EDUCATIONAL PHILOSOPHY AND

DEVELOPMENT IN MALAYSIA BIT10803

ASSIGNMENT

LECTURER:
MAHANI BINTI MOHAMAD

MUHAMMAD IKHWAN BIN ROSMAN

045654
DIPLOMA IN TEACHING ENGLISH AS A
SECOND LANGUAGE
(TESL)
BIT10803: ASSIGNMENT PART A: What is my Philosophy of Education? (5 %)

TASK 1:
Read the content summary (Attachment 1) section on Philosophy of Education. Think
about your own beliefs about teaching and learning. In writing, discuss which of the
philosophies of education and the learning orientations are closest to you? Why? Which
do not fit with your philosophy of education and learning? Why?

TASK 2:
Examine Attachment 2, the chart PHILOSOPHY and EDUCATION CONTINUUM.
In one or two paragraphs, discuss how the branches of philosophy (metaphysics,
epistemology, and/or axiology) are related to the world view philosophies, philosophies
of education, and learning theories.

TASK 3:
Take the Educational Philosophies Self-Assessment (Attachment 3). Score yourself
using the Educational Philosophies Self-Assessment Scoring Guide (Attachment 4).

TASK 4:
Discuss what you learned about yourself in taking this assessment and thinking about
your educational philosophy. Were there any discrepancies between your original ideas
about which educational philosophy fit you (Task 2 above) and results on the Self-
Assessment? Could the instrument be inaccurate in picking up your true philosophy of
education? What does your philosophical orientation imply for how you will teach?
Discuss.
TASK 1:
Think about your own beliefs about teaching and learning. In writing, discuss which of the
philosophies of education and the learning orientations are closest to you? Why? Which do
not fit with your philosophy of education and learning? Why?

The philosophies of education that I could closely relate to are Progressivism, Social
Reconstructionism, and Existentialism. All of which are student-centred philosophies, as I
believe that the teachers’ role are to facilitate and to monitor students’ needs, and to provide
them with the essential knowledge and skills. The teacher moves from being an
administrator, to being a consultant, shifting from teacher-centred learning to student-centred
learning.

Progressivism instils that there is no reason to focus on a fixed, established body of

knowledge. In contrast to Perennialism and Essentialism. Supporters of progressivism also
are against a transmission style of teaching where the student passively receives information
from a teacher, which is also known as rote learning. Instead, students should be involved in
problem-solving and the use of the scientific method. This active forms of learning engaged
students and prepare them for the real world.
John Dewey was probably one of the biggest supporters of progressivism. He believed that a
curriculum should be interdisciplinary. This allows students to make connections between
subjects rather than learn in isolation. He also stressed the role of democracy in the
classroom. Students and teachers need to plan what will be learned together. This was radical
at the time and still highly uncommon in the 21st century.

Social reconstructionism is an education philosophy that emphasizes the educational

institution as an environment for implementing social change and challenging social
inequalities. The curriculum focuses on student experience and taking social action on real
problems, such as violence, hunger, international terrorism, inflation, and inequality. Central
to this philosophy is the concept of praxis, the idea that actions based on sound theory and
values can make a real difference in the world. Strategies for dealing with controversial
issues (particularly in social sciences and literature), inquiry, dialogue, and multiple
perspectives are the focus. Community-based learning and bringing the world into the
classroom are also common strategies.
Existentialism promotes attentive personal consideration about personal character, beliefs,
and choices. The primary question existentialists ask is whether they want to define who they
are themselves, or whether they want society to define them. Although freedom and
individuality are highly valued American principles, existentialists argue that there is an
underlying message of conformity. Rather than the belief that the mind needs to understand
the universe, existentialists assume that the mind creates its universe. Their beliefs
incorporate the inevitability of death, as the afterlife cannot be experienced personally with
the current senses, focusing on the fact that the experience we have of the world is temporary
and should be appreciated as such.
Education from an existentialist perspective places the primary emphasis on students’
directing their own learning. Students search for their own meaning and direction in life as
well as define what is true and what is false, what is pleasant and satisfying, what is
unpleasant and dissatisfying, and what is right or wrong. The goal of an existentialist
education is to train students to develop their own unique understanding of life.

By focusing on student-centred philosophies school systems and educators will be able to

make necessary changes to create effective and life transforming environments for students.
Student-centred learning puts students' interests first, acknowledging student voice as central
to the learning experience. In a student-centred learning space, students choose what they will
learn, how they will learn, and how they will assess their own learning. Student-centred
learning requires students to be active, responsible participants in their own learning and with
their own pace of learning.

In contrast, I disagree with Perennialism, with a claim supported by the critics of the
Perennialist perspective, and argue that as long as we expect all children to learn in a single
way, through an abstract and mainly book-oriented curriculum, only those students whose
cultures have conditioned them to learn in this way are likely to be successful. Other children,
whose cultural or cognitive learning styles condition them to learn through hands-on or
group-oriented activities, will find school boring and meaningless. Furthermore, critics argue,
the books and ideas proposed by Hutchins and Adler promote a Eurocentric view of the
world. They tend to ignore the contributions of women and minorities and the great works
produced by other cultures. The curriculum, they argue, should represent the wisdom of the
world, not just a small portion of it.
In sum, those educators who identify themselves as Perennialists are likely to stress the
importance of students' acquiring broad and thorough subject-matter knowledge through the
study of the classics; schools' maintaining demanding academic standards with rewards for
those who perform at the highest levels; and schools and classrooms in which teachers and
students demonstrate the decorum in their relationships and behaviour that is necessary to
achieve these goals. Perennialism stresses the importance of subject-matter knowledge,
demanding academic standards, and an authoritarian relationship between teachers and
students.

As such, I also disagree with the Essentialist point of view. Students within an essentialist
classroom are not as free to explore, question and test academic material the way that other
philosophies permit, such as the progressivism movement. The essentialist classroom also
does not knowledge the importance of extra-curricular or non-academic subjects, such as art,
music, drama and sports.

Generally, traditional teacher-centred learning runs into a variety of bottlenecks when faced
with the challenges of our modern life-world and an emerging globalized work-environment.
Advanced communicative and cross-cultural skills, problem-solving and meta-cognitive
skills as well as lifelong learning skills are abilities that can only be acquired though the
learner’s personal performance and interaction with others, ideally a smaller and
comprehensive study group. The traditional role of the teacher or instructor is therefore being
substituted by the concept of a tutor or facilitator of the student’s learning process. On an
international level passive learning methods therefore need to be replaced by an active
learning pedagogy to prepare learners for their new role as global citizens.
TASK 2:

Examine Attachment 2, the chart PHILOSOPHY and EDUCATION CONTINUUM. In one or

two paragraphs, discuss how the branches of philosophy (metaphysics, epistemology, and/or
axiology) are related to the world view philosophies, philosophies of education, and learning
theories.

Axiology is the philosophical study of value. It is either the collective term for ethics and
aesthetics- philosophical fields that depend crucially on notions of value or the foundation for
these fields, and thus similar to value theory and meta-ethics. What values should one live by?
Educational Examples –Do you think human beings are basically good or evil? –What are
conservative or liberal beliefs?

Existentialism involves the understanding of values as responses of a person to key existential

challenges: death, solitude, dependence of the nature and the society, etc. Value is the striving
of a human to clarify the meaning and significance of our existence, it is an act of freedom,
expression of subjectivity because it’s based on our personal experience and preference. Social
reconstructionism is an education philosophy that emphasizes the educational institution as an
environment for implementing social change and challenging social inequalities. The
curriculum focuses on student experience and taking social action on real problems, such as
violence, hunger, international terrorism, inflation, and inequality. Central to this philosophy is
the concept of praxis, the idea that actions based on sound theory and values can make a real
difference in the world. Strategies for dealing with controversial issues (particularly in social
sciences and literature), inquiry, dialogue, and multiple perspectives are the focus. Community-
based learning and bringing the world into the classroom are also common strategies. There are
some similarities between Existentialism and Social reconstructionism, such as it is both
reflective of social context, both encourage students to question authority and society, both
advocate social interaction as necessary for education, and boasts that critical thinking is
important for lifelong learning. "Existentialism is a humanism" because it expresses the power
of human beings to make freely-willed choices, independent of the influence of religion or
society. Unlike traditional humanisms, however, Jean-Paul Sartre disavowed any reliance on an
essential nature of man – on deriving values from the facts of human nature – but rather saw
human value as self-created through undertaking projects in the world: experiments in living.
The best use of our capacity for making choices is to freely choose to live a fully human life,
rooted in a personal search for values, rather than an external code.
 Attachment 3:

ASSIGNMENT TASK 3

Educational Philosophies Self-Assessment

This questionnaire will help you recognize and name your own educational philosophy. Respond to the given statements on a scale from 1,
"Strongly Disagree," to 5, "Strongly Agree." Record the number of your answer along with the question number for scoring.

No Item 1 2 3 4 5
1 The curriculum should be universal; a given body of information about western civilization should be taught through /
discussion and lecture.
2 Students are makers of meaning and construct their understandings from active experience, rather than through /
transmission from teachers.
3 Education should emphasize personal growth through solving problems that are real to students. /
4 Curriculum should not be predetermined; rather, it should spring from students' interests and needs. /
5 It is necessary and good that schools instil traditional values in students. /
6 Representing information as symbols in the mind is an important part of learning. /
7 Schools exist to provide practical preparation for work and life, not to nourish personal development. /
8 Teaching the great works of literature is less important than involving students in activities to criticize and shape /
society.
9 Teachers, rather than imparting knowledge, are facilitators of conditions and experiences so students can construct /
their own understandings.
10 The aim of education should remain constant regardless of differences in era or society, it should not vary from one /
teacher to another.
11 Schools should encourage student involvement in social change to aid in societal reform. /
12 The emphasis in schools should be hard work, respect for authority, and discipline, rather than encouraging free /
choice.
13 If encouraging and nourishing environments are provided, learning will flourish naturally because people have an /
inherent tendency to learn.
14 Students, like computers, are information processors who must make sense of events and objects in their /
environments.
15 Schools should guide society towards significant social change rather than merely passing on traditional values. /
16 Teachers should concentrate on conveying a common core of knowledge rather than experimenting with modifying /
curriculum.
17 The curriculum should focus on basic skills instead of students' individual interests. /
18 Students must learn to make good choices and to be responsible for their behaviour. /
19 Conflicts to current understandings trigger the need to learn and to make meaning. /
20 Rewards controlled by the external environment lead to and result in all learning. /
21 Transmitting traditional values is less important than helping students to develop personal values. /
22 The heart of understanding learning is concerned with how information is encoded, processed, remembered, and /
retrieved.
23 Advocating the permanency of the classics is a vital part of teaching. /
24 Perceptions centred in experience should be emphasized, as well as the freedom and responsibility to achieve one's /
potential.
25 Education should help drive society to better itself, rather than restricting itself to essential skills. /
26 Teachers should encourage democratic, project-based classrooms that emphasize interdisciplinary subject matter. /
27 A knowledgeable individual facilitates or scaffolds learning for a novice based on understanding the learner's /
developmental level and the content to be learned.
28 The role of the teacher is help create a nurturing atmosphere for students and to promote the growth of the whole /
person.
29 Teaching involves the support of memory storage and retrieval. /
30 Successful teaching creates an environment that controls student behaviour and assesses learning of prescribed /
outcomes.
31 The greatest education centres mainly on the student's exposure to great achievements in subjects such as arts and /
literature.
32 Learning requires modifying internal knowing structures in order to assimilate and accommodate new information. /
33 The role of the teacher is to create an atmosphere that rewards desired behaviour toward achieving goals and /
extinguishes undesirable behaviour.
34 The primary goal for educators is to establish environments where students can learn independently through /
purposeful reflection about their experiences.
35 Principles of reinforcement (anything that will increase the likelihood that an event will be repeated) and contiguity /
(how close two events must be chronologically for a bond to be created) are pivotal to explaining learning.
36 Students' involvement in choosing how and what they should learn is central to education. /
37 Students need to develop declarative, procedural, and conditional knowledge. /
38 One's behaviour is shaped by one's environment; elements within that environment (rather than the individual /
learner) determine what is learned.
39 The most distinctive quality of human nature is the ability to reason; for this reason, the focus of education should be /
on developing intellect.
40 Learning should guide students to active participation in social reform. /
 Attachment 4:

Task 3: Educational Philosophies Self-Assessment Scoring Guide

Record the number you chose for each statement in the self-assessment in the spaces given. Add the numbers for each section to obtain
your score for that section. The highest score(s) indicates your educational philosophy and psychological orientation.

Perennialism
The acquisition of knowledge about the great ideas of western culture, including understanding reality, truth, value, and beauty, is the aim of
education. Thus, curricula should remain constant across time and context. Cultivation of the intellect is the highest priority of an education.
Teachers should directly instruct the great works of literature and art and other core curricula.

(Q1,10,23,31,39) Total = 16

Essentialism
Essentialists believe that there is a core of basic knowledge and skills that needs to be transmitted to students in a systematic, disciplined way. A
practical focus, rather than social policy, and emphasis on intellectual and moral standards should be transmitted by the schools. It is a back-to-
basics movement that emphasizes facts. Instruction is uniform, direct, and subject-centered. Students should be taught discipline, hard work, and
respect for authority.

(Q5,7,12,16,17) Total = 12

Progressivism
Progressivists believe that education should focus on the child rather than the subject matter. The students' interests are important, as is integration
of thinking, feeling, and doing. Learners should be active and learn to solve problems by experimenting and reflecting on their experience. Schools
should help students develop personal and social values so that they can become thoughtful, productive citizens. Because society is always
changing, new ideas are important to make the future better than the past.

(Q4,24,26,34,36) Total = 22

Reconstructionism / Critical Theory

Social reconstructionists advocate that schools should take the lead to reconstruct society in order to create a better world. Schools have more than
a responsibility to transmit knowledge, they have the mission to transform society as well. Reconstructionists use critical thinking skills, inquiry,
question-asking, and the taking of action as teaching strategies. Students learn to handle controversy and to recognize multiple perspectives.

(Q8,11,15,25,40) Total = 24

Information Processing
For information processing theorists, the focus is on how the mind of the individual works. The mind is considered to be analogous a computer. It
uses symbols to encode, process, remember, and retrieve information. It explains how a given body of information is learned and suggests
strategies to improve processing and memory.

(Q6,14,22,29,37) Total = 19

Behaviorism
Behaviorists believe that behaviour is the result of external forces that cause humans to behave in predictable ways, rather than from free will.
Observable behaviour rather than internal thought processes is the focus; learning is manifested by a change in behaviour. This is known as the
stimulus-response theory of learning. The teacher reinforces what the student to do again and again and ignores undesirable behaviours. The
teacher's role is to develop behavioural goals and establish reinforcers to accomplish goals.

(Q20,30,33,35,38) Total = 17

Cognitivism/Constructivism
The learner actively constructs his or her own understandings of reality through acting upon and reflecting on experiences in the world. When a new
object, event, or experience does not fit the learner's present knowing structures, a conflict is provoked that requires an active quest to restore a
balance. Teachers facilitate environmental conditions and mediate experiences to support student learning.

(Q2,9,19,27,32) Total = 21

Humanism
Humanist educators consider learning from the perspective of the human potential for growth, becoming the best one can be. The shift is to the
study of affective as well as cognitive dimensions of learning. Beliefs include: human beings can control their own destiny; people are inherently
good and will strive for a better world; people are free to act but must be responsible; behaviour is the consequence of human choice; and people
possess unlimited potential for growth and development. There is a natural tendency for people to learn, which will flourish if nourishing,
encouraging environments are provided.

(Q3,13,18,21,28) Total = 22

Name: Muhammad Ikhwan bin Rosman Matric#: 045654 Group: C

TASK 4:
Discuss what you learned about yourself in taking this assessment and thinking about your
educational philosophy. Were there any discrepancies between your original ideas about
which educational philosophy fit you (Task 2 above) and results on the Self-Assessment?
Could the instrument be inaccurate in picking up your true philosophy of education? What
does your philosophical orientation imply for how you will teach? Discuss.

From the results of the Educational Philosophies Self-Assessment that I have done, there is
no discrepancies between my original ideas about which educational philosophy that I could
closely relate to and the results of the self-assessment. All three of my chosen philosophies
achieved the highest scores, that is, Progressivism, Social reconstructionism, and Humanism.
In essence, my learning orientation is based on student-centred philosophies. The instrument
used to assess us in recognising our educational philosophy is highly accurate, as well as the
results. Applying these philosophies into a classroom, as a teacher, I intend to address the
distinct learning needs, interests, aspirations, or cultural backgrounds of individual students
and groups of students, and instil within them a sense of morality and emphasising problem
solving and critical thinking. All the while monitoring the students' needs, emotions, values
and self-perceptions, giving them classroom materials that is personally meaningful to the
students to motivate them to learn, making them understand the reasons for their own
behavior, and making the students believe that the classroom environment supports their
efforts to learn.
BIT10803: ASSIGNMENT PART 2

WRITING PERSONAL TEACHING PHILOSOPHY (15%)

TASK A:

Read the Attachment1: (suggestions for writing a philosophy of education) and the
Attachment 2: (sample personal teaching philosophies) written by former education students.

TASK B:

Write your philosophy of education. This is a one page (no more, no less!) statement of your
personal beliefs about teaching and learning. Typically, it is single-spaced with a space
between paragraphs. It requires a great deal of soul searching, wrestling with the essences of
what is important to you. It should NOT be a treatise on good educational practice as if written
by a textbook author. Hint: Use "I believe" statements to help you get started. This is not what
others believe, but your own beliefs. This personal philosophy statement will be important to
you as you create your educational portfolio, present yourself in job interviews, select a setting
that fits you, or complete your Continuing Licensure.

TASK C:

On separate pages, discuss your educational philosophy statement relative to the philosophical
and theoretical orientations described in Assignment 1 Educational Philosophy Continuum.
Task B:

I believe the purpose of education is to impart knowledge to the people, giving them an
opportunity to learn, and providing them with the knowledge and skill to improve their
current way of living and provide them with occupations, working together systematically in
an organised manner, within a hierarchy of people. Only then will the ultimate goal of
education is achieved. I believe that as an educator, it is our role to complete the task of
educating the masses, with the means in which teachers must teach their students, regardless
of the social background, ethnicity, or religious beliefs. I believe that everyone has the right
to learn, whether in a formal or informal setting. Efforts must be made to reach into their
hearts and instil within them a sense of urgency to learn. The community of learners must
have their social and religious backgrounds to be monitored, albeit in a sensitive manner, and
their diverse cultures must be respected. Open-mindedness must be instilled to create an
environment that advocates tolerance among the students and the teachers.

I believe that children will learn when the time comes, or when the urgency to learn arises.
Children need not to understand the pressures of being an adult, and instead need to
appreciate the joys of youth, and need their time spent in doing so. Children learn at such a
young age through playing. Not only through games, but also through meaningful lessons
taught by their family, friends, and acquaintances.
I believe that by utilising an array of strategies, my beliefs will not affect my teaching
methods. That is to adjust myself to a new environment and learning more about my students
and their behaviours. After which I can choose an appropriate strategy to approach the
situation given. My goals for students are for them to learn in a fulfilling setting that allows
them to mature and grow with an enriching desire to learn.

I believe that I can bring global awareness into the classroom by incorporating current issues
while making it easier for them to understand. This will make them realise the importance of
the issue and how it affects them in the long run. This will result the students to think of a
solution to the problem, even if it is from a primary school student’s point of view. My
relationship with the community, parents, teaching colleagues, and administration will be
strictly professional, all the while trying to improve the relationships around me, and making
a tightknit community into existence.
Task C:

The freedom to choose is the main focus. Providing the students with a choice to learn what
they want and pressuring them with the responsibility for their decisions and preferences.
Another feature is to ensure students to understand the context of current issues, addressing
them accordingly, and to find a solution to overcome these problems.

The educational philosophy intends to address the distinct learning needs, interests,
aspirations, or cultural backgrounds of individual students and groups of students, and instil
students a sense of morality and emphasising problem solving and critical thinking. All the
while monitoring the students' needs, emotions, values and self-perceptions, making them
understand the reasons for their own behavior, and making the students believe that the
classroom environment supports their efforts to learn. All of which are in accordance with
Existentialism, Social reconstructionism, and Humanism.