My Personal Philosophy of Education: An Integrated Approach to Christian Education

Introduction
Philosophy of education is the study of the purpose, nature, process and ideals of education. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philosophy_of_education). My personal philosophy of education is that education should be an endeavor that integrates various schools of thought, learning styles and methods geared to transform the learners to transform their world based on Bible based values. It is based on critical reflective and analytic exploration of the views presented in history and philosophy of education class and the literature that I interacted with in regards to the same. My metaphysics, epistemology, axiology, view of humans, concept of God and their ramifications on education curriculas will be explored. Further, the explication of this philosophys application to Christian education will be put into view. As a whole this philosophy is geared towards an integrated approach to Christian education that employs bits and pieces from early philosophers of education either in part or in modified form in order to give a plausible explication of its postulations and extrapolations. My approach, especially in sectoring the formulation of this paper is similar in part, to that of Deweys My Pedagogic Creed. (Dewey, 77-80). However the formulation of the aspects of this philosophy, as far as I know, is entirely personal.

Defining Education
I believe education is a long life process that starts at birth as the individual interacts with various environments, personalities and ideas. This interaction leads to the formation of mental

schemas which inform the individuals own views of metaphysics, epistemology and axiology. As such, the individual is not just a passive inheritor of the body of knowledge already acquired for him by the generation before him but is a participant in the creation and formulation of knowledge acquired throughout his whole life. The process of learning only ends the day one dies. No amount of degrees can make one the repository of knowledge so as not to need more., neither are those who never make it to institutionalized learning considered uneducated. In fact, my premise is that the higher one goes in the educational systems and learning, the more he should be saturated with a hunger for more. This philosophy sees education as a journey not a destination.

Redefining a School
This philosophy redefines a school based on the principles and the definition of education explained above. The school is that establishment that allows the individual to acquire skills, knowledge, values and convictions about life and reality within the context of their society and consequently apply the same in their world. This establishment can either be institutionalized where education happens in a classroom situation or just a social institution where people learn through daily interactive activities or even as they face the realities of life. As such, a school is not necessarily a place. This explains the view held above that even those who never went to school as an institutional establishment have been educated and that is why it is not a wonder to find those who went through institutional schooling as having not been educated.

Metaphysics
Education should allow people to capture reality of what exists. The source of all truth is God. The universe was created by God. (Genesis 1:1). Within this universe, there is inherent 2

knowledge left for man to discover. For example, God did not decree the Archimedes principle; it was inherent in his universe but was left for Archimedes to discover! A good educational system should expose people to various issues that affect our universe and how they consequently affect our lives. This is because education has metaphysical roots.

Epistemology
Knowledge is acquired through a variety of ways. First, as the learner goes through the various experiences of life, they shape him and he learns through them. Secondly, the learners interaction with the society and community as a whole help him to acquire some values which he or she did not have before. Third, the learner engages his mind to learn. This cognitive aspect is mostly applied in classroom situations where the people go to an institutionalized school. Fourth, there are some inherent things that the learner has which he needs to discover by himself and does not require a teacher to teach him. He then engages his mind to find out how these things mean by himself or through the peers. This is after knowing by himself or herself. A practical example can be a teenager who tries to learn the characteristics that mark his or her stage. Before they get involved with the teacher, they have already discovered the characteristics and the teacher clarifies only what they mean. The place of technology especially in our digital age cannot be overlooked. This philosophy holds that the learner should be allowed to interact with technology in his search for truth. With the advent of mass knowledge databases on the internet on various subjects, it will not be farfetched to claim that technology ignored is a major educational technique ignored. The digital age has thrown many of our educational practices and the assumptions that underlie them into doubt. (Lankshear, 17- 40). This philosophy magnifies the place of technology in the formulation of epistemology because I concur with Lankshear that our established 3

epistemological ideals and values are disturbed by trends, directions, patterns, practices, and other phenomena associated with the digital age and its new technology might encourage us to ask questions about the digital age itself, and about the role and purposes of education and the relationship between education and global directions being pushed from 'familiar centers of hegemonic power,' and not simply to ask questions about what 'digital epistemology' might look like. (ibid.)

Axiology
Education should help the individual acquire and develop his values. It should serve as a part of the axiology continuum that starts at home and continues throughout life. Acquisition of values is a never ending exercise and education should aid the individual in making the right choices on what is ethical and beautiful. The Bible forms the basis upon which the acquisition of all values rest. As such, it cannot be ignored; neither can it be dismembered from the educational process. Education should aim at holistic development of the learner. This includes the physical, emotional, psychological, psycho-social, intellectual, spiritual, societal and moral aspects of the learner. Both the curricula and the instructors of the same should reflect maturity in these areas so that they can easily meet this aim. The curriculums should help transform the learner and ignite critical reflective reasoning on daily realities that helps them to build problem solving skills. This ensures that the learners are not just provided with the how tos but are left sometimes to discover for themselves the possible solutions for the looming problems and puzzles they face.

Education Curricula
The education curricula should involve the learner in the construction and acquisition of knowledge. It should also allow the practical aspects of the subjects being learnt. Periodical reviews should be made especially in regards to application of the knowledge learnt to life, ministry and relationships. Educational systems should include but not limit themselves to the following seven basic areas which apply themselves to various aspects of metaphysics, epistemology and axiology: Sociology which will help them understand the principles that govern the society which they are part of until death, Geography which will inform them of the nature of the existing universe, and theology which will introduce them to a God from whom all thins are attributed to, both invisible and the visible.(Colossians 1:16). Psychology should also be learnt so as to understand how each one individual develops and how they can use their various levels of development to get the best out of their inner talents. This is especially helpful for the training of teachers. Developmental psychology and educational psychology in particular cannot be ignored in the formulation of education curricula. Science needs to be part of the curriculum in order to help the learners understand how the universe works. Literature and language should also be emphasized since they will be used as the expressive modes through which the learners will voice their convictions and values back to the society. Finally the relationship between culture, education and society should be emphasized. Curriculums should also be formatted in a way that captures not just ideas and facts but also reflection of real life problems and possible real life solutions to the same. As such, there is no disconnect between the learner and the outside world especially when the learning is the

institutionalized model. The curriculums should not just promote knowledge but should also involve the place of experience in learning.

Teaching-Learning Process
This philosophy integrates various elements of the learning theories namely cognitive, behaviorism, constructivism and motivation. It is believed that proper learning occurs through this integration. The role of the teacher may hence change from time to time. However, the philosophy seems to lean more on the constructivist approach conglomerated with others in modified form. The teacher is seen as a facilitator, mentor, model, provider of materials and a participant in the learning process. He is not therefore the repository of all knowledge but a guide through whom the learners discover and create knowledge. At other times, the teacher should play the role of a disciplinarian especially in classroom management. The methods that he uses to do this well and the various approaches used to meet this goal are based on the teachers creativity, setting and the developmental stage of the students. On the other hand, the student is a participant. He also becomes an inventor-adventurer as he encounters various interactions to shape his educational ideals and form his metaphysical, epistemological and axiological convictions. The philosophy further upholds that teaching-learning process should not be left to be the role of the professional teacher. The parents and the guardians of the learners should be involved. They should ensure that the learners implement the values the teachers are trying to have them build. Frequent communication is encouraged between the parent or guardian and the professional teacher in which they exchange their views on the progress, problems and preferences of the learner to enhance learning. From the Jewish system throughout the history and philosophy of education, it has been observed that education started at home and then 6

progressed to school. The home still retains a pivotal role in shaping the teaching-learning process in this philosophy. Various methodologies of teaching should also be used in order to reach the aims explained above in the axiology section. This may include but not limited to lectures, direct instruction, cooperative groups and problem solving. None of these methods should be the method but there should be an integrated mix of all the methods to make a meaningful teachinglearning process.

Education and Society

Education happens within the context of the society. Whatever we finally adopt to guide our lives is influenced by our environment that we live in. As such, we owe a lot to the society around us and so my idea is that education should give back to the society. I call it the right hand-left hand relationship. This means that we receive from the society its views, values and content of education from the right hand, but later give back to the society through the left hand. Roseaus observation on how education works to transform the learner concurs with my philosophy on the role of education in the transformation of society when he said that plants are shaped by cultivation and men by education. . . We are born weak, we need strength; we are born totally unprovided, we need aid; we are born stupid, we need judgment. Everything we do not have at our birth and which we need when we are grown is given us by education. (Jean Jacques Rousseau, Emile, On Philosophy of Education, internet)

Implications for Christian Education

There are several ways this philosophy can help in Christian education: First, cultivation of a sense of community in learning. Since education is seen to happen within the context of society and with the right interplay between the individual and others, it hence requires that educational systems should make community one of their core values. Second, integration of faith to learning for transformation of society. This is because as people get educated in the society, they are expected to give back to that society. It hence demands that Christian education should work on modalities in which what is learnt can be put in experimentation in the learners lives. This is what ensures that learners do not just articulate ideas well but can also apply them well. The aim is hence not just head but also heart knowledge. Third, employment of several teaching methods and learning styles to capture the different styles of learning. Since people learn differently as explicated above, the teaching methodology needs to be varied to ensure that all people within the classroom setup get the opportunity to learn. Fourth, demythologizing education, school and schooling. Redefining education as a process will help the learners not to have a destination disease in which they peg their happiness or satisfaction on life based on the achievement of a certain level of scholarship. This philosophy will allow the learner to understand that education is what happens between the present to the desired future. As such, education is not an event but a process that takes a lifetime and a community to fulfill. The concept of a school as being not only a place where people go to acquire education but also a social institution where character and values are acquired demythologizes it. The definition of a school changes from the factory mentality where people enter into it with nothing to contribute but ready to be made an end product of a certain

university to a technic mentality where learners are not just passive objects but active participants in the teaching-learning process. Fifth, facilitation and speeding up of e-learning. This philosophy exposes the challenge the digital age gives to established epistemological traditions. As such, it can be used to hasten the facilitation of e-learning especially in most African schools where information technology is still a new idea. This will help the schools join the major league of scholarship in todays digital age.

Conclusion
My philosophy of education is an integrated approach to Christian education. It cuts through various schools of thought to draw a portrait of my future classroom. This includes existentialism that allows the teachers to be role models of the values they teach and the learners to be free and self determining. Behaviorism that allows the teacher reinforces learning and control the classroom. Progressivism that sees the students individuality and yet involves him in cooperative learning. It exhibits a metaphysics that sees God as the architect of all universe and reality from which man draw countless truths, an epistemology that integrates a conglomeration of learning styles to achieve the educational experience, an axiology that is based on Bible based values for transformatory learning and societal impact and an application that meets the educational needs of the 21st century. It is a philosophy of education worth living and dying for.

REFERENCE LIST Dewey, John (1897) 'My pedagogic creed', The School Journal, Volume LIV, Number 3 (January 16, 1897), pages 77-80. Also available in the informal education archives, http://www.infed.org/archives/e-texts/e-dew-pc.htm. Lankshear, C., Peters, M. and Knobel, M. (2000). Information, knowledge and learning: Some issues facing epistemology and education in a digital age. Journal of Philosophy of Education. Special Issue: Enquiries at the Interface: Philosophical Problems of Online Education, eds. Nigel Blake and Paul Standish, vol 34, issue 1, February 2000: 17-40 Jean Jacques Rousseau, On Philosophy of Education. Available from

http://www.spaceandmotion.com/Philosophy-Education.htm

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