YOU, THE TEACHER,

AS A PERSON IN THE
SOCIETY
Your Philosophical Heritage
You as a teacher plays a significant role in
the society.
Your influence on your students and on
other people with whom you work with and
live depends a great deal on your philosophy
as a person and as a teacher.
Your philosophy of education is your
“window” to the world and “compass” in life.
A. Your Philosophical Heritage
It includes your concept about:
the human person, the learner in
particular and the educated person;
what is true and good and therefore

must be taught; and

how a learner must be taught in

order to come close to truth.

Philosophy of
Education
Major Philosophies of Education
Perennialism Progressivism
Social
Reconstructionism

Philosophies

Essentialism Existentialism

Fishbone organizer
Jigsaw and fishbone

Groups of tables will be assigned one of the

philosophies on the fishbone organizer.
Using the handout, the group will become the experts
on the assigned philosophy(jigsaw)
The group will be responsible to summarize the
philosophy on the flip chart paper and post their
section of the fishbone onto the bigger fishbone as
well as explain it to the rest of the group.
A continuum
Student –
Teacher – Centered
Centered Focus on
Focus on the Self and
subject Society

Social
Perennialism Reconstructionism

Essentialism Existentialism

Progressivism
Presentations to group
When presenting the philosophy please explain it in
terms of the “continuum” and why it fits in that
section of the continuum.

You will also identify key philosophers identified with

this philosophy.
Perennialism
views truth as constant
education is to ensure that students acquire knowledge
of unchanging principles or great ideas
great ideas have the best potential of solving the
problems of any era
curriculum should stress students’ growth in arts and
sciences
students should become “culturally-literate” by
studying the best, most significant works that humans
have created
 aim to teach students to become critical thinkers
Perennialism
Major Researchers
* Robert Maynard Hutchins (1899-1977)
* Mortimer Adler – organized the “Great Books of
the Western World” curriculum.
Essentialism
 believes that human culture has a core of
common knowledge that schools are obliged to
transmit to students in a systematic, disciplined
way
 believes that there is a body of essential
knowledge and skills that all humans need to
know
 schools should provide sound instruction that is
aimed at preparing students to live life and
comply with society’s accepted standards and
need for order.
Essentialism
* William C. Bagley ( 1874-1946)
Progressivism
 education should be child-centered
 curriculum should be derived from students’
interests
 effective teaching takes into account the whole child
 learning is active, not passive
 knowledge that is true in the present may not be
true in the future so students need to be taught
problem solving strategies
 the teacher is a guide or resource to help students
learn about a certain topic/lesson.
Progressivism
John Dewey ( 1859-1952)
Existentialism
 focuses on the experiences of the individual
 helps learners focus on the meaning of their learning,
their life, their truth
 emphasizes creative choice, the subjectivity of human
experience, and concrete acts of human existence
 schools must allow students freedom of choice
 freedom has rules and respect for the freedom of
others is essential
 schools should allow students to ask their own
questions, conduct their own inquiries, and draw their
own conclusions
Existentialism
* Jean Paul Sarte ( 1905-1980)
 
* Maxine Greene ( 1917 - )
Social Reconstructionism

school should take the lead in changing or reconstructing society

reaction to the cold war climate and threat after WWII

schools should both transmit knowledge about the existing social

order but also seek to reconstruct it as well


belief in bringing the community into the classroom

actively seek to create a worldwide democracy

 
 
 
Social Reconstructionism
* Theodore Brameld ( 1904-1987)
* George Counts ( 1889-1974)
Psychological orientations
In addition to the five major philosophical
orientations, several psychological theories have
formed the basis for teaching philosophies.
Psychological theories are concerned with
understanding the conditions that are associated with
effective learning
There are many psychological orientations that have
influenced teaching philosophies such as humanistic
psychology, behaviourism, and constructivism.
Humanistic Psychology
emphasizes freedom, choice, awareness, personal
responsibility
*goal of education is individual self-actualization
individuals control their own destinies through the
application of their intelligence and reasoning
teachers should not force students to learn but should
create a climate of trust and respect that allows
students to decide what and how they will learn
teachers become learning facilitators
Behaviorism
 based on the belief that desirable human behaviour can be the
product of design, not accident
 our behaviour is determined by forces in our environment
that shape our behaviour
 learning conforms to a basic stimulus-response model
(operant conditioning)
 teachers can create learners who respond by
 1. identifying the desired behaviours in concrete terms
 2. establishing a procedure for recording specific behaviours
and counting their frequencies
 3. for each behaviour, identify an appropriate reinforcer
 4. ensure that students receive the appropriate reinforcer as
soon as possible after displaying the desired behaviour
Linguistic Philosophy
Teachers teach to develop in the learner the skill to send
messages clearly and receive messages correctly.
Communication takes place in three (3) ways – verbal,
non-verbal and para-verbal.
There is a need to teach the learners language that is
correct, precise, grammatical, coherent and accurate so
that they are able to communicate clearly and precisely
their thoughts and feelings.
Experiential
The teacher facilitates dialogues among learners.
The classroom should be an interplay of minds and
hearts.
Constructivism

focuses on processes of learning rather than on learning behaviour


believes that students construct understanding of the material to be learned


supports student-centered curriculum


focuses on mental processes and strategies that students use to lear


sees learning as an active, meaning-making process


students are continuously involved in making sense of the things that happen
around them


teachers must realize that students’ learning is influenced by prior knowledge,
experience, attitudes, and social interactions
 
 
Seasonal partners
Take out a sheet of extra paper.
On this sheet, make a symbol for every season of the
year and leave room to write someone’s name under
the season (see next slide for model).
Your task is to fill this sheet with four different
partners who are not sitting on your row.
These will be your seasonal partners.
You will be asked to meet with your seasonal partners
during further discussions.
Seasonal partners

Winter partner
______________________

Spring partner Fall partner

____________________ _________________

Summer partner
________________________
Personal beliefs

Teaching and Learning

Students

Philosophy of Teaching
Knowledge Education Behaviour

What is worth knowing

Philosophical areas
Personal beliefs
Please find your “winter partner”

With your “winter partner” discuss your beliefs about

teaching and learning.

Please find your “summer partner”

With this partner please discuss your beliefs about

what is worth knowing.
Thank you very much!