Comparison of Attributes of Educational Philosophies

TRADITIONAL CONTEMPORARY
CATEGORIES
PHILOSOPHICAL REALISM PRAGMATISM PRAGMATISM
ORIENATION
PHILOSOPHICAL PERENNIALISM ESSENTIALISM PROGRESSIVISM RECONSTRUCTIONISM
ORIENTATION
DIRECTION IN TIME PRESERVING THE PRESERVING THE growth, reconstruct growth, reconstruct
PAST PAST present, change, present, change,
society, shape future society, shape future
EDUCATIONAL VALUE fixed, absolute, fixed, absolute, changeable, changeable,
objective objective subjective, relative subjective, relative
EDUCATIONAL focuses on teaching focuses on teaching focuses on active self- focuses on active self-
PROCESS learning learning
INTELLECTUAL train, discipline the train, discipline the engage in problem- engage in problem-
FOCUS mind mind solving, social tasks solving, social tasks
SUBJECT MATTER for its own self- for its own self- all have similar value all have similar value
importance importance
CURRICULUM composed of three Rs composed of three Rs three Rs, arts, three Rs, arts,
sciences, vocational sciences, vocational
LEARNING cognitive learning, cognitive learning, exploratory, discovery exploratory, discovery
disciplines disciplines
GROUPING homogeneous homogeneous heterogeneous, heterogeneous,
culturally diverse culturally diverse
TEACHER disseminates, disseminates, facilitates, coaches, facilitates, coaches,
lectures, lectures, change agent change agent
dominates instruction dominates instruction
STUDENT receptacle, receives receptacle, receives engages discoverer, engages discoverer,
knowledge, passive knowledge, passive constructs constructs
knowledge knowledge
SOCIAL direction, control, direction, control, Individualism Individualism
restraint restraint
CITIZENSHIP cognitive, personal cognitive, personal personal, social personal, social
development development development development
FREEDOM & conformity, conformity, creativeness, self- creativeness, self-
DEMOCRACY compliance with compliance with actualization, direct actualization, direct
authority, knowledge authority, knowledge experiences experiences
and and
discipline discipline
EXCELLENCE VS. excellence in excellence in equality of education, equality of education,
EQUALITY education, education, equal change to equal change to
academic, rewards academic, rewards disadvantaged disadvantaged
and jobs and jobs
based on merit based on merit
SOCIETY group values, group values, individual growth, individual growth,
acceptance of acceptance of individual ability, individual ability,
norms, cooperative norms, cooperative importance of importance of
and and individual individual
conforming behavior conforming behavior