MEANING, SCOPE &

FUNCTIONS 0F PHILOSOPHY
OF EDUCATION
By: Maedel Joy Ventura – Escote, MAED
 CONTENT
• Meaning of the Philosophy and Education
• Concept of Philosophy of Education
• Branches of Philosophy
• Scope of Philosophy of Education
• Nature of Philosophy of Education
– Modes of Philosophical Inquiry
• Functions of Philosophy of Education
• Relationship between Philosophy of Teaching and Teaching
Styles
OBJECTIVES
• Discuss the philosophy of education
• Explain the unlimited scope of Philosophy of education
• Identify branches of Philosophy and its relevance to
education
• Enumerate the various functions of Philosophy of
education
• State the various methods of Philosophical inquiry
• Describe the relationship between philosophy of
teaching and teaching styles.
PHILOSOPHY
• Derived from the Greek words;
– Philo – love
– Sophos/ Sophia – wise or wisdom
• Philosophy is love for wisdom
 Wisdom itself mean “ the ability to make sensible decisions
and give good judgment because of the experience and
knowledge that somebody has”
 To have wisdom means the individual must make deliberate
effort at acquiring knowledge
 Knowledge acquisition through critical thinking and analysis
of issues before making concrete judgment
 EDUCATION
• Etymologically
-Latin “Educare” – bring up, “bring forth what is within”
In ancient Greece, Socrates argued that education was about
drawing out what was already within the student.
• Any act or experience that has formative effect on the
mind, character or physical ability of an individual
• In modern times
– An institutional instruction, given to students in school colleges
formally; and
– A pedagogic science, studied by the student of education
• a process that starts from birth and ends at death
• the sum total of the culture which a society deliberately
gives its younger generation in order to qualify them and
raise the level of improvement it has attained.
• the totality of life experiences.
• the process of developing knowledge and ability in learners
for personal and societal enhancement.
– To achieve any of these definitions, the educational system must have
some deliberate and well-articulated philosophical bases or polices. This,
thus leads us to the concept of the philosophy of education
PHILOSOPHY OF EDUCATION
• A method of approaching educational experience rather
than a body of conclusions. It is the specific method
which makes it philosophical.
• Criticism of the general theory of education
• Consist of critical evaluation and systematic reflection
upon general theories
• Synthesis of educational facts with educational values
• Attempts to comprehend education in its totality
and tries to interpret it by means of general
concepts that will guide our aims and policies of
education.
• Refers to the aims an objectives towards which
the educational system and practices are
directed.
 Systematic attempt to apply
the findings of philosophy to
the ultimate question of
education ( Gregorio)

PHILOSOPHY of EDUCATION
SCOPE OF PHILOSOPHY OF EDUCATION

• confined to the field of education, thus, it is

philosophy in the field of education. The
scope of philosophy of education is
concerned with the problems of education
• Aims and Ideals of Education Philosophy
• Interpretation of Human Nature
• Educational Values
• Theory of Knowledge
• Relationship of education and various area of
national life and various components of the
system of education
 METAPHYSICS EPISTEMOLOGY AXIOLOGY

REALITY KNOWLEDGE VALUES

HOW DO WE WHAT VALUES

WHAT IS REAL? KNOW? SHOULD ONE
LIVE BY?
METAPHYSICS EPISTEMOLOGY AXIOLOGY

ONTOLOGY LOGIC ETHICS

THE STUDY OF THE
ESSENCE OF THINGS DEDUCTIVE DEALS WITH WHAT IS
RIGHT OR WRONG

COSMOLOGY REASONING
THE SCIENCE OF THE
GENERAL TO SPECIFIC AESTHETICS
ORIGIN AND
DEVELOPMENT OF THE
INDUCTIVE REASONING DEALS WITH NATURE
AND BEAUTY
UNIVERSE SPECIFIC TO GENERAL
 METAPHYSICS EPISTEMOLOGY AXIOLOGY
WHAT KNOWLEDGE HOW SHALL WE WHAT VALUES
DO STUDENTS NEED TEACH THE SUBJECTS SHOULD BE TAUGHT
TO KNOW? THAT WE SEE AS IN CHARACTER
IMPORTANT? EDUCATION?
WHAT SUBJECTS HOW DO WE LEARN? HOW DO WE TEACH
SHALL WE TEACH TO VALUES?
OUR STUDENTS?
 Metaphysics and Education
• All curricula from grade schools to the colleges
and universities must be designed to liberate the
mind of man and must offer subjects that will
give provisions (moral) as well as intellectual
development, They must enjoy academic
freedom which is very vital to the freedom of
individuals towards self-development
 Epistemology and Education
• Aim of education is to achieve intellectual
development through the acquisition of
knowledge being imparted by teachers
• Education must be saturated with
knowledge
 Axiology and Education
• Curriculum must have values education
• For this philosophy to be properly
implemented and realized, the educators
themselves are expected to do what they
say, be role models to be patterned after
by the youth
 Functions of Philosophy of Education
• Determining the aims of education
• Harmonizing old and new traditions in the field of
education
• Providing the educational planners, administrators and
educators with the progressive vision to achieve
educational development
• Preparing the young generation to face the challenges of
the modern time
 Relationship between Philosophy of
Teaching and Teaching Styles
• Four basic questions that guide learning
process.
– What is the nature of the learner?
– What is the nature of subject matter?
– How should one use the subject matter to guide
students towards meaningful learning activities?
– What behavior trend should one exhibit in order to
carry out one’s philosophical position?
 Nature of Learner
• “Lockean” (passive) and “Platonic” (active)
• “Lockean” is a position because it was
John Locke, in his Essay Concerning
Human Understanding, who first wrote
about mind, is a tabula rasa.
• “Platonic” Image is that of a teacher who
has so much respect for what the learner
can contribute to the learning environment
that he or she definitely does not want
them to “absorb” prescribed subject
matter, as the teacher sees the subject
matter.
 Nature of Subject Matter
• The terms “Amorphous” or “Structured”
are used to delineate extremes on the
continuum of teacher‘s view on the nature
of subject matter.
 How should Subject matter guide
students learning activities?

• The two end points of the continuum is

“cognitive” and “affective”.
• Cognitive Domain – fact, concept and
generalization
• Affective Domain- belief and value
Behavior trend in order to carry out one‘s
Philosophical Position
• The terms authoritarian and non-
authoritarian are two extremes of the
continuum, but should be understood as
not merely being ‘strict‘ or ‘permissive‘.
 The converse can be said of “non
authoritarian teachers”
• Teacher need to be aware of the “Philosophical
Positions” that they take and have taken while
they enter into classrooms or plan to enter into
classrooms
• Philosophical positions affect the way they
interact with students and facilitate learning in
learners individually or collectively.
A short survey for you…
... knowledge must continually be renewed by ceaseless
effort, if it is not to be lost. It resembles a statue of marble
which stands in the desert and is continually threatened
with burial by the shifting sand. The hands of service
must ever be at work, in order that the marble continue to
lastingly shine in the sun. To these serving hands mine
shall also belong. (Einstein, On Education, 1950)
References
 Evaluation
• Define education in your own words based on the
various definitions of educational thinkers.
• Why should a teacher study philosophy of
education?
• “The scope of Philosophy of education is unlimited”
Critically evaluate this statement
• Discuss the relationship between Philosophy of
Teaching and Teaching styles
Please send your answers on my email
account
escotemaedeljoy86@gmail.com
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