『長崎国際大学論叢』 第５巻 ２００５年１月 ４５頁∼５１頁

A Note on Philosophy of Education from

the Viewpoint of Realism

Makoto TANAKA

Summary
Firstly, I present an overview of the concepts of Realism, which I value highly. Realism is one
,
of today s core philosophies. In particular, the Realist curriculum is considered to be of great
value in the field of present educational systems. Secondly, I argue my own philosophy of
education, which is“To teach is to learn”in order to show a concrete example. Lastly, I contend
that all teachers must have their own philosophy of education in order to provide better education.

Key Words
philosophy of education, realism, developmental level, curriculum, the four
way agenda of
teaching

１. Introduction
If one is to be interviewed by the principal of a school in order to get a teaching job, a
question sure to be asked is “What is your philosophy of education ?”This is because “An
educational philosophy acts as an intellectual filter assisting teachers as they select teaching
methodologies, classroom management models, textbooks, field trips and on and on”（Serow et
al. ２０００：p. ４
２４）. Therefore, I contend that all teachers must have their own philosophy of
education.
There are many philosophies of education. I believe Realism is one of the principle
philosophies in the Western world. In this paper, I will focus on this philosophy. According to
Gutek（１９９７）, the essential doctrines of Realism are as follows：
１. We live in a world of real existence in which many things, such as persons and
objects, exist.
２. The objects of reality exist regardless of the uses we make of them.
３. By using our reason, it is possible for us to have some knowledge of these objects.
４. Knowledge about these objects, the laws that govern them, and their relationships
to each other is the most reliable guide to human conduct.（p. ３０）
In essence, “Realism can be defined as a philosophical position that asserts the existence of
an objective order of reality and the possibility of human beings gaining knowledge about that
reality”（ibid.：p. ３１）.
Realism is also based on the ideas of Aristotle, a student of Plato（cf. ibid.：p. ３１）. For
Aristotle, education was considered to be a means of helping human beings in their pursuit of
happiness. 
“Aristotle believed that the curriculum should conform to the patterns of human
,
growth and development.”（ibid.：p. ３６）. I believe this Aristotle s belief is still very important

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 Makoto TANAKA

,
in present educational systems. Many of Aristotle s doctrines remain, which exert a powerful
influence over education today.
,
Now I will examine Realism s Educational Goals in order to clarify the concepts of Realism.
,
Gutek（１９９７）argues that Realism s educational goals are as follows：
,
１. Cultivate human rationality, the human s highest power, through the study of
organized bodies of knowledge；and
２. Encourage human beings to define themselves by framing their choices rationally,
to realize themselves by exercising their potentiality for excellence to the fullest, and
to integrate themselves by ordering the various roles and claims of life according to
a rational and hierarchical order.（p. ４
１）
,
Now that I have outlined the concepts of Realism, I will show how Realism relates to today s
educational systems in the next section.

,
２. How Realism Relates to Today s Educational Systems
 ２.１ Realist Curriculum
I believe that many teachers support the philosophy of realism. In particular, the Realist
curriculum is highly valued in the field of present educational systems. In order to teach
,
students effectively, overall curriculum is very important. Children s abilities to learn are
varied depending on many factors. The developmental stages are among them. Sprinthall et al.
,
（１９９８, p. ３２）argue that“. . .qualitative differences in the child s cognitive style and level develop
,
over time. As the child s cognitive base broadens and matures, higher and more abstract levels
of thought processing typically become the rule.”
From this viewpoint, teachers must offer adequate teaching materials to our students based
on their developmental levels. One of the two basic components of the subject
matter
curriculum in Realism is “the appropriate pedagogical ordering of the subject matter according
to the readiness, maturation, and previous learning of the student.”（Gutek １９９７：p. ４３）.
This line of thinking corresponds to the concepts of cognitive growth. Cognitive theorists
believe that “By understanding how and when cognitive systems develop, we can avoid, on the
one hand, teaching children something before they are ready to learn it and, on the other hand,
missing a golden opportunity by waiting to well past the most sensitive moment”（Sprinthall, et
al. １
９９８：p. １
０８）.
,
Now I would like to investigate Piaget s stages of cognitive growth. Piaget insisted that


there should be five stages in cognitive growth, which are as follows：１. Sensorimotor（Age ０

７）, ３. Concrete operations（Age ７
２）, ２. Intuitive or Preoperational（Age ２
１１）, ４. Formal
operations（Age １１
１６）, and ５. Late formal operations（Age １６
Adulthood）（cf. Spinthall, et
al. １９９８：p. １
１３）. I think that the concept of this kind of developmental stages must have been
greatly influenced by Realism. Other than the theories of Piaget, there are many scholars who
argue their own developmental stages of children. Therefore, in particular, I believe that the
,
concepts of children s developmental levels pertaining to Realism have had a strong effect on
,
contemporary educational theories. Realism s line of thinking is still crucial when educators

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 A Note on Philosophy of Education from the Viewpoint of Realism

think about the design of curriculum for children today.

As for curriculum, I understand it is very difficult for teachers in the United States to
design the best curriculum. This is because considerable knowledge about subject matters,
,
teaching methods and children s developmental levels is required.
In Japan, concerning curriculum, teachers are not responsible for designing it for
themselves. The Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology（hereafter,
,
Ministry of Education）is the authority that creates Japan s nationwide curriculum. Therefore,
ideally speaking, no matter where one lives in Japan, similar education will be given to each
student even though the reality is far from the ideal situation. The curriculum designed by the
Ministry of Education is based on the consideration of developmental levels.
In the United States, I believe there is a movement to form a standardized curriculum. For
example, the Paideia Proposal is one such movement. According to Adler（１
９８２, p. ２２）, the
Paideia Curriculum has three columns and each column has not only the means suitable for the
attainment of its own goal, but also subject areas, operations and activities. Concerning the
columns, Adler argues as follows：
 The first column is devoted to acquiring knowledge in three subject areas：
language,
literature, and the fine arts；
mathematics and natural science；
history, geography,
and social studies.
 The second column is devoted to developing the intellectual skills of learning. These
include all the language skills necessary for thought and communication―the skills of
reading, writing, speaking, listening. They also include mathematical and scientific
skills. . . .
 The third column is devoted to enlarging the understanding of ideas and values. The
materials of the third column are books（not textbooks）
, and other products of human
artistry.（p. ２１）
I think that, in general, this kind of standardized curriculum is very useful. However, it
seems impossible to realize such a curriculum at the present stage throughout the United States
,
because America s school systems are so diverse and complicated. Examples of this include
charter schools, vouchers, private schools and so on. Another barrier to be considered is the
wide variety of ethnic backgrounds of the students which makes a standardized curriculum more
awkward. Therefore, it is not easy to incorporate a standardized curriculum such as that of
Japan.

,
 ２.２ Teachers Role in Realism
In the real world, teachers in Japan are becoming more and more depressed. According to
Asahi Shimbun（２
００２, November ２
４）, one of the prestigious newspapers in Japan, the study
hours of Japanese students are the shortest among ３２ countries surveyed by the OECD. Study
,
time is only ２ ４.９ minutes per day on the average. This is half of Greek students . The
,
following is a summary of the reasons listed in the paper as to why Japanese students don t
, ,
study. １）I can t find the reasons why I have to study very hard. ２）Anyway, I don t feel like

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Makoto TANAKA

studying. ３）Even though I enter a prestigious university and get a good job at a prestigious
company, I might be laid off, and so on.
In order to motivate Japanese students, Japanese teachers are tackling a difficult challenge.
No matter how difficult this task may be, teachers have to act. Teachers must teach their
,
students how to live their life to the utmost in today s world. Therefore, in order to achieve
,
educational goals, the teachers role is essential.
As Sprinthall et al.（１９９８, p.７）state clearly, “the four
way agenda of teaching”is the basis
for understanding what teaching is. This agenda is comprised of student characteristics,
teachers, teaching strategies, and subject matter. These concepts are, for the most part,
corresponding to the description by Gutek（１
９９７, p. ４３）, which says “there are three elements
in the act of instruction：the teacher, the skill or subject, and the students.”Concerning
teachers, Gutek（１９９７）argues more specifically as follows：
The Realist teacher should command a variety of methods that may include lecture,
discussion, or experiment. The teacher should use the method appropriate to the
,
learner s background and situation. An ideal method, which needs to be used with
great skill, would structure a learning situation that replicates the research activity of
the scholar or scientist.（p. ４４）
This holds perfectly true of contemporary education. The Realist teacher can also be the
model of an ideal teacher today. I believe that in order to find teachers who satisfactorily met
the requirements prescribed for the ideal teacher, the system of a teaching certificate appeared.
However, in realistic terms, obtaining a teaching certificate alone is not enough to be an ideal
teacher.  Serow et al.（２０００）argue as follows：
During the １９８０s, reports portrayed some teachers as lacking in basic intellectual skills,
and many more as lacking competence in their assigned subjects. As a result, changes
have been made in the teacher certification process.（p. ５８）
Despite the changes made in the certification process, it seems that this has not yet led to
any dramatic increase in better teachers. It has been very difficult to find better teachers in the
present as well as in the past. The government must take measures to improve the situation.
It is imperative that teachers focus on the philosophy of education and develop their own well
thought out philosophy of education in order to become better teachers.

３. My Philosophy of Education as an Example

In this section, in order to show a concrete example, I will consider my own philosophy of
education. Had I been born American, I would have developed my own philosophy of education
more clearly a long time before I took the course of Social and Philosophical Foundations of
Education at graduate school of Troy State University. However, as I am Japanese, I had never
thought about the philosophy of education until that time. I believe that Japanese teachers
,
often think about how to be a better teacher, but don t usually regard this as our philosophy of
education. If teachers talk about the philosophy of education in Japanese schools, it might be
considered too esoteric. However, Gutek（１９９７, p. １０）argues that“. . .it is hoped that the study

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 A Note on Philosophy of Education from the Viewpoint of Realism

of philosophy of education will encourage teachers to examine and to formulate the broad
personal and professional goals that should guide educational practice.”
This quote makes me see that the study of educational philosophy is essential for teachers in
Japan, too. I have been teaching English for approximately １６ years. Throughout this time, I
have learned a lot from a variety of experiences and my philosophy of education can be
condensed into the following expression, “To teach is to learn,”a philosophy of education that
is strongly influenced by the concepts of Realism.
I believe that teachers can learn many things through teaching. Teachers have to study a
considerable amount before going into a classroom. This preparation is especially crucial for
me as my native tongue is not English. As an English teacher, this fact always tortures me.
In Japan, there are many English teachers who do not have a good command of the language.
,
It is often said that English is the only subject that Japanese teachers can t teach with full
confidence in themselves. I completely agree with this opinion. Therefore, preparation for
classes is essential for Japanese teachers of English. It is vital to study adequately before going
to a classroom.
This fact affects my philosophy of education. I continually have to do my best to improve
my English ability as well as my teaching skills.  This is very stressful, as one can imagine.
Serow et al.（２０００）contend as follows：
Teachers also need to possess a working philosophy because of the daily strain that
accompanies their task. Being grounded and purposeful allows the teacher to
withstand the daily barrage of teaching and learning challenges, neglected and abused
children, apathetic parents, overbearing administrators, inordinately critical parents,
unruly students, low salaries, mountains of paperwork, and mundane assignments.（p.
４２４）
I think it is essential to have a working philosophy in order to continue teaching despite
stressful situations.
As I mentioned before, my philosophy of education is “To teach is to learn.” It has a
variety of meanings. For one thing, in order to teach effectively, one has to learn a lot of
things. For instance, when one talks about effective teaching, the first thing which comes to
my mind is the four
way agenda of teaching, which I mentioned in the previous section
（Sprinthall et al. １９９８：p.７）. I believe this agenda is the basis for effective classes. Therefore,
I will discuss it here.
The first aspect of the four
way agenda is student characteristics. To learn the student
characteristics of the class is crucial if one is to teach effective lessons. Teachers should be well
prepared for the classes by carefully evaluating the characters and mental developmental levels
of their students.
When one makes a teaching plan, one has to decide the target level in order to make sure the
lesson is neither too easy nor too difficult for the majority of the students. This decision is
,
always very difficult to make. Students abilities are not the same. In order to set the ideal
,
level, teachers must learn the students characteristics very well.

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Makoto TANAKA

The second aspect of the four
way agenda of teaching is teachers. Sprinthall et al.（１９９８）

describe the good teacher as follows：
,
If done well, teaching is really hard, and it can t be done single
handedly. Good
teachers consistently reflect on their practice, study their impact on students, and
reevaluate their goals and methods. They try to improve their expertise and their
,
interactions with parents and coworkers, broaden their knowledge base, meet students
individual needs, and examine their own assumptions about children, families, and
education.（p. ４０２）
This quote helps one to see how difficult it is to be an ideal teacher. However, no matter
how hard it may be, it is critical to learn to be a better teacher every day.
The third aspect of the four
way agenda is teaching strategies. Teachers have to learn as
many useful teaching strategies as possible. However, as teachers know, no matter how many
strategies are studied, it is difficult to find effective strategies that are useful in our daily classes.
Therefore, teachers have to modify the strategies learned for our own classes. I quite agree
,
with Sprinthall s opinion that “Good teachers work at avoiding rigidity and enhance their
flexible use of different models of teaching”（Sprinthall, et al. １９９８：p. ３５９）.
The final aspect of the four
way agenda is subject matter. Sprinthall et al.（１９９８, p.８）
, ,
contend that “it s hard to teach history if you don t know the field.” As I said before, this
fourth area has been a continual torture for me.
As a novice teacher, I was often told by my mentor that teachers should study a lot for
classes and teach １０ percent of what you studied for it. This mentor often said to me, “You
have to always keep in mind the maxim‘To teach is to learn.’
” This mentor was a great
influence on me.
When teachers are preparing for classes, from among the materials studied, we have to
carefully select the essentials we should teach to our students. This also means that teachers
should know much more information on the subject matter as background knowledge even
though all of this knowledge is not taught. I believe this helps to enhance the quality of classes
as well as teaching abilities（cf. Sprinthall et al. １９９８：pp. ３５３
３５４）.

４. Conclusion
Teachers have been facing many difficulties and some of them leave their jobs due to stress.
I contend that no matter how difficult it may be, teachers have to do their best while taking care
,
of the stress and try to offer better education. It is very helpful to have one s own philosophy
of education in order to reduce stress. Having a philosophy of education helps teachers to see
clear visions and goals for education. If teachers can see their own visions and goals, they can
go forward with confidence more easily.
In Japan, the concept of philosophy of education is not prevalent, but I feel that all Japanese
teachers should consider their own philosophy of education more seriously and discuss it more
frequently in order to offer better education.

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 A Note on Philosophy of Education from the Viewpoint of Realism

References
Adler, Mortimer J.（１９８２）. “The Paideia Proposal：Rediscovering the Essence of Education,”（p. ２０
２６）.
 Ed. Noll, James Wm.（２００１）. Taking Sides ―Clashing Views on Controversial Educational Issues. ７th ed.
Dushkin/ McGraw
Hill.
Asahi Shimbun.（２００２, November ２
４）.
Gutek, Gerald L.（１９９７）. Philosophical and Ideological Perspectives on Education. ２nd ed. Allyn and Bacon.
Serow, Robert, Perry Castelli, Vivian Castelli. （２０００）.  Social Foundations of American Education. ２nd ed.
 Carolina Academic Press.
Seyfarth, John T.（１９９６）. Personnel Management for effective schools. ２nd ed. Allyn and Bacon.
Snowden, Petra E and Richard A. Gorton.（１９９８）. School Leadership and Administration ―Important Concepts,
Case Studies and Simulations. ５th ed. The McGraw
Hill Companies, Inc.
Sprinthall, Richard C., Sprinthall, Norman A., and Oja, Sharon N.（１
９９８）. Educational Psychology ―A
Developmental Approach. ７th ed. The McGraw
Hill Companies, Inc.

要 旨
最初に、リアリズムの概念を概観する。リアリズムは筆者が非常に重要視している概念でもあり、今
日の核となる哲学の一つである。特に、リアリズムに基づくカリキュラムは、現在の教育システムにお
いて大いに価値があるものと考えられている点を論じる。次に、具体例を提示するため、筆者自身の教
育哲学である「教えることは学ぶこと」という概念に関して論じる。最後に、より良い教育を提供する
ために、全ての教師は、自分自身の教育哲学を持つべきであるということを論じる。

キーワード
教育哲学、リアリズム、発達段階、カリキュラム、授業の４要素

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