ACTIVITY #2 NAME: DINAH JOY S.

ALSOLA

MAJOR PHILISOPHIES IN EDUCATION

A. Perennialism

This is a philosophy wherein the focus is to teach ideas that are everlasting, to

seek enduring truths which are constant, not changing, in accordance to the idea that

the natural and human worlds at their most essential level, do not change. Educators

who practice this philosophy settled to Aristotle and Plato’s belief system that education

should be everlasting information given to the students to stimulate thought provoking-

discussions. That educators teach principals and not facts. Teaching these unchanging

principles is critical. Humans are rational beings, and their minds need to be developed.

Thus, cultivation of the intellect is the highest priority in a worthwhile education

B. Essentialism

Essentialism is the basis of the core curriculum philosophy. Essentialism is a

philosophy that believes that there is a common core of knowledge that needs to be

cascaded to students in an organized, disciplined way. The emphasis in this traditional

perspective is the idea that schools should teach on the basis of intellectual and moral

standards. It means to teach what is essential to know. Subscribers to the essentialism

philosophy believe that students should be taught the core essential curriculum of

reading, mathematics, literature, history, science and foreign language. Followers of this

philosophy do not believe in vocational training, such as co-op, work program or student

internships. Instead, they focus on teaching to the state academic tests.

ACTIVITY #2 NAME: DINAH JOY S. ALSOLA

C. Progressivism

Progressivism is a philosophy that believes that education should focus on the

whole child, rather than on the content or the teacher. That teacher should provide

experiences so that students can learn by doing as this educational philosophy

emphasizes that students should test ideas by active experimentation. Learning is

rooted in the questions of learners that arise through experiencing the world. It is active,

not passive. The learner is a problem solver and thinker who makes meaning through

his or her individual experience in the physical and cultural context. Progressivist

educators use the scientific method so that students can study matter and events

systematically and first hand. It gives emphasis on process-how one comes to know.

C. Reconstructionalism

Reconstructionism or social reconstructionism is rooted in Pragmatism.

Accordingly, it grew out of the progressive movement in education as the

reconstructivists were dissatisfied with certain aspects of progressivism.

Reconstructionists have this belief that education should provide immediate attention to

social problems and seek change within society. Educators therefore give students real-

world problems and ask students to solve the problems.

Reconstructivists believes in multicultural education, stressing that students need

to go beyond their inherited culture to build a bigger sense of identity and purpose.

Reconstructionist teachers are similar to progressivist teachers in their goal to nurture

students who are concerned with personal and global problems, educated and ready to

change society.
ACTIVITY #2 NAME: DINAH JOY S. ALSOLA

E. Behaviorism

Behaviorism focuses on the belief that behavior is shaped purposely by

forces in the environment and that the type of person and actions desired can be

the product of design. In other words, behavior is determined by others, rather

than by our own free will. That morality and information is learned through

carefully shaping desirable behavior. Learners will obtain and recall answers that

lead to satisfying after effects. Repetition of a meaningful connection results in

learning. If the student is ready for the connection, learning is enhanced; if not,

learning is repressed. Motivation to learn is the satisfying after effect, or

reinforcement. It fosters the idea of “Stimulus- Response” and the applies the

“Reward- Punishment” scheme in the classroom setting.

F. Constructivism

Constructivism is the belief that the learner actively constructs his or her own

understandings of reality through interaction with objects, events, and people in the

environment, and reflecting on these interactions. It anchors it belief to the early

perceptual psychologists (Gestalt psychology) whose focus is on the making of wholes

from bits and pieces of objects and events in the world, believing that meaning was the

construction in the brain of patterns from these pieces.For learning to occur, an event,

object, or experience must conflict with what the learner already knows. Therefore, the

learner's previous experiences determine what can be learned. Motivation to learn is

experiencing conflict with what one knows, which causes an imbalance, which triggers a

quest to restore the equilibrium accommodation, the change in structure. The child goes

through four distinct stages or levels in his or her understandings of the world.
ACTIVITY #2 NAME: DINAH JOY S. ALSOLA

G. Humanism

Humanism is anchored in the belief of Erasmus, who believed in the essential

goodness of children, that humans have free will, moral conscience, the ability to

reason, aesthetic sensibility, and religious instinct. He promoted that the young should

be treated kindly and that learning should not be forced or rushed, as it proceeds in

stages. Humanism was developed as an educational philosophy by Rousseau (1712-

1778) and Pestalozzi, who emphasized nature and the basic goodness of humans,

understanding through the senses, and education as a gradual and unhurried process

in which the development of human character follows the unfolding of nature.

Humanists believe that the learner should be in control of his or her own destiny. Since

the learner should become a fully autonomous person, personal freedom, choice, and

responsibility are the focus. The learner is self-motivated to achieve towards the highest

level possible. Motivation to learn is intrinsic in humanism.

H. Existentialism

Existentialism is a philosophy that believes in free will, choice and personal

responsibility. Educators who subscribe to this theory give situations to students that

encourage students to develop their own ideas, choose for themselves and assume

personal responsibility for those choices.

As the name implies, Existentialism is concerned with issues relating to one’s

existence. Existentialists reject universal and absolute ideas and hold that reality is

constructed by the individual. The knowledge that one needs to pursue is the

knowledge about the human condition and the personal choices one makes (Ornstein &

Levine, 2003).
ACTIVITY #2 NAME: DINAH JOY S. ALSOLA

2. Foundation of Education

A. History

People live in the present. They plan for and worry about the future. History,

however, is the study of the past. One of the reasons history holds its place in current

education is because earlier leaders believed that a knowledge of certain historical facts

helped distinguish the educated from the uneducated. The record of all past human

experience, showing how groups of people are and how they came to be. It is

concerned with political, social, economic, scientific and technological factors and

events, which have shaped the growth and development of mankind. History of

Education could be defined as the study of the past development of educational

systems, theories, practices and institutions within the general historical framework of

political, social, economic, scientific, technological and cultural changes that different

societies have gone through over time.

D. Philosophy

Philosophy of education is the branch of applied or practical philosophy

concerned with the nature and aims of education and the philosophical problems arising

from educational theory and practice. Because that practice is universal in and across

human societies, its social and individual manifestations so varied, and its influence so

profound, the subject is wide-ranging, involving issues in ethics and social/political

philosophy, epistemology, metaphysics, philosophy of mind and language, and other

areas of philosophy. Because it looks both inward to the parent discipline and outward

to educational practice and the social, legal, and institutional contexts in which it takes

place, philosophy of education concerns itself with both sides of the traditional

theory/practice divide. Its subject matter includes both basic philosophical issues.
ACTIVITY #2 NAME: DINAH JOY S. ALSOLA

E. Sociology

Sociology is the study of human social relationships and institutions. Sociology’s

subject matter is diverse, ranging from crime to religion, from the family to the state,

from the divisions of race and social class to the shared beliefs of a common culture,

and from social stability to radical change in whole societies. Unifying the study of these

diverse subjects of study is sociology’s purpose of understanding how human action

and consciousness both shape and are shaped by surrounding cultural and social

structures.The sociology of education is the study of how public institutions and

individual experiences influence education and its outcomes. It is most concerned with

the public schooling systems of modern industrial societies, including the growth of

higher, further, adult, and continuing education.

F. Anthropology

Anthropology is the systematic study of humanity, with the goal of understanding

our evolutionary origins, our distinctiveness as a species, and the great diversity in our

forms of social existence across the world and through time. Educational anthropology

focuses on education, although an anthropological approach to education tends to focus

on the cultural aspects of education, including informal as well as formal education. It

focuses on education and multiculturalism, educational pluralism, culturally relevant

pedagogy and native methods of learning and socializing. Educational anthropologists

are also interested in the education of marginal and peripheral communities within large

nation states. It is more of an applied field as the focus of educational anthropology is

on improving teaching learning process in a culturally plural context. Educational

Anthropology becomes more relevant with the advent of globalization, we now have

classrooms which are a melting pot of different cultures.

ACTIVITY #2 NAME: DINAH JOY S. ALSOLA

G. Religion

Religion is the belief in and worship of a superhuman controlling power,

especially a personal God or gods Just like education, religion plays a major role in the

socialization process. For centuries, humankind has sought to understand and explain

the “meaning of life.” Religion, in one form or another, has been found in all human

societies since human societies first appeared. Archaeological digs have revealed ritual

objects, ceremonial burial sites, and other religious artifacts. Social conflict and even

wars often result from religious disputes. To understand a culture, sociologists must

study its religion. Religion can also serve as a filter for examining other issues in

society and other components of a culture.

H. Political Science

Political science broadly refers to the study of governments, public policies

and political behavior. It is the systematic study of governance by the application

of empirical and generally scientific methods of analysis. As traditionally defined and

studied, political science examines the state and its organs and institutions. Political

Science is excellent preparation for effective citizenship. Studying political

science grounds students in the importance of political participation and prepares them

to take part in the political life of their communities and the nation.

ACTIVITY #2 NAME: DINAH JOY S. ALSOLA

I. Economics

Economics is a social science concerned with the production, distribution, and

consumption of goods and services. It studies how individuals, businesses,

governments, and nations make choices about how to allocate resources. Economics

focuses on the actions of human beings, based on assumptions that humans act with

rational behavior seeking the most optimal level of benefit or utility. Considered a social

science, economics uses scientific methods to understand how scarce resources are

exchanged within society. Economists study theories and techniques useful for

developing policies in government as they have a deep understanding of how to create

efficiency in today's world.

J. Psychology

Psychology is the scientific study of the mind and behavior, according to the

American Psychological Association. Psychology is a multifaceted discipline and

includes many sub-fields of study such areas as human development, sports, health,

clinical, social behavior and cognitive processes. Educational psychology involves the

study of how people learn, including topics such as student outcomes, the instructional

process, individual differences in learning, gifted learners, and learning disabilities.

Psychologists who work in this field are interested in how people learn and retain new

information. Educational psychologists apply theories of human development to

understand individual learning and inform the instructional process. While interaction

with teachers and students in school settings is an important part of their work, it isn't

the only facet of the job. Learning is a lifelong endeavor.