Republic of the Philippines

University of Southeastern Philippines

College of Education
B.O. Obrero, Davao City, Philippines

Reflection Paper:
Educational Philosophies

Prepared by
Divine Grace R. Merina
Med-LT
EDFD 231
(10:00am-1:00pm)

December 2021

1
 Republic of the Philippines
University of Southeastern Philippines
College of Education
B.O. Obrero, Davao City, Philippines

Educational Philosophies

A philosophy of education is a statement (or set of statements) that identifies and clarifies
an individual's beliefs, values, and understandings with respect to education. Defined in this
sense, it may be thought of as a more-or-less organized body of knowledge and opinion on
education, both conceptualized and practiced (The Scots College, 2017). According to Thelma
Roberson (2000), most prospective teachers confuse their beliefs with the ideas of teaching.
Education philosophies, then, are not what you want to do in class to aid learning, but why you
do them and how they work.

There are a lot of Educational Philosophies, but in this paper, we are just going to tackle
two of the oldest system of philosophy known to man- Idealism and Realism.

Idealism is the traditional philosophy of education in which the teacher has the central
role who has to be a role model so that the students will adopt his model to become good
citizens. In idealism, the lecture method is considered the most important one in which a delivers
a lecture and students listen to the teacher. Meanwhile, Educational realism believes that we
should study logic, critical thinking, and the scientific method to teach students to perceive and
understand reality. Realists believe that the job of schools is to teach students about the world
around them.

In my interpretation, idealism is learning theoretically, while realism is learning

practically. And in teaching, I would agree that a student has to be competent theoretically and
practically. Some would surely disagree with me and say that practicality is much more
important. However, for me, there are concepts that you cannot understand if you rely solely on
your understanding.

References:

The Scots College (2017) Educational Philosophy: What is it all about? The Scots College. Retrieved on December
2, 2021, from https://www.tsc.nsw.edu.au/educational-philosophy-what-is-it-all-about/

Lamichhane, C. (2018) Understanding the Education Philosophy and Its Implications. Nepal Journals Online. Vol. 3
No. 1 . https://doi.org/10.3126/nccj.v3i1.20245

Roberson, T. (2000). Philosophy of philosophy: making the connection between philosophy and pedagogy for
preservice teachers. Retrieved on December 2, 2021, from https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED446092.pdf

2
 Republic of the Philippines
University of Southeastern Philippines
College of Education
B.O. Obrero, Davao City, Philippines