Name: Margielyn A.

Malto
Program: Master of Arts in Education-English
Subject: EDUC 201 (Philosophy of Education)
Topic: Movements that helped shape Modern Educational Thoughts and Ideals
Professor: Dr. Esperanza Paglinawan

Counter-Reformation

During the Protestant Reformation, religious reformers called Protestants broke from the
Catholic Church & started new Christian denominations. Most Europeans, especially in
Spain, France, Portugal, & Italy stayed with the Catholic Church which remained the
largest religion in Europe but it had lost much of its power & influence. The response of
the Catholic Church to the Protestant Reformation became known as the Counter-
Reformation (or the Catholic Reformation).

JESUITS

One of the first reformers in the Catholic Church was Ignatius of Loyola who formed
the Society of Jesus in 1540.

Members of the Society of Jesus were called Jesuits & focused on three goals:

 Jesuits formed schools to better educate Catholic priests

 Jesuits tried to stop the spread of Protestantism
 Jesuits sent missionaries around the world to convert non-Christians to
Catholicism

In 1545, Pope Paul III created a committee of Catholic leaders to review church
practices, known as the Council of Trent

 Over the next 18 years, the Council of Trent made a series of reforms
 The Catholic Church stopped selling false indulgences
 New schools were created to educate priests

The Council of Trent also reaffirmed several core Catholic beliefs & practices

 The Church’s interpretation of the Bible is final & all others who interpret the Bible
are heretics (non-believers)
 Salvation is gained through faith in God & good works
 All seven Holy Sacraments are legitimate means to gain God’s grace

To enforce these beliefs, the Church used the Inquisition to accuse, hold trials, & punish
heretics. The Church banned & burned all offensive books, including Protestant bibles.

JANSENISTS

France, Jansenists of Port-royal founded by Jean Duvegier de Haurame, more

popularly known as Abbe de Saint-Cyran. Jansenists curriculum became known for its
emphasis on French language, logic and foreign languages. It aimed at developing the
moral and religious character of the child in line with the philosophy of Rene Descartes
that human nature is essentially bad. The school admitted children 10 years of age and
taught them until 16. A teacher was given a maximum of 6 students.
 THE CHRISTIAN BROTHERS

The Institute of the Brethren of Christian Schools (De La Salle Schools) was established
by Jean Baptiste de la Salle in 1684. Its goal is to educate poor and underprivileged
children in Rheims, Northern France. They taught reading, writing, elementary
arithmetic, and religion. The Christian Brothers organized training courses for teachers.
Emphasized individualized instruction where the teacher served as facilitator as he
simply listened to his students recites the lesson based on their memory.

REALISM

It is an educational philosophy which advocates that education should be concerned

with the realities of life.

HUMANISTIC REALISM

John Milton and Francois Rebelais

Milton’s belief that education must prepare one for life in the real world. Rebelais
advocated that all forms of studies be made pleasant, with games and sports. Rebelais
was known for his idea that education is gained through books, though emphasis should
be on the mastery of their content and their actual use in one’s life.

SOCIAL REALISM

Michael de Montaigne

A well-known social realist who authored the educational essays, Pedantry and The
Education of Children. Put emphasis on the study of modern foreign languages.
Montaigne articulated that education should prepare the individual for the practical
affairs of real life; bookish learning is not enough to attain this end. Montaigne also
believed that learning should be carried out with proper provision for the care and
training of the body and under pleasant conditions, not in terror or under compulsion.