Republic of the Philippines

ISABELA STATE UNIVERSITY

The Teacher and Community, School Culture

and Organizational Leadership
(EEd Prof 223/TLEd Prof 223/PEd Prof 223)

A Self-Paced Learning Module for College

Students

MODULE

PHILOSOPHICAL
PERSPECTIVES
 PHILOSOPHICAL PERSPECTIVES

Introduction
Philosophy means “the love of wisdom”. It is a dedicated pursuit of
wisdom through a systematic inquiry into the nature and meaning of the
universe and of human life. Philosophy of education is the study of key
philosophical ideas that have influenced educational thought and
developments in the world. .
Learning Objectives
1. Explain each philosophical perspective;
2. Describe how each foundation contribute to the direction of curriculum;
and
3. Distinguish each of the philosophies of curriculum development.
Learning contents
Philosophical foundations
The philosophy that educators have embraced will help them define the
purpose of the school, the important subjects to be taught, the kind of learning
students must have and how they can acquire them, the instructional
materials, methods and strategies to be used, and how students will be
evaluated.
Likewise, philosophy offers solutions to problems by helping the
administrators, curriculum planners, and teachers make sound decisions. A
person’s philosophy reflects his/her life experiences, social and economic
background, common beliefs, and education. When John Dewey proposed
that “education is a way of life”, his philosophy is realized when put into
practice. Now, particularly in the Philippines, Dewey’s philosophy served as
anchor to the country’s educational system.

Naturalism
● Naturalism is a concept that firmly believes that ultimate reality lies in
the nature of the matter. Matter is considered to be supreme and mind
is the functioning of the brain that is made up of matter. The whole
universe is governed by laws of nature and they are changeable. It’s
through our sense that we are able to get the real knowledge. The
senses work like real gateways of knowledge and exploration is the
method that helps in studying nature.
● Naturalist Philosophers: Thales, Anaximander, Anaximenes Paul
Kurtz, W.V. Quine, and George Santayana

Idealism 
● Is the group of philosophies which assert that reality, or reality as we
can know it, is fundamentally mental, mentally constructed, or
otherwise immaterial. Epistemologically, idealism manifests as
 a skepticism about the possibility of knowing any mind-independent
thing. In a sociological sense, idealism emphasizes how human ideas
— especially beliefs and values — shape society.
● Idealism believes in refined wisdom. It is based on the view that reality
is a world within a person's mind. It believes that truth is in the
consistency of ideas and that goodness is an ideal state to strive to
attain.
● As a result, schools exist to sharpen the mind and intellectual
processes. Students are taught the wisdom of past heroes.
● Idealist philosophers: Plato, Descartes, Kant, Spinoza, Leibniz,
Hegel, Schopenhauer
Realism
● Is the belief that our reality, or some aspect of it, is ontologically
independent of our conceptual schemes, linguistic practices, beliefs,
etc. Realism may be spoken of with respect to other minds, the past,
the future, universals, mathematical entities (such as natural
numbers), moral categories, the material world, and thought. Realism
can also be promoted in an unqualified sense, in which case it asserts
the mind-independent existence of a visible world, as opposed
to idealism, skepticism, and solipsism.
● Realism believes in the world as it is. It is based on the view that reality
is what we observe. It believes that truth is what we sense and observe
and that goodness is found in the order of the laws of nature.
● As a result, schools exist to reveal the order of the world and universe.
Students are taught factual information.
● Realist philosophers: Aristotle, Comenius, Pestalozzi, Herbart,
Montessori, Hobbes, Bacon, Locke
Perennialism
● Perennialists believe that one should teach the things that one deems
to be of everlasting importance to all people everywhere. They believe
that the most important topics develop a person. Since details of fact
change constantly, these cannot be the most important. Therefore, one
should teach principles, not facts. Since people are human, one should
teach first about humans, not machines or techniques. Since people
are people first, and workers second if at all, one should teach liberal
topics first, not vocational topics. The focus is primarily on teaching
reasoning and wisdom rather than facts, the liberal arts rather than
vocational training.
● This is a very conservative and inflexible philosophy of education. It is
based on the view that reality comes from fundamental fixed truths-
especially related to God. It believes that people find truth through
reasoning and revelation and that goodness is found in rational
thinking.
● As a result, schools exist to teach reason and God's will. Students are
taught to reason through structured lessons and drills.

Existentialism
 ● Existentialism believes in the personal interpretation of the world. It is
based on the view that the individual defines reality, truth and
goodness.
● As a result, schools exist to aid children in knowing themselves and
their place in society.
● Students learn what they want and discuss subjects freely.

Progressivism
● Educational progressivism is the belief that education must be based
on the principle that humans are social animals who learn best in real-
life activities with other people. Progressivists, like proponents of most
educational theories, claim to rely on the best available scientific
theories of learning. Most progressive educators believe that children
learn as if they were scientists, following a process similar to John
Dewey's model of learning: 1) Become aware of the problem. 2) Define
the problem. 3) Propose hypotheses to solve it. 4) Evaluate the
consequences of the hypotheses from one's past experience. 5) Test
the likeliest solution.
Essentialism
● Educational essentialism is an educational philosophy whose
adherents believe that children should learn the traditional basic
subjects and that these should be learned thoroughly and rigorously.
An essentialist program normally teaches children progressively, from
less complex skills to more complex.

PERENNIALI ESSENTIALIS PROGRESSIVISM RECONSTRUCTION

SM M ISM

Aim of To To promote To promote To improve and

Educatio educate the democratic and reconstruct
n the intellectual social living society
rational growth of education for
person ; the change
To individual
cultivate and
the educate a
intellect competent
person
Role of Teachers The Knowledge leads Teachers act as
Educatio help teacher is to growth and agents of
n students the sole development of change and
think with authority in lifelong learners reform in
reason his or her who actively learn various
subject by doing educational
area or projects
field of including
 specializati research.
on
Focus in Classical Essentials Subjects are Focus on
the subjects, skills of the interdisciplinary- present and
curriculu literary 3R’s and nary, integrative future trends
m analysis essential and interactive. and issues of
and subjects of Curriculum is national and
curriculum English, focused on international
is Science, students interest, interests
constant History, human problems
Math, and affairs
And
Foreign
Language
Curriculu Use of Excellence School reforms, Equality of
m great in relevant and educational
Trends books and education, contextualized opportunities in
return to back to Curriculum, education,
liberal arts basics and humanistic access to
cultural education global
literacy education.

Humanism
● Humanism is taken from the theory of Gestalt, Abraham Maslow’s
theory and Carl Rogers’ theory. This group of psychologists is
concerned with the development of human potential.
In this theory, curriculum is after the process, not the product;
focuses on personal needs, not on the subject matter; and clarifying
psychological meanings and environmental situations. In short,
curriculum views founded on humanism posits that learners are human
beings who are affected by their biology, culture, and environment.
They are neither machines nor animals.
A more advanced, more comprehensive curriculum that
promotes human potential must be crafted along this line. Teachers
don’t only educate the minds, but the hearts as well.

Teaching & Learning Activities

Activity 1.Choose one educational philosophy and answer the following
question:
1. What made you choose this philosophy?
2. How will this philosophy influence you in your future teaching career?
Activity 2. Distinguish each of the philosophies of education as to its aim, role
in the education, curriculum focus and trends.
Philosophy Aim of Role of Curriculum Curriculum
Education education focus trends
Realism
Idealism
Perennialism
Essentialism
Progressivism
Reconstructionism
Existentialism

Recommended Learning Materials & Resources For Supplementary

Reading
Flexible Teaching Learning Modality (Ftlm) Adopted
Assessment Task. Multiple Choice. Choose the letter of the BEST answer.
Identify what educational philosophy is described in each item below.
1. The aim of education is to teach 3 Rs, reading, ‘riting and ‘rithmetic as
these constitute the core subjects for human survival. Fewer subjects
must be given to children so as to master only the most basic
knowledge and skills.
A. Perennialism C. Progressivism
B. Essentialism D. Reconstructionism
2. Education is futile and irrelevant if it does not solve human problems
and improve the lives of peoples and communities.
A. Perennialism C. Progressivism
B. Essentialism D. Reconstructionism
3. The business of education is to transmit everlasting ideas made by the
best thinkers of humanity.
A. Perennialism C. Progressivism
B. Essentialism D. Reconstructionism
4. Cooperative learning, group projects , problem solving approach and
group projects are preferred methods of instruction in order to develop
problem solving skills and decision making skills.
A. Perennialism C. Progressivism
B. Essentialism D. Reconstructionism
5. Discussions in the classroom have to explore relevant and
controversial issues which would lead to the development of a better
state, vision and better society.
A. Perennialism C. Progressivism
B. Essentialism D. Reconstructionism
6. The development of human rationality is the ultimate purpose of
education as this is the highest distinguishing characteristic of man.
A. Perennialism C. Progressivism
B. Essentialism D. Reconstructionism
7. Teachers do not teach in order to test rather they teach students how
to handle themselves and to become intelligent problem solvers in the
real world.
A. Perennialism C. Progressivism
B. Essentialism D. Reconstructionism
8. Teachers view the social goals or social well-being as more supreme
than individual rights and benefits. In short, individual interests must be
subordinated by the common good.
A. Perennialism C. Progressivism
B. Essentialism D. Reconstructionism
9. The “one size fits all” curriculum and the unchanging principles of life
matter in the education of students.
A. Perennialism C. Progressivism
B. Essentialism D. Reconstructionism
10. The role of education is to be an agent of change, that is, to prepare
students for the fast changing society that they are living in.
A. Perennialism C. Progressivism
B. Essentialism D. Reconstructionism