Philosophies of

Education
Sherwin E. Balbuena
EdD Educl Leadership

DR. EMILIO B. ESPINOSA, SR. MEMORIAL STATE COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURE AND TECHNOLOGY
 ?
What is life?
Who am I?
Why am I here?
Existential What am I living for?
Questions What is reality?
Is the universe real?
What is good to do?
How should I live life meaningfully?
 Why do I teach?
What should I teach?
In the school How should I teach?
context
What is the nature of the learner?
How do we learn?
 Essentialism
Progressivism
Five Major
Philosophies Perennialism
of Education Existentialism
(Bilbao, et al) Behaviorism
 Why teach?
This philosophy contends that
Essentialism teachers teach for learners to
acquire basic knowledge, skills,
and values.
 What to teach?
Basic skills or the fundamental Rs --
reading, riting, rithmetic, right
conduct-- as these are essential to the
acquisition of higher or more complex
Essentialism skills needed in preparation for adult life.
Curriculum includes the traditional
disciplines such as math, natural
sciences, history, foreign language, and
literature.
 How to teach?
Essentialist teachers emphasize
Essentialism mastery of subject matter. They
are expected to be intellectual
and moral models of their
students.
 Why teach?
Progressivist teachers teach to develop
Progressivism learners into becoming enlightened and
(Pragmatism or intelligent citizens of a democratic
Experimentalism) society. They teach learners so they may
live fully NOW not to prepare them for
adult life.
 What to teach?
Need-based and relevant curriculum. This is a
curriculum that responds to students needs and
that relates to students personal lives and
experiences.
More concerned with teaching the learners the
Progressivism skills to cope change. Change is the only thing that
does not change.
Natural and social sciences. Teachers expose
students to many new scientific, technological, and
social developments, reflecting the progressivist
notion that progress and change are fundamental.
 How to teach?
Progressivists teachers employ experiential
methods. They believe that one learns by
doing. (John Dewey)
Problem-solving method makes use of the
Progressivism scientific method.
Hands-on-minds-on teaching
methodology (e.g., field trips during which
students interact with nature or society).
Teachers also stimulate students through
thought-provoking games and puzzles.
 Why teach?
To develop the students rational and
Perennialism moral powers.
(Rational Belief in the primacy of reason and in the
Humanism) humans ability to make rational
judgments about the goodness of things
(Adler & Hutchins).
 What to teach?
The perennialist curriculum is a universal
one on the view that all human beings
Perennialism possess the same essential nature.
Heavy on humanities and general
education.
Great Books.
 How to teach?
The perennialist classrooms are centred
around teachers. The teachers do not
allow the students interests or
Perennialism experiences to substantially dictate what
they teach. They apply whatever creative
techniques and other tried and true
methods which are believed to be most
conducive to disciplining the students
minds.
 Why teach?
To help students understand and
appreciate themselves as unique
individuals who accept complete
Existentialism responsibility for their thoughts, feelings,
and actions.
Existence precedes essence.
Education of the whole person, not just
the mind.
 What to teach?
Gives a wide variety of options from
which to choose.
Emphasis on the humanities.
Existentialism Vocational education to teach children
about themselves and their potentials.
In the arts, students are encouraged to
practice individual creativity and
imagination.
 How to teach?
Focuses on the individual.
Learning is self-paced, self-directed.
Existentialism Individual contact with the teacher.
Teachers remain non-judgmental and
take care not to impose their values on
the students; since values are personal.
 Why teach?
Behaviorism Students behavior is a product of his
environment.
 What to teach?
Behaviorism Teach students to respond favorably
to various stimuli in the
environment.
 How to teach?
Arranges environmental conditions
so that students can make the
Behaviorism
responses to stimuli.
e.g., well-managed classroom, use
of attention catchers and incentives.
Summary
 Reconstructionism/Critical Theory
Other
Philosophies Religious Orthodoxy
(accdg. to Reconceptualism
Eisner) Cognitive Pluralism
 What philosophies of education
do our schools adhere to?
Reflection
In the historical perspectives of
our educational system?
 There are as many worlds as there
Thank you! are ways to describe them.
NELSON GOODMAN