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