FOUNDATIONS OF

EDUCATION

Ateneo de Naga University

GRADUATE SCHOOL
July 21, 2018
Course Description:

The philosophical, psychological

and sociological bases of
education; theories and concepts
of philosophy, psychology and
sociology as they affect
educational theory and practice.
 Importance of philosophical,
psychological and sociological
foundations in education?
Philosophy to Education

• necessary for planning, implementing,

and evaluating a school curriculum
• helps define the purpose of the school
• offers solutions to problems by
helping the administrators, curriculum
planners, and teachers make sound
decisions
Psychology to Education
• provides information about the
teaching and learning process
• seeks answers as to how a curriculum
be organized in order to achieve
students’ learning at the optimum
level, and as to what amount of
information they can absorb in
learning the various contents of the
curriculum
Sociology to Education
• The school exists within the societal
context.
• Other units of society educate or
influence the way people think, such
as families and friends as well as
communities.
• The curriculum addresses the
diversities of global learners.
Philosophy and Its Meaning

• The word philosophy comes from

the Greek words philo, meaning
love, and sophos, meaning
wisdom.
• It is a love of wisdom.
3 Branches of Philosophy and
their Concerns in Education

 Metaphysics
 Epistemology
 Axiology
• It encompasses everything that
exists, as well as the nature of
existence
• It says whether the world is real, or
merely an illusion. It is a fundamental
view of the world around us.
 Why is Metaphysics
important?

• It is the foundation of philosophy

– The degree to which our
metaphysical worldview is correct
and the degree to which we are
able to comprehend the world, and
act accordingly.
 Key elements of
Metaphysics
• Reality is absolute.
• It has specific nature and it must
be consistent to that nature.
• Every action has a cause and an
effect.
Categories of Metaphysics:

• Ontology-nature of existence
• Cosmology-origin and
organization of the universe
• Theology-relations about God,
humankind, and the universe.
Philosophical Questions:
• What is reality?
• Are people basically good or bad?
• What is the nature of the world in
which we live?
• What is the nature of being and of
reality?
• What is the origin and what is the
structured of the universe?
• What or who is God?
• nature of knowledge or how we come to
know things.
• We develop knowledge of truth through
thought from observations and from
logic:
– reasoning deductively from a general
propositions to a particular case
– reasoning inductively from a set of
particulars or facts to a general principle
 Why is Epistemology
important?
• It is the explanation of how we think.
• Without this, we could not think nor
have reason to believe our thinking
was productive or correct as opposed
to random images flashing before our
mind.
• Distinguishes truth from error
• Consequences are obvious
 Key Elements of
Epistemology:

• Valid
• Reason
• Logic
• Objectivity
• Concepts
Philosophical Questions:

• What is knowledge?
• What is truth?
• When did knowledge originate?
• How do we learn?
• concerned on ethics-issues of
morality and conduct
• Study of right and wrong in human
endeavors
• Studies man as having will
 Why is it important?

• Requirement for human life

• Means of deciding a course of
action
Key Elements of Axiology

• Standard of value to which all goals

and actions can be compared to
• Examination of man’s nature and
recognizing his peculiar needs
• Systems of ethics must further
consist of not only emergency
situations but the day to day choices.
Philosophical Questions:
• Is an action moral or immoral?
• What are human rights and how do
we determine them?
• Do individuals have the right of self-
determination?
Educational Philosophies
 EDUCATIONAL
PHILOSOPHIES
• Idealism • Perennialism
• Realism • Progressivism
• Naturalism • Social
• Pragmatism Reconstructivism
• Essentialism • Existentialism
 IDEALISM
IDEALISM
• From “idea” and “ideal”
• Considered an old philosophy
• Plato, Father of Idealism, conceived
of ideas as the basis of his
philosophy
– That ultimate reality lies in
consciousness or reason
– To search for truth, justice and beauty
in the world was to seek meaning in
one’s own life and in the community.
 IDEALISM
IDEALISM

• Metaphysics
– Stresses mind over matter (nothing is
real except for an idea in the mind)
• Epistemology
– all knowledge includes a mental grasp
of ideas and concepts
• Axiology
– values are rooted in reality
 IDEALISM

• In terms of curriculum, it includes

body of intellectual matter which are
the subjects that are essential for
mental and moral development.
• These are mathematics, history,
literature
 REALISM
• A belief that universe exists whether
mind perceives it or not
• Metaphysics
– Reality composed of matter (body) and
form (mind)
• Epistemology
– Sense realism
• Axiology
– Values derived from nature
 REALISM

• Aristotle-father of realism
• Francis Bacon-advanced a rigorous
form of inductive reason
• John Locke-theory of tabula rasa (no
such thing as innate ideas)
• Good for liberal arts curriculum like
Math and Science
 NATURALISM
• Naturalism is an extension and
refinement of Realism, based on the
theories of the French novelist, Emile
Zola (1840 – 1902) .
• People’s actions and beliefs resulted
not from freewill but from arbitrary,
outside forces of heredity and
environment.
• Often depicts man in conflict with
nature, society, or himself.
 NATURALISM
• Metaphysics
– Deals with existence, rejects the
supernatural concepts and explanations
• Epistemology
– Reality and nature are identical and
beyond nature there is no reality
• Axiology
– General character of values embedded in
nature
– Harmonizing life with nature are peace,
pleasure and satisfaction
 NATURALISM
• Emphasizes on the nature as
everything and denies the existence
of spirit
• Gives importance to the matter and
the physical world
• Curriculum must be child-centered
• It gives place for skills and other
useful educational activities
• Curriculum should contain games,
sports, culture, biology, and other
allied subjects.
 PRAGMATISM

• Also known as experimentalism

– experience or things that work
• Philosophy of 20th century developed
by John Dewey
• associated with a very broad but
shallow curriculum. Many electives,
few required subjects.
 PRAGMATISM
• Metaphysics
– Regard reality as event or process
• Epistemology
– Truth is not absolute but determined by
consequences
• Axiology-primarily focused on values
determined by own experiences
• Active rather passive learning
• Experimentation, discovery
 PRAGMATISM
• Auguste Comte
– Suggested science could solve social
problems
– Problem solving was the key to
education
• Charles Darwin
– Theory of natural selection implied
reality was open ended not fixed
Classroom Management for
Experimentalists

• Don’t like 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
 ESSENTIALISM

• Strives to teach students the

knowledge of our society and
civilization through a core curriculum
• Promotes reasoning, train the mind
and ensure a common culture for all
citizens
 ESSENTIALISM

• 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, 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 will
just listen
• Punishment--attempted
behaviorism but without
expertise
 PERENNIALISM

• Curriculum focused upon

fundamental subject areas but
stressing overall aim should be
exposure to history’s finest thinkers
as models for discovery.
• The student should be taught such as
basic subjects: English, Languages,
History, Mathematics, Natural
Science, Philosophy and Fine Arts.
 PERENNIALISM

• Develop the minds of rational beings

to control our emotions
• Basic subject matter and “great
works” at the center not the student
PERENNIALISM
Perennialism

• Perennialists like to teach

time-honored curricula,
including the classics such
as Plato and Aristotle
• They don’t like change.
 Perennialist Evaluation
Methodology
• Teacher-made tests
• Standardized test
• Memory work (“mind is a
muscle”)
• Spelling bees
 Orientation Expected
• Self-contained knowledge--
teacher is supposed to know
all the answers
• Teacher is the “fountain of all
knowledge.”
• Students are passive listeners
 Classroom Management

• Assign seats in rows.

• Be strict, but not necessarily

expert, with punishment and
reward.

• Set up classroom rules.

 Question:

Do you think education should move

the students forward and be relevant
to the world
. today and in the future?
 PROGRESSIVISM
• The student’s world is the focus and
starting point of education
• Learning is an active, democratic
and social process
• Knowledge is constructed by the
student as they experiment and
solve problems.
• The role of the teacher is a facilitator
and guide
 PROGRESSIVISM
• Education should be child centered
• Curriculum should be derived from
students’ interests
• Effective teaching takes into account
the whole child
• Learning is active, not passive
• Teacher is a guide or resource to help
students learn about things.
Are you familiar with these
tag lines/school motto?

“Men and Women for Others.”

“Be an Agent of Social Transformation.”
 SOCIAL
RECONSTRUCTIVISM
• School serves as the “change
agents” educating students about
their place and how to change the
world
• Community-based learning
addressing real problems
• Social action and critical thinking
 Ponder:

“Existence precedes essence.”

 EXISTENTIALISM
• Focus on personal and subjective
existence
• Metaphysics
– No purpose or meaning to universe or no
natural scheme of things
• Epistemology
– Come to know the truth by choice
• Axiology
– Choice to determine values
 EXISTENTIALISM

• Focus on the experiences of each

individual, personal growth
• A search for meaning
• Raise the personal awareness of
students towards their existence as
“free agents”
 EXISTENTIALISM

• Emphasizes the ability of an

individual to determine the course
and nature of his or her life and the
importance of personal decision-
making
• Help students “self-actualize” and
become free agents who decide the
course of their own lives
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
l Not the same l They would include
subjects to topics such as
everyone, since not values clarification
everyone would
enjoy the same
things
l They would
emphasize self-
esteem and a
feeling of self-worth
 A healthy reminder:

• Each of the six philosophies

has something to offer.
• The only hazard happens when
one philosophy rules for a long
period of time.
So, Let’s break the mold!

Your philosophy of education:

• Eclectic
• Reflective
• Special
• Unique