infancy from birth to five years
old, the child makes his first contact with objects in the environment and learn directly from his
senses. Childhood the age from five to twelve, the child constructs his personality as he becomes
aware that his actions cause either painful or pleasurable consequences. Motivated by curiosity, he
actively explores his environment, learning more about the world through his senses. Rousseau called
the eyes, ears, hands and feet the teacher considered the senses better and more efficient than the
schoolmaster, who teaches words the learners don't understand. Emile's tutor deliberately refrained
from introducing books at this stage to avoid substituting reading for the child's direct interaction with
nature. Boyhood from twelve to fifteen, at this stage the children can learn the natural science by
observing the circles of the growth of the plants and animals. By exploring this surrounding, the
children learn geography far more realistically than from studying maps. In Emile, it is also learned
a manual trade, carpentry, to make the connection between mental and physical work. Adolescence
from age fifteen to the time of marriage, around 25 years old at this stage children become adults and
they are now already to cope with the outside world and to learn about society, government,
economics, and business. Rousseau prefers natural to social and emphasize human intrinsic as an
initial mean to knowledge. He believes that school often interferes with learning. Schooling teachers
teach children to play the role that adults prefer rather than repress their natural interact and impulse.
Rousseau used the following key ideas to form his educational philosophy (a) childhood is an
important foundation of human development; (b) children's natural interest and instincts are valuable
beginnings of a more thorough exploration of the environment. (c) human beings, in their infancy in
their life cycles, go through necessary stages of development, (d) adult coercion has a negative impact
on children's development.

Rousseau was a great revolutionary. Led partly by personal feeling and partly by sympathy
for the common people he revolted against the social inequalities of his age. He propounded in place
the old law of reason, the new gospel of faith in nature. Although Rousseau possessed an unusual
power of embodying great idea in words, he had very slight ability to relate them in action. His great
contribution in field of education was his was his educational methods by showing the value of
motivation, creating the problems, and utilizing the senses and activities of the child. His concept of
freedom, growth, interests and activities were greatly needed at the time against authoritarianism and
absolutism in education. In the future, if Philippine education factor can assimilate his philosophy to
make effective reforms in educational system through curriculum reform, manual reform, teaching
methodology reform, principles of assessment reform and basic instructional material reform, It
would be the best way to let the young generation know the ways how to conceptualize through the
new things so that they can improve their cognitive and motor skills.

JOHANN HEINRICH PESTALOZZI - Swiss social reformer and educator, is known as the Father
of Modern Education. The modern era of education started with him and his spirit and ideas led to
the great educational reforms in Europe in the nineteenth century.

Pestalozzi believed in the ability of every individual human being to learn and in the right of
every individual to education. He believed that it was the duty of society to put this right into practice.
His beliefs led to education becoming democratic; in Europe, education became available for
everyone.

Pestalozzi was particularly concerned about the condition of the poor. Some of them did not
go to school. If they did, the school education was often useless for their needs. He wanted to provide
them with an education which would make them independent and able to improve their own lives.

Pestalozzi believed that education should develop the powers of ‘Head’, ‘Heart’ and ‘Hands’.
He believed that this would help create individuals who are capable of knowing what is right and
what is wrong and of acting according to this knowledge. Thus, the wellbeing of every individual
could be improved and each individual could become a responsible citizen. He believed that
 DON MARIANO MARCOS MEMORIAL STATE UNIVERSITY
SOUTH LA UNION CAMPUS
COLLEGE OF GRADUATE STUDIES
Agoo, La Union

empowering and enabling every individual in this way was the only way to improve society and bring
peace and security to the world. His aim was for a complete theory of education that would lead to a
practical way of bringing happiness to humankind.

Pestalozzi saw teaching as a subject worth studying in its own right and he is therefore known
as the father of pedagogy (the method and practice of teaching, especially as an academic subject or
theoretical concept). He caused education to become a separate branch of knowledge, alongside
politics and other recognized areas of knowledge.

Pestalozzi’s approach has had massive influence on education, for example, his influence, as well
as his relevance to education today, is clear in the importance now put on:

 The interests and needs of the child

 A child-centered rather than teacher-centered approach to teaching
 Active rather than passive participation in the learning experience
 The freedom of the child based on his or her natural development balanced with the self-
discipline to function well as an individual and in society
 The child having direct experience of the world and the use of natural objects in teaching
 The use of the senses in training pupils in observation and judgement
 Cooperation between the school and the home and between parents and teachers
 The importance of an all-round education – an education of the head, the heart and the hands,
but which is led by the heart
 The use of systemized subjects of instruction, which are also carefully graduated and
illustrated
 Learning which is cross-curricular and includes a varied school life
 Education which puts emphasis on how things are taught as well as what is taught
 Authority based on love, not fear
 Teacher training

Pestalozzi’s influence over the spirit, the methods and the theory of education has continued into
the twentieth and twenty-first centuries and most of his principles have been assimilated into the
modern system of education.

FRIEDRICH FROEBEL - was one of these pioneers of early childhood educational reform. As an
idealist, he believed that every child possessed, at birth, his full educational potential, and that an
appropriate educational environment was necessary to encourage the child to grow and develop in an
optimal manner. Froebel's vision was to stimulate an appreciation and love for children and to provide
a new but small world--a world that became known as the Kindergarten--where children could play
with others of their own age group and experience their first gentle taste of independence. This early
educational vision laid the foundation for the framework of Froebel's philosophy of education which
is encompassed by the four basic components of (a) free self-activity, (b) creativity, (c) social
participation, and (d) motor expression.

As an educator, Froebel believed that stimulating voluntary self-activity in the young child
was the necessary form of pre-school education. Self-activity is defined as the development of
qualities and skills that make it possible to take an invisible idea and make it a reality; self-activity
involves formulating a purpose, planning out that purpose, and then acting on that plan until the
purpose is realized. Froebel's significant contributions to early childhood education was his theory of
introducing play as a means of engaging children in self-activity for the purpose of externalizing their
inner natures. Froebel's interpretation of play is characterized by free play which enlists all of the
child's imaginative powers, thoughts, and physical movements by embodying in a satisfying form his
own images and educational interests. Play designates a child's mental attitude and should not be
identified with anything performed externally; therefore, the child should be given complete
emancipation from the necessity of following any given or prescribed system of activities while he is
engaged in playful self-activity. In summarizing Froebel's beliefs regarding play, through stimulating
play that produces self-activity, the supreme goal of the child is the fullness of growth which brings
 DON MARIANO MARCOS MEMORIAL STATE UNIVERSITY
SOUTH LA UNION CAMPUS
COLLEGE OF GRADUATE STUDIES
Agoo, La Union

about the realization of his budding powers and continually carries him from one plane of educational
growth to another.

To assist children in their development of moving from one plane of educational growth to
another, Froebel provided the children with many stimulating activities to enhance their creative
powers and abilities. Froebel designed a series of instructional materials that he called "gifts and
occupations", which demonstrated certain relationships and led children in comparison, testing, and
creative exploration activities. A gift was an object provided for a child to play with--such as a sphere,
cube, or cylinder--which helped the child to understand and internalize the concepts of shape,
dimension, size, and their relationships. The occupations were items such as paints and clay which
the children could use to make what they wished; through the occupations, children externalized the
concepts existing within their creative minds. Therefore, through the child’s own self-activity and
creative imaginative play, the child would begin to understand both the inner and outer properties of
things as he moves through the developmental stages of the educational process.

A third component of Froebel’s educational plan involved working closely with the family
unit. Froebel believed that parents provided the first as well as the most consistent educational
influence in a child’s life. Since a child’s first educational experiences occur within the family unit,
he is already familiar with the home environment as well as with the occupations carried on within
this setting. Naturally, through creative self-activity, a child will imitate those things that are in a
direct and real relationship to him-things learned through observations of daily family life. Froebel
believed that providing a family setting within the school environment would provide children with
opportunities for interacting socially within familiar territory in a non-threatening manner. Focusing
on the home environment occupations as the foundation for beginning subject-matter content allowed
the child to develop social interaction skills that would prepare him for higher level subject-matter
content in later educational developmental stages.

Over one hundred and fifty years ago, Froebel (1907) urged educators to respect the sanctity
of child development through this statement:

We grant space and time to young plants and animals because we know that, in accordance
with the laws that live in them, they will develop properly and grow well. Young animals and plants
are given rest, and arbitrary interference with their growth is avoided, /because it is known that the
opposite practice would disturb their pure unfolding and sound development; but, the young
human being is looked upon as a piece of wax or a lump of clay which man can mold into what he
pleases.

Motor expression, which refers to learning by doing as opposed to following rote instructions,
is a very important aspect of Froebel’s educational principles. Froebel did not believe that the child
should be placed into society’s mold, but should be allowed to shape his own mold and grow at his
own pace through the developmental stages of the educational process. Froebel’s tenets that a child
should never be rushed or hurried in his development; he needs to be involved in all of the experiences
each stage requires and helped to see the relationships of things and ideas to each other and to himself
so that he can make sense out of both his subjective and objective world. Development is continuous,
with one stage building upon another, so that nothing should be missed through haste or for any other
reason as the child moves through the educational process. Responsible educators should strive to
recognize each child's individual level of development so that essential materials and activities to
stimulate appropriate educational growth can be provided. Froebel believed that imitation and
suggestion would inevitably occur, but should only be utilized by the teacher as instruments for
assisting students in formulating their own instructional concepts.
 DON MARIANO MARCOS MEMORIAL STATE UNIVERSITY
SOUTH LA UNION CAMPUS
COLLEGE OF GRADUATE STUDIES
Agoo, La Union

HERBERT SPENCER - was known as one of the leading Social Darwinists of the 19th century.
Spencer was an agnostic who believed that the only way to gain knowledge was through a scientific
approach. He felt that religion was a futile attempt to gain knowledge of the unknown. Spencer
wanted to replace the theological systems of the Middle Ages with his philosophical system which
stated that all knowledge could be placed within the framework of modern science. Science was the
only way to gain "useful” knowledge. It was through this "scientific" knowledge that people learned
to live in society.

Spencer was a noted non-conformist who detested authority and strongly emphasized
individualism. In Spencer's work "Social Status", he stated that individual freedom was extremely
important and that the government should play a limited role in society especially in the schools. He
did not believe in the public-school system. His major criticism of the school system was that it did
not prepare children to live in society. Instead, Spencer believed in the private school system which
competed for the brightest students. Because of his belief in competition, conflict and struggle,
Spencer felt that the most exemplary schools would eventually acquire the best teachers and students.

Spencer, not surprisingly, stressed the importance of the sciences in the schools. Learning
should be a sensory experience where a student interacts within his/her environment; a slow, gradual,
and inductive process. Children should be encouraged to explore and discover which would allow
them to acquire knowledge naturally. Education should also be a pleasant experience for children
with the least restrictions possible. Rote memorization and recitation were strongly opposed. A
student should only engage in those activities that would ultimately allow him/her to survive in
society. Special emphasis was placed on the physical, biological, and social sciences while English
grammar and literature were believed to be outdated.

Spencer became one of the major proponents of modern curriculum theory. He created
quite an uproar in England with his curriculum theory because the major focus of education continued
to be the Latin and Greek languages and literature. In his work "What Knowledge is of Most Worth?"
Spencer stated that this question needed to be answered before any curriculum was chosen or any
instruction commenced. Once this question was answered, it should be made certain that the
curriculum aid in advancing survival and progress. To achieve this advancement Spencer believed
that there were five activities necessary in curriculum. These activities assisted in self-preservation,
performance of occupations, child-rearing, social and political participation, and recreation and
leisure. Once again, the main goal was to teach subjects that would contribute to successful living.
Spencer's ideas concerning curriculum were widely accepted in the United States where change was
not resisted.

Education today continues to be influenced by Spencer's Social Darwinist theories. In fact,

his curriculum activities based on human needs are still being implemented in one form or another.
His influences are still felt as education continues to discuss voucher systems for private schools, the
smaller role of government in education, and in the stressing of teaching skills that will assist students
in becoming individuals who contribute to the good of society.

Several of Spencer's works are being utilized in today's most prestigious universities. His
"Principles of Biology" is a text at Oxford University. His "Principles of Psychology” text can be
found at Harvard. The "Study of Sociology" is Spencer's work used not only as a textbook at Yale,
but was the textbook used for the first course in Sociology in the United States. Sociology became a
discipline in the United States because of Spencer's impressive work.

JOHN DEWEY - Dewey argued that education and learning are social and interactive processes, and
thus the school itself is a social institution through which social reform can and should take place.
Thus, Dewey makes a strong case for the importance of education not only as a place to gain content
knowledge, but also as a place to learn how to live. In his eyes, the purpose of education should not
revolve around the acquisition of a pre-determined set of skills, but rather the realization of one’s full
potential and the ability to use those skills for the greater good in society. In addition to helping
 DON MARIANO MARCOS MEMORIAL STATE UNIVERSITY
SOUTH LA UNION CAMPUS
COLLEGE OF GRADUATE STUDIES
Agoo, La Union

students realize their full potential, Dewey goes on to acknowledge that education and schooling are
instrumental in creating social change and reform.

Along with Jean Piaget, John Dewey was one of the first major contemporaries to develop a
clear idea of what constructivism consists of. He was concerned with the learner. He wanted to shed
light on the learner as an important agent in the learning process. He had precise insights regarding
how education should take place within the classroom. According to Dewey there are two major
conflicting schools of thought regarding educational pedagogy.

 The first is centered on the curriculum and focuses almost solely on the subject matter to be
taught. Dewey argues that the principal weakness in this methodology is the inactivity of the
student; within this particular framework, the child is simply the immature being who is to be
matured; he is the superficial being who is to be deepened.
 The second is learner-centered. He argues that in order for education to be most effective,
content must be presented in a way that allows the student to relate the information to prior
experiences, thus deepening the connection with this new knowledge.

Although Dewey believed in the second view of education, he was alarmed by the excesses
of “child-centered” education. He argued that too much reliance on the child could be equally
detrimental to the learning process. The potential flaw in this line of thinking is that it minimizes the
importance of the content as well as the role of the teacher. For this reason, he tried to strike a balance
between delivering knowledge while also taking into account the interests and experiences of the
student. For Dewey the child and the curriculum are simply two sides. One cannot do without the
other. These ideas made John Dewey one of the most famous advocates of hands-on learning or
experiential education.

In addition to Dewey’s ideas about how the learning process should take place, He also
reevaluated the role that the teacher should play within that process. According to Dewey, the teacher
should not be the sage on stage anymore. The role of the teacher should be that of facilitator and
guide. The teacher becomes a partner in the learning process, guiding students to independently
discover meaning within the subject area.

LAURA JANE ADDAMS - Addams viewed lifelong education as a critical component of an

engaged citizenry in a vibrant democracy. Addams strived to improve childhood education by
working for legislation to reduce child labor, she sponsored a kindergarten at Hull-House and worked
with Dewey and education pioneer Ella Flagg Young on pedagogical techniques centered upon
making education more relevant for students. Extant descriptions by visitors to Hull-house describe
it as permeated by children furiously involved in a myriad of activities.

In the early twentieth century, adolescence was a largely overlooked period of human
development and on the occasions when young adulthood was addressed at all, it was usually
conceived of as a problem. Addams, who often directed her philosophical analysis to marginalized
sectors of society, took a particular interest in adolescence. In what she described as her favorite
book, The Spirit of Youth and the City Streets, Addams offers an extended study of the plight of young
people and through her Hull-House experiences explains to her readers the needs and challenges of
this age. Accordingly, Hull-House sponsored a number of programs for adolescents including social
gatherings, athletics and drama. Hull-House engaged in pioneering programs for young women’s
sports and physical activity, defying social norms that claimed that exercise was inappropriate for
women.

Addams’ commitment to lifelong education resulted in pioneering work in adult education.

Hull-House sponsored college extension courses as well as a variety of educational opportunities for
adults in the community including lectures and clubs. For example, The Plato Club offered weekly
readings and discussions on philosophy, where Dewey sometimes lectured, and The Working People
Social Science Club provided an opportunity for discussions of social and political philosophy. Some
commentators have claimed that Hull-House was the birthplace of adult education. In The Second
 DON MARIANO MARCOS MEMORIAL STATE UNIVERSITY
SOUTH LA UNION CAMPUS
COLLEGE OF GRADUATE STUDIES
Agoo, La Union

Twenty Years at Hull-House, Addams describes developing particular pedagogical techniques

adapted for adult students including the need for a peer-level social atmosphere and the use of news
events as an opportunity for learning.

MARIA MONTESSORI - She was the first woman in Italy to obtain the degree of Doctor of
Medicine. Because she was a doctor, Maria Montessori looked at education from a scientific level.
She believed that education should prepare a person for all aspects of life. She designed materials and
techniques that would promote a natural growth of learning in students. They are common to all
Montessori classrooms. Working with these materials and techniques forms a pattern that children
carry over naturally to reading, writing, and mathematics. Each skill is developed to interlock with
another.

The Montessori Method of education, developed by Dr. Maria Montessori, is a child-centered

educational approach based on scientific observations of children from birth to adulthood. Dr.
Montessori’s Method has been time tested, with over 100 years of success in diverse cultures
throughout the world.

It is a view of the child as one who is naturally eager for knowledge and capable of initiating
learning in a supportive, thoughtfully prepared learning environment. It is an approach that values the
human spirit and the development of the whole child—physical, social, emotional, cognitive.

Montessori education offers our children opportunities to develop their potential as they step out
into the world as engaged, competent, responsible, and respectful citizens with an understanding and
appreciation that learning is for life.

 Each child is valued as a unique individual. Montessori education recognizes that children
learn in different ways, and accommodates all learning styles. Students are also free to learn
at their own pace, each advancing through the curriculum as he is ready, guided by the teacher
and an individualized learning plan.
 Beginning at an early age, Montessori students develop order, coordination,
concentration, and independence. Classroom design, materials, and daily routines support
the individual’s emerging “self-regulation” (ability to educate one’s self, and to think about
what one is learning), toddlers through adolescents.
 Students are part of a close, caring community. The multi-age classroom—typically
spanning 3 years—re-creates a family structure. Older students enjoy stature as mentors and
role models; younger children feel supported and gain confidence about the challenges ahead.
Teachers model respect, loving kindness, and a belief in peaceful conflict resolution.
 Montessori students enjoy freedom within limits. Working within parameters set by their
teachers, students are active participants in deciding what their focus of learning will be.
Montessorians understand that internal satisfaction drives the child’s curiosity and interest and
results in joyous learning that is sustainable over a lifetime.
 Students are supported in becoming active seekers of knowledge. Teachers provide
environments where students have the freedom and the tools to pursue answers to their own
questions.
 Self-correction and self-assessment are an integral part of the Montessori classroom
approach. As they mature, students learn to look critically at their work, and become adept
at recognizing, correcting, and learning from their errors.

Given the freedom and support to question, to probe deeply, and to make connections, Montessori
students become confident, enthusiastic, self-directed learners. They are able to think critically, work
collaboratively, and act boldly—a skill set for the 21st century.
 DON MARIANO MARCOS MEMORIAL STATE UNIVERSITY
SOUTH LA UNION CAMPUS
COLLEGE OF GRADUATE STUDIES
Agoo, La Union

JEAN PIAGET - I think Piaget's biggest claim in the area of psychological and therefore educational
change was his focus on children in the early childhood stages. Before Piaget, most psychologists
were in the habit of studying children who were old enough to answer questions. Piaget suggested
that behavioral patterns begin in the brain, and children can think before they can speak. His study
focused on infants and very young children (namely, his own at first).

Next, Piaget began to shift away from a focus on environmental factors as the motivators for
behavior. He identified essentially four stages of cognitive development that he suggested every
human goes through and provided approximate time frames for each. Through these stages of
cognitive development teachers of early childhood (and parents of infants) were able to approach
learning, discipline, and communication in a completely different way.

Mainly, from birth until about age 7, children are only in the sensory-motor and pre-operational
stages. This means in pre-school, kindergarten and 1st grades, most students are unable to think
abstractly. Every thought is driven by what they can see and touch. Cause and effect are very difficult
concepts. Memorization of facts and skills does not connect with understanding.

Basically, Piaget can be credited with the fairly recent movement in early childhood education from
a teacher-centered approach to a student-centered approach. Classrooms today are much more
interactive, full of hand-held manipulatives, and much of the education happens through self-
discovery and play time. Because at the early stages, children are inherently ego-centric, curriculums
were developed to move from the child, outward. Learning is built on previous knowledge that
actually grows with the child's cognitive ability to understand.