Philosophies of Education

Philosophy
PERENNIALISM
ESSENTIALISM William C. Bagley
Essentialists believe that teachers should try to embed traditional moral values
and virtues such as respect for authority, perseverance, fidelity to duty,
consideration for others, and practicality and intellectual knowledge that
students need to become model citizens.

**To instill students with the "essentials" of academic knowledge, patriotism,

and character development through traditional (or back-to-basic) approaches
PROGRESSIVISM John Dewey
Advance the human condition through social reform based on
advancements in science, technology, economic development, and social
organization.

**Students should test ideas by active experimentation. Learning is rooted

in the questions of learners that arise through experiencing the world.
EXISTENTIALISM Søren Kierkegaard
Existentialists argue that there is no master plan, no fate, and no god in
heaven above making decisions for us. Instead, we have complete
freedom of choice. Sartre argued that existence precedes essence, or in
other words, we are born without a purpose, and it is up to us to find
meaning in life and make it happen.

**Education aims to enable every individual to develop his unique qualities,

harness his potential, and cultivate his individualities.
HUMANISM Abraham Maslow and Carl Rogers
Advocate for human rights, free speech, progressive policies, and democracy.

**Students should be self-motivated in their studies and desire to learn on their

own.
CONSTRUCTIVISM Jean Piaget
Action-oriented and cooperative learning, creative classroom work, and project
completion.

**Students learn best when engaged in learning experiences rather passively

receiving information.
BEHAVIORISM B.F. Skinner
Psychology should concern itself with the observable behaviour of people and
animals, not with unobservable events that take place in their minds.

**The teaching environment shapes the behaviour of a learner.

NATURALISM Emile Zola
Nature is in principle completely knowable.

**The child is an active individual capable of self- development. The aim of

education is to develop the child as healthy and active personality in a natural
setting.
RECONSTRUCTIO-NISM Theodore Brameld
Social reconstruction curriculum tries to involve students in school and
community life in order to help them to become adults who can reconstruct and
improve society.

**Students may envision the good future and spend their learning as a
preparation for their role in the future for which they reach.
CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY Aristotle and Aquinas
Using knowledge to glorify God and to minister to others.

**The pursuit of truth. There can be no stronger motive than the Christian's for
pursuing truth "for its own sake", that is, simply because it is truth and not
merely because it may prove useful.