Republic of the Philippines

State Universities and Colleges

GUIMARAS STATE UNIVERSITY
GRADUATE SCHOOL
Mc Lain, Buenavista, Guimaras

EDUC 214- Philosophy of Education

ELNA TROGANI
MED-FILIPINO

Directions: Answer the following questions by applying the concepts learned

in the subject.

1. What are the branches of Philosophy? Explain each briefly and its
implication to education.
 According to Plato, philosophy is a process of constant
questioning, and questioning necessarily takes the form of
dialogue. Philosophy has many branches namely:
 a. Metaphysics
Metaphysics is the branch of philosophy that goes beyond the realms of
science. It is concerned with answering the questions about identity and the
world. The name is derived from the Greek words, Meta which means beyond
or after, and Physika which means physics.

The implication of metaphysics in education is to provides a base

for educational thought by establishing knowledge, truths and values, as
ontological realities whose nature must be understood to understand its place
in educational matters.
b. Epistemology: Epistemology literally means “science of
knowledge.”
 It deals with the definition of knowledge and its scope and limitations. It
translates from Greek to mean ‘theory of knowledge’. It questions the
meaning of knowledge, how we obtain knowledge, how much do we know
and how do we have this knowledge? Some of the famous epistemologists
are Descartes, Kant and Hume.

 In practice, inquirers in various fields have come to resolve this tension

between description and prescription by, on the one hand, recognising the
tentative and fallible nature of their conclusions while, on the other hand,
constantly seeking to improve on the ways in which they arrive at their
conclusions.

The implication for educators is that the information and knowledge we

attempt to transmit to our students in the classroom is not fixed but is
constantly subjected to critical evaluation, refinement and revision. But this
means our students would be better off learning how to conduct their own
inquiries, how to critically evaluate their findings, and how to refine and revise
them. The main objectives of education should be the following:

 To teach students how to decide whether a particular piece of

information counts as genuine knowledge or whether it is no more
than the best guess we can come up with at the moment. ( What is
knowledge?)
 To teach students how to determine whether a particular piece of
information has been acquired in the proper ways, whether there are
good reasons to think that it is correct or whether there are good
reasons to think that it could be false after all, even though there is
strong evidence for it. (What are the best and most secure ways of
acquiring knowledge?)

 Ethics : Ethics, also known as moral philosophy, is a branch of
philosophy that addresses questions about morality—that is,
concepts such as good and evil, right and wrong, virtue and vice,
justice, etc.
 Ethics: It is concerned with questions on morality and values and how they
apply to various situations. It can be divided into the branches of meta-ethics,
normative and applied ethics.

  Ethics is not a discipline that has little practical value. It is an important

component of comprehending and negotiating the world of virtual learning
because helps teacher and educators establish the relationship between
educational practices in virtual learning environments and moral values.
students should acquire academic integrity and responsibility as well as
practice self-discipline. ethics in education helps regulate
the education system and ensures that this practice positively contributes
towards human welfare

4. Social Philosophy:
Social Philosophy is one of the main and important branches of Philosophy. It
is the thoughtful consideration of human society. It gives insight into the
actual activities of human beings in the society.

Social philosophy is the study of questions about social behavior and

interpretations of society and social institutions in terms of ethical values.

Education is one of the basic activities of people in all-human societies. The

continued existence of society depends upon the transmission of culture to
the young. It is essential that every new generation must be given training in
the ways of the group so that the same tradition will continue. Every society
has its own ways and means of fulfilling this need. ‘Education’, has come to
be one ofthe ways of fulfilling this need. It is clear that social philosophy
constructs the philosophical foundations of educational system.
 Aesthetics:
 

Aesthetics is the branch of philosophy which is concerned with definition,

structure and role of beauty, especially in the art is called aesthetics.

 aesthetic education helps students discover new ways of looking at,

listening to, moving in and speaking of their everyday experiences.

 6. Logic: Logic is the system or principles of reasoning applicable to

any branch of knowledge or study.Logic: Among the branches of
philosophy, logic is concerned with the various forms of reasoning and
arriving at genuine conclusions. It includes the system of statements and
arguments. It is now divided into mathematical logic and philosophical
logic. It tries to avoid the imaginary or assumptions without real logical
proof. Among the important problems that logic can have:
Logic is important because it influences every decision we
make in our lives. Logical thinking allows us to learn and make
decisions that will affect our lifestyle. If no one thought logically,
we would all be running around like chickens with our heads cut
off, and nothing would make any sense.

2. Rene Descartes believed in rationalism which stated that reason

is the primary source of all knowledge while John Locke, the
proponent of disciplinism believed that everything in the mind
came from experience and Martin Luther and John Calvin,
reformists believed that Bible is the central source of religious
authority and that salvation is reached through faith and not
deeds. What are the contributions of rationalism, disciplinism and
reformation to the child learning development?

RATIONALISM rationality is a justifiable goal of education, not

only because it is a means to worthwhile ends but because it is
 an important end in itself and because it can be promoted via
nonindoctrinative means. A psychological account of progressive
rationality is provided that postulates continuing multiple
interactions of (a) domain-specific developmental stages, (b) the
learning of specific thinking skills, and (c) content-specific
knowledge. Suggestions are made for fostering rationality at
various educational levels. Finally, it is argued that the proposed
conception of rationality as a goal of education complements
and clarifies a variety of other educational goals.

In short, discipline is about teaching children a system of

values that they can use to guide them through life. This system
can lead to a healthier emotional life that promotes
the development of self-motivation, self-control, personality,
and decision-making processes.

CHILDHOOD IS A TIME of rapid biological growth and

development, and a stage of the life course during which bodies
are particularly sensitive to social and environmental stressors.
As a consequence, events which may impact upon a child’s care
and treatment can become physically embodied within their
bones and teeth. The skeletal remains of children have been
neglected within archaeological discourse until recently, but they
are, in fact, a particularly important demographic for
understanding the impact of social processes on past population
health. 
3. K to 12 is now using the spiral progression approach to ensure
mastery of knowledge and skill after each grade level. How do
you find it? Does this really matter in terms of learning process of
the learners? How?
Spiral progression approach or Basic concepts/General concepts are
first learned. In this approach as learning progresses, more and more
 details are introduced • While at the same time they are related to the
basics which are reemphasized/rediscovered many times for
connection and mastery.
 As a teacher I can find this approach as helpful tool that
provides the basis for continuity and consistency;
Compartmentalization inhibit transfer of learning across topics;
students who exit school early do not have the basic functioning
skills across requisite areas of a subject.
 In terms of learning process, Allows learners to learn
Science topics and skills appropriate to their
developmental/cognitive stages; Shows the interrelatedness of
subject topics with each other and their connections across
topics; Strengthens retention and mastery of topics and skills;
Enables DepED to benchmark Filipino students with their
counterparts in other countries
Promotes learner- centered rather than teacher- centered
instruction

4. Differentiate idealism to naturalism in terms of teaching and

learning approaches?

 Idealism is the oldest system of philosophy known to man.

idealism is traditional philosophy of education in which teacher
has centeral role who has to be role model so that the students
will adopt his model to become good citizen. In idealism the
lacture method is considered the most important one in which a
delivers lecture and students listen to the teacher. Teacher
selects any topic or issue for teaching first he teaches the topic
then asks the questions about that topic. Students answer the
asked questions, Teacher provides the feedback and students
improve themselves according to the teacher’s feedback. This is
teacher centered approach therefore students do not participate
 in a well manner and do not understand the taught content. On
the other hand Learner in naturalism is was given unrestricted
freedom and only then his harmonious development will take
place. The checks on the child are also to be natural. The
naturalists advocate discipline by natural consequences. A
danger that the child may harm himself and cause worry to the
parents. In the part of the teacher, Extreme naturalists ignore
teacher; because teacher will interfere with the development of
a child. If the teacher is to be there, let him design situations
which help in the inculcation of right type of habits in the
children. As a director of activity, the teacher should not overdo
his role or overact his role
5. Why do teachers need to learn about existentialism? What are
their roles in it?
As a teacher it is very important that we should know our existence
in the society , what is our purpose? Right ? Because a teacher with
an existentialist perspective would be surprised at how
students are taught. ... The goal is to help students better understand who
they are as individuals. This also means that the student should have a
choice in what they learn and that the curriculum needs to be somewhat
flexible
6. Karl Marx is known to his theories on capitalism and communism.
How do these theories be applied in classroom situations?
Schools are central institutions of modern capitalist society. ...
Public education is an important mechanism in creating social consensus
because it is based on the idea that school offers “equal opportunities” for all
citizens. This idea of education is a strong legitimating force of capitalism.
Communism can be shown in the classroom when the teacher has
the sole authority in the class room. In some cases the student
leader in their group activity wanted that her /his idea will be
follow by their. groupmates
7. What are John Dewey’s contributions to education which are
mostly adopted by the Philippine educational system? How do
you find them in terms of teaching styles and pedagogies?
John Dewey and Philippine education During the American colonization of
the Philippines, John Dewey’s progressive education movement was a
sensation in the United States and in some other countries. His
progressive ideas, however, did not reflect in the Philippine industrial
education of that time. Industrial education refers to the “manual training
classes given in the lower grades and vocational training provided in the
higher grades” (May, 2009). From 1909 to 1930, industria education was
prioritized by American education policy makers in the Philippines. Pupils
were taught handicrafts and farming techniques for earning. It was,
therefore, not in line with John Dewey’s educational thoughts unlike in
some schools in the US of that time. For instance, in the US, pupils worked
in school gardens because educators felt that gardening complemented
curriculum units in “nature study” and hence could contribute to the
individual’s intellectual and social development (Dewey & Dewey, 1915).
On the other hand, in colonial Philippines, the emphasis was on the strictly
economic function of industrial education. John Dewey’s influence on
Philippine education started to get sharply visible when it became
independent. Student governments and students councils became
extended widely as a mode of school discipline. In 1957, as a breakaway
group from the Student Council Association of the Philippines (SCAP), the
National Union of Students of the Philippines (NUSP) was established. It is
a nationwide alliance of student governments committed to the
advancement of students’ democratic rights and welfare. John Dewey
pointed out how important the presence and engagement of student voice
are to the educational process. In his book Democracy and Education, he
talked about the necessity of engaging student experience and
perspectives in the curriculum of schools. He stated that the essence of
the demand for freedom is the need of conditions which will “enable an
individual to make his own special contribution to a group interest” as well
as to “partake of its activities in such ways that social guidance shall be a
matter of his own mental attitude, and not a mere authoritative dictation
of his acts” (Dewey, 1916). “Student governments” or “student councils”
would satisfy the need of such conditions by serving to engage students in
learning about leadership and democracy. Up to the present, every public
and private elementary and secondary school in the Philippines has always
had to have its own student government. 66 Every private and state
colleges and universities has its own student councils. The student council
has a student regent and the student regent represents students of the
whole university. John Dewey and Philippine educational reform The K to
12 Basic Education Program is a major education reform implemented in
2012 in the Philippines. It serves as a response to the urgent need to
improve the quality of Philippine basic education. The K-12 program aims
at ‘decongesting and enhancing the basic education curriculum for
learners to master basic competencies, lengthening the cycle of basic
education to cover kindergarten through year 12’. 2) K-12 stands for
universal kindergarten, six (6) years of elementary and six (6) years of
secondary education – all compulsory. Prior to the implementation of K-12
program in 2012, basic education in the Philippines only had four (4) years
of secondary education. On top of the lengthening of the basic education
cycle, the curricula of the subjects in this new program differ from those
of the old one. The K to 12 Basic Education Program embodies an
educational reform influenced by John Dewey’s educational thoughts –
both direct and indirect influences. John Dewey’s influence on the present
Philippine education seems to be more on curricular innovations. The
following learning approaches reflect John Dewey’s pragmatist and
cognitive constructivist ideas. They are incorporated in the K to 12
Program: Inquiry-based learning As a whole, the Philippine K to 12 science
curriculum is learnercentered and inquiry-based, emphasizing the use of
evidence in constructing 67 explanations. Inquiry-based learning is based
on John Dewey’s philosophy that education begins with the curiosity of the
learner (Dewey, 1910). The spiral path of inquiry begins with asking
questions, leading to investigation of solutions, resulting to the creation of
new knowledge as information is gathered, followed by discussion of
discoveries and experiences and wrapped up by reflection on the new
found knowledge. Each step in this process naturally leads to the next.
Unlike in the old curriculum where learning tended to be more focused on
fragmented and disintegrated content, K to 12 curriculum fosters the
development of critical thinking, creative thinking, problem solving, team-
work and informational literacy.
 Spiral approach [L]earning should not only take us
somewhere; it should allow us later to go further more
easily (Bruner, 1977). The K-12 curriculum follows the
spiral approach. Jerome Bruner is the proponent of this
approach with principles derived from John Dewey. In the book
The Process of Education, Bruner argues that curriculum should
be designed in a way that it pursues a spiral progression that
starts from simple to complex and requires revisiting prior
knowledge (Bruner, 1977). In short words, students
continuously build upon what they already know. From a
cognitive constructivist’s point of view, learners construct new
ideas based upon their previously learned knowledge. Gradual
mastery of the desired competencies is achieved through
revisiting core ideas in several passes and relating new
knowledge or skills with the previous. Therefore, unlike the old
curriculum where so much knowledge was expected to be learnt
within a limited period, the K to 12 curricula on the other hand
is decongested and seamless. It has its focus on understanding
for mastery and it ensures smooth tran- 68 sition between
grade levels and continuum of competencies through spiral
progression.
8. How does education change the society?
Education plays a major role in the growth and progress of a society. It
is one of the key components that can make or break a culture’s
advancement. If citizens of a society are educated, they can provide
significant contributions in the fields of arts, literature, science,
technology, and others, and help establish a well-rounded and
stimulating community.

The education may contribute to the society in various forms. First are
the majority high tax contributors who are well educated people,
because of the qualification and competencies of the economy, the
people strive for more education for them to be qualified or promoted
into better job position Second is they become open-minded to greater
innovation and market flexibility  The economy of different countries is
now competitive, by this they need to improve their strategies and
products to attract better business opportunities such as having many
investors leading to expansion of the companies, by this they are not
only giving more tax revenues to the economy but also giving more job
opportunities to the members of the society. Third, good education
may also reduce burden on public finances from better co-ordination
with other social policy areas such as in health and crimes.

Furthermore, educated individual have greater life satisfaction, this

may include their ability to afford good shelter, capability to buy not
just their needs but also wants since individuals who has higher
educational attainment has more probability to earn better than those
who have lower educational attainment. Furthermore, they tend to be
extra flexible which motivates them to learn more for their wholistic
satisfactory. Hence, they are not just helping the economy (because
they are paying taxes) but also helping themselves on their deeper
self-understanding

9. What are the elements/components educative process? Explain

the functions of each element and how does each contribute to
the learning process of the learners?
Components of the Education Process

“Teachers: like leaves, everywhere abound. Effective teachers: like fruits,

rarely found.”
Effective Teachers Are:

 One who has honed his skills in the art of teaching.

 Compassionate and understanding. Gives allowance for personal

limitations.

 Looks at every learner as a unique individual with peculiar needs and

interests.

 Allows himself to grow professionally.

 Aspiration of every mentor whether new or has been in it for years.

Roles of an Effective Teacher

 Manager
o The teacher is responsible for effective management of her class
from the start to finish.

 Counselor
o Acts as counselor to the pupils especially when the pupils
especially when the pupils are beset by problems.

 Motivators
o Encouraging and motivating pupils to study well and behave
properly in and outside the classroom.

 Leader
o A leader directs coaches, supports, and delegates depending on
the needs of the situation.

 Model
o A teacher is an exemplar.
  Public Relations Specialist
o The credibility of the school to attributed most of the time to the
ways to teachers deal with the people outside the school.

 Parent – Surrogate
o The teachers are the second parents of the pupils and the
students.

 Facilitator
o The pupils must be given the chance to discuss things under the
supervision and monitoring of the teacher

 Instructor
o The main function of the teacher is instruction.

Learner

To understand the child, the teacher must know:

 The child as a biological organism with needs, abilities, and goals.

 The social and psychological environment; and

 The cultural forces of which he is a part.

Classroom

The classroom environmental encompasses factors are:

 Physical Environment
 Intellectual Climate
  Social Climate
 Emotional Climate

Curriculum
*from the Latin word “curere” which means “to run”.

 Academic Curriculum
o Refers to the formal list of the courses offered by the school.

 Extra Curriculum
o Refers to those planned but voluntary activities that are
sponsored by a school.

 Hidden Curriculum
o Refers to those unplanned learning activities.

Administration

*It is defined as the organization, direction, coordination, and control of

human and material resources to achieve desired ends.

School administration has the following functions:

a. Seeing that all school money is economically expanded and

accounted for;

b. Preparing the school budget.

c. Selecting and purchasing school sites;

d. Planning, erecting, and equipping the school buildings;

e. Operating the school plant and keeping it in an excellent state of

repair;
f. Selecting, training, supervising teachers;

g. Providing supplies;

h. Providing textbooks;

i. Assisting in curriculum construction;

j. Organizing an instructional program;

k. Keeping the public informed of the aims, accomplishments, and

needs of schools; and

l. Keeping school records and accounts.

10. Everyday, we are facing different types of learners inside the
classroom. As a teacher, how can you cater their needs considering their
varied learning styles? Explain.
The classroom is a dynamic environment, bringing together students
from different backgrounds with various abilities and personalities.
Being an effective teacher therefore requires the implementation of
creative and innovative teaching strategies in order to meet students’
individual needs
The importance of using varied methods and strategies is to
facilitate the learning of all students. This means we have to cultivate
the lessons in a sense of manner in instruction that successfully
challenge every student to participate in the discussion.
Good Luck!