Mindanao State University-Iligan Institute of Technology

College of Education
CHED Center of Excellence in Teacher Education
Diate, Kim P.
MSciEd Physics I

SciEd 205
Prof. Nancy Hernandez
1. How do philosophy, psychology, history and society influence the development of the
curriculum?
 Philosophy
Philosophy is an influence in the development of curriculum. Philosophy or a school
of thought is diverse, dynamic or changing and influential. As a school of thought, it
radically influences the way an individual thinks and views reality. Philosophy
predisposes the mind of an individual to think and act in a certain way. Thus,
philosophy is also a guiding principle in the development of curriculum. Philosophy
helps the curricularist address what should be given emphasis, what should be the
end goal of education and how to attain that goal. Philosophy serves as a vehicle
towards reaching the goals and aims of education.
 History
History greatly influence the development of curriculum. It helps curriculum makers
to investigate previously applied curriculum to a certain learning institution and how
it affects the quality and progress of learning. Through it, curriculum makers can
understand what were the deficiencies of the previous curriculum and help them
avoid that. Generally, history helps curriculum developer redefine and restructure
the curriculum based on the previously existing one.
 Society
Society also is a great influence on the curriculum. The society helps determine the
shape and structure of the curriculum. A curriculum should also help address the
needs and priorities of the society in which it is to be implemented. Hence, the
society affects the curriculum by influencing its goals and purposes based on the
needs and priorities of the community.
2. Identify which among the foundations of curriculum has influenced what you have
learned in school as a student.
As a learner in the Philippines, philosophical foundation of education
(Essentialism, little constructivism) is the prevalent influencer in the way I learned in the
school. Some teachers that I have emphasized the need to cover the entire topic for the
whole school year or semester, some also emphasized on mastery of each topic with
lesser emphasis on covering the entire book. In one way or another, each approach has
a positive impact and a challenge. When dealing with major courses, the emphasis on
the teacher is on the mastery of each topic even if the entire prospectus is not covered.
However, when the semester is about to end, the discussion moved in a very fast rate to
cover the remaining topics. There are also teachers that I had who exhibited a
constructivist way of handling the class. This I would say is the most influential way
because it is also the same philosophical foundation that I used in most of my classes.

3. What are significant contribution of the above-mentioned persons?

 John Dewey
Dewey advocates that broader curricular programs are needed and emphasis
should be placed in the total development of the person as being equally important
as the intellectual and the academic.
 John Piaget
Helped us understand the development of the child’s brain cognitively and
proposed 4 stages of cognitive development. Each stage corresponds to
learnings that a certain child is capable of.
 B.F Skinner
Proposed that learning means a change in behavior. He believed that learning
happens two-folds: by striving to achieve positive result and the second is
through avoiding consequences.
 Ivan Pavlov
Proponent of the classical conditioning. He stressed how a stimulus elicits a
response which is learned through time. It implied that the attitude towards a
specific subject can be created through conditioning.
 Lev Vygotsky
His cultural-historical theory helps us understand that our students are the result
of their interaction with the social environment.