TOPIC: INTRODUCTION TO PHILOSOPHY.
TASK.
Discuss with relevant illustrations the different definitions of the term philosophy.
THE NATURE OF PHILOSOPHY.
· The term is derived from a Greek word which itself was made up of two words, mainly:
1. THE COMMON/POPULAR NOTION OF PHILOSOPHY
1. METAPHYSICS.
THE BRANCHES OF
PHILOSOPHY.
1.
EPISTEMOLOGY.
·
This is a theory of
knowledge.
·
It is a study that
questions the nature of knowledge, the sources of knowledge and the process of
knowing.
·
It asks questions such as
“What is it to know”, “what is the difference between knowing and believing”,
“how is knowledge acquired”, “what are the sources of knowledge”, ‘is knowledge
universal or culture specific’, ‘is knowledge objective or subjective’.
2. AXIOLOGY.
·
It deal with the theory
of values.
·
It is divided into two:
1. ETHICS-
deals with issues of morality which is an evaluation of right and wrong, good
and bad, correct and incorrect.
2. AESTHETICS-focuses
on the appreciation of beauty and art. It questions whether there are
universal, objective standards for measuring what is artful and beautiful.
3.
LOGIC
(THEORY OF REASONING).
·
It studies the structure
and principles of a sound argument.
·
Basically there are two
reasoning structures which are:
1.
DEDUCTIVE
REASONING.
·
The argument moves from a
general premise to particular instances.
2.
INDUCTIVE
REASONING.
·
The argument moves from a
particular instance to a general premise.
THE SUBJECT MATTER OF
PHILOSOPHY.
·
Philosophers are engaged
in the search for truth as they take a comprehensive view by questioning
fundamental conditions underline human life.
·
While factual questions
are straightforward, philosophical questions are debatable and have many varied
possible answers.
CONCLUSION.
·
Philosophy is the inquiry
into the principles of knowledge, reality and values that constitute wisdom.
·
Philosophy is not about
providing answers but about asking the right questions.
·
In their effort to answer
different questions, philosophers have presented different ways of thinking
which have it made possible to classify them into different schools of thought
(philosophies) such as: Naturalism, pragmatism, idealism, realism, existentialism
among others.
REFERENCES.
Akinpelu, J, A (1981) An introduction to Philosophy
of Education. London: McMillan.
P Barker, R, E (1986) Philosophies of Education: An
Introductory Course. Harare: College Press.
Gwarinda, T, C (1985) Socialism and Education.
Harare: College Press.
Limpman, M (1991) Thinking In Education: New
York: Cambridge University Press.
TOPIC: CONCEPT OF
PHILOSOPHY OF EDUCATION.
·
Education is derived from
two Latin words.
·
Educere-meaning to lead
out. It implies intellectual growth, freedom and letting learners grow at their
own pace.
·
Educare-meaning to form
or train. It implies rearing/upbringing, shaping the character of an individual.
·
It is concerned with
moral development producing morally upright individuals.
More
recent definitions.
·
According to Osman and
Cravers (1986) education involves at least two things i.e.
1. Passing
the cultural heritage from one generation to the other so that essential social
and cultural continuity exists.
2. Providing
the skills, abilities and an understanding to develop new ways of doing things
in light of new technologies.
·
Peresuh and Nundu (1999)
see education not only as a process but also a product.
·
This involves among other
things learning consciously or otherwise by young members from their seniors in
any society in a formal or informal setup.
·
Peters (1966) sees
education as a normative term that has an inbuilt value which he terms them
good.
·
It implies that something
worthwhile is being transmitted.
·
.The transmission of this
worthwhile knowledge must be in a morally accepted manner.
·
Education is concerned
with the betterment of individuals.
·
“…... these processes of
learning will enable the person to acquire all the skills, behaviours,
knowledge, values and norms which are considered worthwhile in the society they
belong” (Barker, 1986: 10).
·
Langford (1986) says
education is what goes on in schools and formal institutions of learning.
·
I call therefore a
complete and generous education that which fits a man to perform justly,
skilfully and magnanimously in both public and private peace and laws.
· According to Osman and Cravers (1986) it is the application of philosophical ideas to educational problems and about the educational practices leading to refinement of philosophical ideas.
· Philosophy of education enables us to understand the nature of our educational aims, objectives, content and the selection process of such content.
IDEALISM.
·
It is derived from the
term ideals.
·
It is a philosophical
approach that believes that ideas are the only true and reality worth knowing.
·
The idea of the thing is
real and the thing in itself is simple through manifestation of that idea.
·
These ideas are eternal,
fixed and unchanging.
·
Plato
is known to be the father of idealism.
·
Truth, knowledge and
values are simply the conception of the mind, therefore the mind is the
controller and explainer of the phenomenon that we are seeing.
·
Things such as buildings
and trees exist but have no existence apart from a mind that conceives them.
·
The external world is in
real sense man made.
·
Idealists seek to
discover true knowledge rather than create it.
·
In search for truth,
beauty and justice i.e. enduring and everlasting, the focus is on conscious
reasoning in the mind.
·
Idealism always searches
for the truth, it is also commonly known as spiritualism.
·
It seeks to offer an
explanation of the man and the universe in-terms of the spirit/mind.
·
The spiritual quality of
man distinguishes him from other creatures.
·
Ultimate reality must be
understood in-terms of the mind/spirit.
PROPONENTS
OF REALISM.
PLATO
(427-327 BC).
·
Plato believed that there
are two worlds; the first is the spiritual or mental world which is eternal,
permanent, orderly, regular and universal (mind).
·
There is also the world
of appearance, the world experienced through touch, sight, smell, taste and
sound that is changing, imperfect and disorderly (body).
·
This division is often
referred to as the duality of the body and mind.
·
Plato observed that there
are two forms of reality i.e.
The first one he
referred to as the reality of the idea in the mind-true reality.
The 2nd
is the reality of the object-illusional, imperfect representation of what the
object is.
·
Truth is perfect and
eternal and it can be shown in mathematical concepts.
·
Plato says lets search
for universal truth that is final.
·
According to Plato, a
just society is hierarchical; his ideal state is characterized by division of
labour according to the area of expertise needed by the state.
·
The state is divided into
three i.e.
1. Rulers
(on top)-these are the philosopher Kings, he termed them the man of gold.
2. The
Guards-he termed them the man of silver.
3. The
mass (hoipoloi)-he termed them the man of bronze and iron.
SAINT
AUGUSTINE (354-430 AD).
·
He was concerned with the
concept of evil since man inherited the sin of Adam.
·
He was continuously
involved in a struggle to regain the kind of purity he had before the fall.
·
He believed in Plato’s
notion of duality reality (matter and ideas).
·
He referred to the two
worlds as the world of God and the world of man.
·
The world of God is the
world of the spirit whilst the world of man is the material world of darkness,
sin and suffering.
·
Like Plato he felt that
people do not create knowledge but can only discover it.
METAPHYSICS
OF IDEALISM.
·
Truth is mental and not
material.
·
It is mind not matter.
·
All things exist in the
mind because they can-not be known to exist before the mind notices them.
·
Reality is absolute and
exists in the supernatural world.
·
Reality is eternal,
unchanging, permanent and universal.
EPISTEMOLOGY
OF IDEALISM.
·
The consciousness of
ignorance is the beginning of knowledge which according to Socrates is virtue.
·
Knowledge is seen as
something in the mind therefore it is inborn.
·
It is discovered through
reflection, meditation, inductive reasoning and logical deduction (mental
activities).
·
According to Plato
knowledge is a product of reasoning, it is a product of probing through questions
(Socratic Method) that can bring to consciousness talents and concepts already
present in the mind.
·
According to Kant, E the
essence of knowing is the imposition of meaning and order on information
gathered by the senses.
·
According to Saint Augustine
ultimate/true knowledge is gathered through revelation. God reveals what has to
be known by men.
·
Knowledge acquired
through the senses is uncertain and incomplete since the material world is only
a disturbed copy of a more perfect sphere of being.
AXIOLOGY OF IDEALISM.
·
According to idealists
values are permanent and eternal, they are passed from generation to
generation.
·
The actual absolute
values of truth, goodness and beauty have to be discovered.
AIMS
OF EDUCATION.
·
Education is supposed to
be a process of turning the eye of the soil from darkness into light.
·
The role of education is
to activate the mind, so that through its own reasoning it can discover
knowledge.
·
This can be achieved
through the Socratic Method.
·
Education has to enable
the child to realise the soul, recognize his real form and proceed towards
self-realization.
·
Education should enable
children to be able to distinguish right from wrong, being able to follow the
right and reject the evil.
·
Education should aim at
developing the child into a complete being with full physical, intellectual,
moral, spiritual, emotional and cultural uplift.
·
Education should not only
stretch the development of the mind but should also encourage students to focus
on all things that are of more lasting value.
·
Practical subjects are
inferior to academic ones as they not involve the mind.
·
Preservation and enrichment of culture is also
key in education.
WEAKNESSES
OF IDEALISM.
·
Its notion of a finished
and absolute universe waiting to be discovered has hindered progress in science
and area of new talents.
· It is impracticable.
·
It is also
individualistic in nature and neglects socialization of individuals.
QUESTION.
·
How has idealism
influenced the Zimbabwean secondary school system?
TOPIC:
REALISM.
·
For any educational
system to be meaningful and effective it has to be based on a clearly thought
out philosophy/world view.
·
It has to be based on a
set of beliefs about the nature of man and his place in the universe
(metaphysics).
·
It must have a system of
values for both the individual and the society (axiology).
·
It must have a scheme of
knowledge considered most valuable (epistemology).
·
All the three elements
are present in any educational system and they are conceived differently by
different schools of thought.
TENENTS OF REALISM/CHARACTERISTICS.
·
Realism refers to the
theory (doctrine) that whatever knowledge we receive through the senses is a
true reflection of what really exists.
·
The world of reality consists
of real tangible matter having an independent existence of its own which can be
discovered by direct scientific inquiry (Barker, 1989:9).
REALIST VIEWS ON METAPHYSICS.
·
Realists believe that
reality exists independent of the human mind.
·
Reality is objective and
is composed of matter and form.
·
It is fixed and based on
natural laws.
·
The world exists by
itself and as a reality independent of whether there are humans to perceive it
or not.
·
The world is not a
construct of the human mind.
·
Matter in the universe/world
is real and independent of the human mind.
·
Objects have a reality
independent of our knowledge/our desire to know them.
·
Aristotle the father of
realism believed that in order to understand an object, one must understand its
ultimate form that doesn’t change e.g. a rose exists whether or not a person is
aware of it and it shares properties with all flowers.
·
The world is well
organised.
·
It is not chaotic, there
is order in its organisation e.g. the night follows the day.
·
The world is real and it is
what science tell us it is.
·
The basic facts
discovered by the sciences about the world are true and real therefore
scientific discoveries must be respected.
REALISTS VIEWS ON EPISTEMOLOGY.
·
Realists believe that
since the world exist as it is, it is possible to have an objective knowledge
of it.
·
Knowledge consists of
sensation and abstraction i.e. the process of knowing is that of the mind
responding to impressions that are made upon it from external sources.
·
It is an act of grasping
and understanding what is presented to the mind from the outside.
·
We can verify whether
knowledge is true/not by comparing what our senses tell us with the actual situation if it
corresponds then it is true knowledge.
REALIST
VIEWS ON AXIOLGY.
·
The realist’s conception
of values is also rooted in their metaphysics.
·
Values are eternal,
absolute and objective.
·
Values exists objectively
in things whether we appreciate or not.
·
They exist in objects for
us to discover e.g. honey is sweet, sweetness is therefore a property that
honey has whether tested or not.
·
So there are objective
values in culture, objective norms and standards of conduct which do not depend
upon what each citizen thinks/feels.
·
Such objective cultural
values and standards of conduct must form the core-curriculum of a worthwhile
education.
PROPONENTS
OF REALISM.
ARISTOTLE
(384-322BC).
·
He is known to be the
father of realism.
·
He is the founder of
classical realism.
·
He believed that humans
are rational.
·
Reason is the ability to
know the unchanging form of objects through sense experience and then to deduce
from these forms the characteristics of the objects themselves: deductive
reasoning.
·
Reasoning is what
separates man from other living forms.
JOHN
LOCKE.
·
There are no
pre-conceived ideas in human thought.
·
At birth the mind is
tabula rasa (a blank slate) upon which ideas will be printed later.
·
All knowledge is acquired
from sources independent of the individuals mind and experience by way of
sensation and reflection.
·
Experience to him was a
bundle of sensations living an imprint on the blank slate of the mind.
·
Experience is the source
of knowledge.
IMPLICATIONS
FOR EDUCATION.
·
The arrangement of the
world into patterns implies that knowledge is classified according to
disciplines or subjects.
·
The discipline/subjects
contain the elements of culture that must be transmitted to children.
·
Therefore no one single
subject/discipline can be adequate to express the whole truth to be found in a
culture.
·
The purpose of education
is not only about the acquisition of culture but the development of
intellectual skills and habits to discover the orderliness that exists in the
world.
·
Because the world is
orderly, teaching must be arranged orderly, equipping the learner with the
necessary knowledge and values.
·
Teaching should be either
from general to particular or vice versa.
·
It should let the learner
see the advantages of both methods.
·
John Locke’s concept of
tabula rasa implies that any child can learn anything and learn it well as long
as it is taught well.
·
There are no bright/dull
children, they only differ in their rate of grasping knowledge.
·
Learning should be both
subject centred and teacher centred.
JUSTIFICATION
OF USING THE SUBJECT AND TEACHER CENTRED.
·
There are certain truths
to be transmitted, truths that are contained in different disciplines.
·
The teacher has knowledge
of some of these truths and is therefore the well of knowledge and wisdom.
·
The duty of the learner
is to absorb the truths presented to him/her by the teacher.
·
He/she should learn the
habit of self-discipline so as to be able to master the subject.
·
The teacher should
therefore be loyal to his discipline and present the truths of his
discipline/subjects as faithfully as possible.
·
The teacher is an
authority with superior knowledge.
·
He is the channel through
which knowledge reaches the children.
Schools are not only places of learning but also of meaningful activities and interaction resulting in the all-round development of a child.
TOPIC:
THE PHILOSOPHY OF PRAGMATISM.
·
It comes from the Greek
word pragma which means work.
·
It is a philosophy that
judges all things in-terms of their practical consequences.
·
It holds the view that
for anything to be called knowledge it should produce physical
observable/tangible change in things.
·
True knowledge of
anything depends upon verification of ideas in actual experience.
·
Only those things that
are experienced/observed are real.
·
Pragmatism encourages
processes that allow individuals to do those things that lead to desirable
ends/outcomes.
·
It is a 20th
century philosophy that examines traditional ways of thinking and doing things,
and then reconstructs them to fit modern life.
·
It is founded on science
and technology and is mainly interested in the material benefits of practical
usefulness of an activity that is undertaken.
·
It is a philosophy that
is pre-occupied with the consequences/ the utility of ideas.
PRAGMATIST
VIEWS ON METAPHYISCS.
·
Pragmatists agree with
the realists that the physical world exists in its own right not as merely a
projection of the mind.
·
Unlike realists they
neither believe that this world is permanent nor that it exists independent of
the human mind.
·
They believe that reality
is not permanent; everything is in a constant state of flux (change).
·
The world we experience
is a growing, changing and developing thing.
·
The universe is dynamic
and evolving.
·
Pragmatist say reality is
the totality of individual experience.
·
Man to them is an
experiencing organism that can-not exist without his environment.
·
Man depends on other
organisms for survival as he is the highest form of organism in the
environment.
·
Man depends on experience
to understand the environment.
·
Man has the high
intelligence to use/manipulate the environment.
PRAGMATIST
VIEWS ON EPISTEMOLOGY.
·
The mind discovers values
in the same way it discovers knowledge i.e. through experience.
·
There is no absolute and
unchanging truth but rather truth is what works for us.
·
Truth is relative and
subject to change.
·
This is so because human
intelligence proposes hypothesis in order to explain/solve problems.
·
This maybe done through
collection of data to support these hypotheses.
·
Hypothesis that solve
problems are then regarded as true but resolutions to problems may change as
new methods emerge.
·
This therefore means that
there is no absolute truth i.e. truth is relative.
·
What this means is that
values change as situations change.
·
They also say that values
are relative, man and his needs determine what is valuable.
·
Values express man’s
desires and needs.
MAJOR
CONTRIBUTORS IN PRAGAMATISM.
·
Pragmatism is a 20th
century philosophy founded in the works of Francis Bacon, John Locke, Jean
Jacques Rousseau, Charles Darwin and John Dewey.
·
Bacon’s influence is
primarily in his method of induction which serves as the basis of the
scientific method.
·
Late pragmatist extended
Bacon’s scientific approach beyond solving simple material problems to include
those in economics, politics, psychology, education, ethics etc.
·
John Locke influenced
pragmatism through his concept of experience as a source of knowledge.
·
He emphasized the idea of
placing children in the most desirable environment for their education.
·
He further described the
ideal education as being exposed to many experiences.
·
He profounded an idea
that children are born tabula rasa and that society proceeds to write what its
wants on their minds.
·
This implies that the
mind is passive.
ROUSSEAU.
·
His major contribution
was that knowledge is based on the sense experience of the natural world.
·
He argued that
individuals are basically good but are corrupted by civilisation which includes
science and art.
·
He argued not that humans
should give up technology but that its corrupting influence should be
controlled.
·
He also argued that
children should not be seen as miniature adults but as human beings who are
passing through various stages of development.
·
His works led to the
questions about what was natural for children that opened doors for modern
psychological study and child centred education.
CHARLES
DARWIN.
·
Contributed much on
reasoning from scientific evidence.
·
He argued that species
evolved naturally through a universal struggle for existence.
·
Through the interaction
of the organism and the environment based on available food supplies and
geographic conditions, the strongest of the species survives.
·
Darwin’s view helped
foster the concept that humans are in the process of development and becoming
as is the universe.
·
This led to the
pragmatist belief that reality is an open ended process
John
Dewey (1849-1952) is believed to be the father of pragmatism.
DEWEY’S MAJOR EDUCATIONAL IDEAS.
·
Dewey says education is a
process of developing problem solving techniques.
·
He says education should
assist people to discover knowledge for themselves.
·
The constructional
process should be flexible with a concern for individual differences.
·
Teachers are there to
build on existing knowledge not to pour on empty vessels.
·
The teacher has to
identify the needs of the learner and to serve as a resource person.
·
Knowledge is acquired
through interaction with the environment.
·
There should be democracy
in the classroom (the classroom should not resemble a military camp, where
pupils feel they are in military discipline).
·
The school should not be
divorced from the home environment; it should be an extension of the home.
·
Teaching should be for
the present since the future is uncertain and unpredictable.
·
Education should be life
itself not a preparation for life.
TOPIC:
EXISTENTIALISM.
SOURCES.
Akinpelu, J.A (1981): An Introduction to Philosophy of
Education, London, McMillan Press.
Biswal, U.N (2005) Philosophy of Education, Dominant
Publishers and Distributors, New Delhi.
Knight, G (2008) Existentialism from Dostoevsky,
Satre, New York, McGraw Hill.
DEFINITION
OF TERMS.
·
Existentialism can be
defined as the philosophy of existence (Akinpelu, 1981:154).
·
Knight (2001:3) says
existentialism is not a philosophy but a label for several widely different
revolts against traditional philosophy.
·
It is a philosophy that
was developed as a result of the excesses of industrialisation, science and
technology developments.
·
Existentialism is a
philosophy of existence that is concerned with human beings in their concrete
existence and humans as thinking, feeling and acting individuals.
·
It is concerned with the
concrete experiences of the individual with the quality of life of a man’s life
and also with the man trying to find his own place and meaning of his own life
and his society in the world and the universe at large.
THE
METAPHYSICS OF EXISTENTIALISM.
·
Existentialism disclaims
any interest in metaphysics or abstract speculation about the nature of
man/what is real and unchanging in the world.
·
What is existing and real
is what we feel, what we see and what we touch.
·
Existentialism confides
its existence to the definition of man.
·
A man according to them
is an individual person who has become conscious that he is alive, that he has
feelings and emotions of love, hatred, appreciation or prejudice and that man
is able and free to decide for himself.
·
That a man is a self-determined
individual who has freedom to choose/not to choose.
·
A man has a unique
personality which is not duplicated to any other man.
JEAN
PAUL SARTE.
·
He describes man as
nothing else but what he makes of himself (Akinpelu, 1981:155).
·
He also says that man is
capable of controlling his life and destiny.
·
There are economic,
cultural, social and political factors that affect/prevent us from becoming
what we want to be in society.
·
He says there are always
avenues for getting over such obstacles depending on one’s choice e.g. one can
confront the challenges of life and take appropriate steps to overcome them,
one can run away from them and refuse to stay in that society/one can accept
the oppressive nature and live in such conditions that prevent people from
becoming what they want to be.
·
After the man has made
choices he must take full responsibility of the consequences that might follow
his choice, he can-not blame them on other elements be they society/God.
·
Existentialist describes
freedom as something that can be dreadful because choices that we make may lead
to pain, fear/anxiety.
EPISTEMOLOGY
OF EXISTENTIALISM.
·
They say that the source
of knowledge is experience.
·
Personal experience is
the most authentic knowledge as it is where a person is emotionally and
passionately involved.
·
First-hand experience
can-not be duplicated, imitated and can-not be adequately described e.g. a
scientist who studies poverty is an outsider who can only describe it but has
not experience of the poverty.
·
Emotion is just as equal
as reasoning in a man’s life e.g. one might know what is right and just but may
not be strong enough to do it and if a person is emotionally involved in the
situation they may be no will to carry
it out.
·
As knowledge comes
sometimes from outside sources, knowledge can be mediated e.g. by the school
subjects, through teachers who have acquired knowledge, who can interpret,
process, assimilate, internalise and decimate it.
AXIOLOGY
OF EXISTENTIALISM.
·
Man is the judge of all
that is valuable.
·
Value is personal and
subjective.
·
Values are subjective in
the sense that it is a person interested in a thing who values it.
·
What a man chooses is
what is valuable and by his choice he considers what he has chosen to be good
or bad.
·
Choice is made after
taking into consideration all the possible factors e.g. consequences and that
when one makes choices they do so according to their conscience and
consequently should not blame others.
·
To allow the majority to
decide for one is selling one’s freedom.
·
A man can abide by the
norms of his society but can decide against the norms of the majority and
without fear.
EXISTENTIALISM
ON EDUCATIONAL IMPLICATIONS.
·
Education should not
adjust the learner but should make the learner aware of his environment if they
can become a useful individual.
·
The task of education is
only to evaluate the learner’s ability to decide correctly.
·
To develop initiative to
search for and discover himself and to cultivate self-reliance as a key
teacher.
·
It is not the content of
the curriculum or what is taught that is important but rather the way/how it is
taught.
·
Existentialism emphasizes
on the method of teaching because it includes the learner in the activity.
·
It also favours the
Socratic method (questions and answers).
·
It says there should be
dialogue in the acquisition of knowledge.
·
It emphasizes the use of
role play and drama in teaching because they involve pupils emotionally and
vicariously.
·
Existentialism argues
that the best teacher is the home and the parent of the child because it is in
the home that the child is fully accepted whatever his mental
efficiencies/physical problems.
·
The teacher must accept
each child as a unique individual who has some ability, who is capable and has
some potentiality.
·
The role of the teacher
should be to evaluate the child to realise some of these potentialities,
discover what they are and how to achieve them.
·
The teacher must know
every pupil in the classroom; study them in all their uniqueness.
·
The role of the teacher
is not cognitive transference but that of providing opportunities and success
to evaluate and assess the pupil with the aim of helping them realise their
potentialities.
·
Act as a guide and
counsellor who should mould pupils into independent, self-reliant individuals.
·
The teacher therefore
should allow freedom of opinion and discussion.
·
The teacher should be
able to mould his/her pupils into committed individuals/members of the society.
TOPIC:
PERENILIASM.
WHAT IS
PERENIALSM?
· It is
an educational theory/philosophy that draws from idealism and realism.
· It is
conservative in nature.
· Perenialists
believe that truth is universal and does not depend on circumstances of place,
time /person.
· A good
education involves a search and an understanding of the truth.
· Education
is a liberal exercise that develops the intellect.
· Robert
Hutchins and Mortimer Adler are known to be the leading perenialists who based
their theory of education mainly on Aristotle’s realism.
· They
concurred with Aristotle that since human beings are rational, the schools
primary role is the cultivation of rationality.
· Perenialists
therefore oppose political, social and economic theories that seek to use
schools as multi-purpose agents.
· They do
not want schools to stress student’s emotional adjustment/to be vocational
training centres for the marketing place.
· Although
Perenialists understand that emotional well-ness and vocational competence are
necessary for people to function in society, they believe that agencies other
than the school should attend to these activities.
· To put
extra non-academic demands on teachers and schools takes away energy, time and
resources from the primary academic purpose of schools.
· For
perenialists the most important educational goals are the searching of and disseminating
of the truth.
· Since
they believe that truth is universal and unchanging, a genuine education is
also universal and unchanging.
· The
school curriculum should contain cognitive subjects that cultivate rationality
and the study of moral aesthetic and religious principles to cultivate ethical
behaviour.
· Like
idealists and realists, perenialists prefer a subject matter curriculum which
includes history, language, geography, maths, logic, literature, social
studies, natural sciences and fine arts.
· The content
of these subjects develops intellectual skills of reading, writing, spelling,
listening, calculation, observing, measuring, estimating and problem solving
which leads to higher order thinking and reflection.
· Perenialists
argue that students should not be grouped/streamed into “tracks” that prevent
some from acquiring the general education to which they are entitled to by
their common humanity.
· All
students have the right to the same high quality education.
· To
track/channel some students into an academic curriculum and others into
vocational curriculum denies genuine equality of educational opportunities.
IMPLICATIONS FOR
THE CLASSROOM TEACHER.
· Like
the realist and idealists, perenialists see the classroom as an environment for
students intellectually growth.
· Teachers
must be liberally educated, love the truth and desire to lead a life based on
it in order to stimulate students interest.
· In
primary grades the perenialists teacher would emphasize learning fundamental
skills such as reading, writing and addition.
· Perenialists
secondary school teacher would structure lessons along the enduring human
concerns explored in the great works of history, literature etc.
· Perenialists school
administrators, teachers and students maintain high standards for academic work.
ESSENTIALISM.
· Like Perenialism,
essentialism is an educational theory/philosophy that is rooted in idealism and
realism.
· It is a
conservative theory that emphasizes academic subject matter curriculum.
· For
essentialists the important goals of education are:
1. To
transmit the basic skills and knowledge in the cultural heritage.
2. To
emphasize the skills and subjects that can lead learners to higher order
thinking skills and knowledge.
3. To use
education as a civilising agency that emphasizes continuity between the
knowledge and values of the past and the requirements of the present.
· For
essentialists, education involves learning the basic skills, arts and sciences
that sustain civilisation.
· Mastering
these skills and subjects prepare students to function effectively as members
of a civilised society.
· Since
learning of essential curriculum requires discipline and hard work, teachers
should be skilled professionals both in subject matter and in teaching.
· William
Bagley the founding philosopher of essentialism argued that students should
learn something “essential” in addition to the process of thinking.
· Traditional
disciplines like maths, science, geography, history, language, social studies
and literature should be taught in schools.
· Primary
schools should emphasize on reading, writing and computation since these are
the basic essential skills that contribute to literacy, social and intellectual
efficiency.
· Schooling
requires discipline and respect for authority whereas learning requires hard
work and disciplined attention.
· Teachers
should stress order, discipline and hard work among learners.
IMPLICATIONS
FOR THE CLASSROOM TEACHER.
· Teachers
must be well prepared and accountable for children’s learning.
· The
teacher is supposed to be a specialist in subject matter content and skilled in
organizing it into instructional units.
· Regular
assignments, home-work, frequent testing and evaluation should be standard
practices.
· In the
essentialists classroom students devote their time and energy into learning academic
skills in various subjects.
· Effective
schools should have principals/heads and teachers who hold high expectations of
academic achievement and prepare students to achieve better.
· Essentialists
emphasize on first mastering the facts and generalising these facts.
QUESTION.
· Similarities
between essentialism and Perenialism.
|
THEORY |
AIM |
CURRICULUM |
EDUCATIONAL IMPLICATIONS |
PROPONENTS |
|
Progressivism (rooted
in pragmatism) |
To
educate the individual according to his interests and needs |
Activities
and projects. |
Instruction
that features problem solving and group activities. Teacher
acts as a facilitator. |
Dewey. Kilpatrick. Parker. |
|
Perenialism (Rooted
in realism and idealism).
|
To
educate the rational person.
|
Subject
matter that is hierarchical arranged/organized to cultivate the intellect. |
Focus
on enduring human concerns as revealed in the great works of cultural
heritage. |
Hutchins. Adler |
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